The Forgotten 500

By: Gregory A. Freeman

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

The astonishing, never-before-told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II: when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines.

During a bombing campaign, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian villagers risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers, and for months the airmen lived in hiding, waiting for rescue.

In 1944, Operation Halyard was born. The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to construct a landing strip: without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And the rescue planes had to make it through enemy airspace and back: without getting shot down themselves.

Classified for over half a century for political reasons, the full account of this unforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is now being told for the first time. The Forgotten 500 is the breathtaking, behind-the-scenes look at the greatest escape of World War II.

©2007 Gregory A. Freeman (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

More politcal than I anticipated

Any additional comments?

Being a military history fan, I was looking forward to this book. I suppose I was anticipating more about the soldiers who were captured and their struggle to escape capture. A part of this book is about the downed airman who flew over Yugoslavia and the great people of that country who harbored them and assisted in their escape. The majority of the book is about clearing the name of Mihailovich who, even though assisted the US airman, was wrongfully sold down the creek. There's a lot of politics in this book. That's neither good or bad, it just something I wasn't expecting and so I felt my mind wander while listening to some of the book. The narrator is very good and kept my interest through the end. If espionage is something you enjoy, this is a good book.

Excellent, reveals the truth of what happened

A movie should be made of this moving account of the bravery of the soldiers and the Serbian people.

Sad Honorable Men maligned by US state Dept

the brave men and women of Yugoslavia where in fact betrayed by the United States state department. the state department has a long history of lying and betraying honorable men and women. one only has to think of Benghazi and the mass betrayal of those brave men and women and the lie that was perpetrated against the US citizen who was jailed out of vindictiveness by the state department. no wonder countries and peoples don't trust the US with their lives.

A lesson about the unsung heroes

This is a true story we should all know about people and their unselfish deeds who should never be forgotten. It makes me wonder what other truth is covered up for political expedience. It is also a story of doing right despite hardship and opposition. Not only entertaining but well worth the time and thought that should be lived out.

Excelent

Where does The Forgotten 500 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the top books

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Forgotten 500?

How Britain turned a blind eye on one of our allies

What does Patrick Lawlor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It was "story telling"

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

n/a

Fantastic !

i loved all of it. unfortunate this is the first I've heard about it. i wonder how different that part of the world would have been had the communist party not taken control of Yugoslavia.

excellent, fantastic

loved it, great narration, it was a fantastic story but sad and uplifting at the same time.

A Troubling Story of Government Spin

This is a story that every American should know, yet I had never heard of it.

It is a story of courage, commitment and love thy neighbor diminished by bureaucratic bungling. I enjoyed it very much!

Amazing

This was the best WWII story I never heard of. I posted it to FB. Thanks for including it in your service

learned a lot, entertaining

Very entertaining. Also gave me new perspective on CIA and world history. great story. All should read