The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All For the GreatestRescue Mission of World War II by Gregory A. Freeman

Nov 27, 2007 Grumpus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, history

This is based upon the audio download from www.audible.com

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Wow, this is another example of why these men are known as the “greatest generation”. This book was non-stop action that script writers could only hope to come up with.

Kudos to Patrick Lawlor in his narration. I also enjoyed him in another worthy read/listen The Colony The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai. He is quickly becoming another of my favorite readers.

This is the story of downed pilots in Y...more This is based upon the audio download from www.audible.com

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Wow, this is another example of why these men are known as the “greatest generation”. This book was non-stop action that script writers could only hope to come up with.

Kudos to Patrick Lawlor in his narration. I also enjoyed him in another worthy read/listen The Colony The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai. He is quickly becoming another of my favorite readers.

This is the story of downed pilots in Yugoslavia and their life with the Yugoslav peasants as they helped to hide these airmen from the Germans. Simultaneously, the story of the internal struggle for power in Yugoslavia between Tito and Mihailovich was played out along with the Allies’ analysis of which of these two was their greatest ally. Even though Mihailovich was the one who was responsible for assisting in the rescue of these men, history shows that the Allies threw their support to the communist Tito—helping communism gain a foothold in Eastern Europe that would last more than 40 years.

I was surprised to learn of the way the British (intentionally or not) sabotaged the American efforts to rescue their men. This information was jaw-dropping. In the end, Mihailovich was abandoned and not acknowledged by America for nearly 60 years.

On Veteran's Day in 1979, Ronald Reagan wrote of Mihailovich, “I wish it could be said that this great hero was the last victim of confused and senseless policies of western governments in dealing with Communism."

"Thus, the fate of General Mihailovich is not simply of historic significance -- it teaches us something today, as well. No western nation, including the United States, can hope to win its own battle for freedom and survival by sacrificing brave comrades to the politics of international expediency."

He further stated, ". . .it has been demonstrated beyond doubt that both freedom and honor suffer when firm commitments become sacrificed to false hopes of appeasing aggressors by abandoning friends."

Words that still have meaning today.
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Mar 07, 2013 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just when I thought I knew all of the major aspects of WWII, along comes a book that shatters all those illusions. The Forgotten 500 is an amazing story of 500+ airmen who came down in the mountains of Yugoslavia and how they are saved from starvation and capture by the rugged Serb freedom fighters. And to that extent, I've read books like this before. But the back-story is filled with twists and turns that include espionage, lovers escaping to freedom, political wrangling between the US and our...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Forgotten 500 tells an interesting yet largely unknown story of World War 2. During countless Allied bombing runs of Germany, hundreds of downed airmen found themselves caught behind enemy lines in Axis-controlled Yugoslavia. Once on the ground, many of these airmen found themselves caught in the middle of yet another conflict between warring factions of Serbians: the Royalist Chetniks led by Draza Mihailovic and the Communist Partisans led by Tito. Each fought the Germans, but with differen...more

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Jun 17, 2008 Larry rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any WWII Buff or Historian

Recommended to Larry by: I picked it up in the Library

If you are a WWII buff this is a must read. The incredible, untold story of the rescue of over 500 US and Allied pilots from Yugoslavia over just a few weeks. Many personal stories and the heroism of the Yugoslav (primarily Serbs)people and how they gave us their food and shelter to feed and house these fliers. An important part of this book is the role of Communists in the US and British Armies and the OSS and British Secret Service and how they influenced the relationship between the US, Great...more

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Mar 31, 2009 Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm very biased about this book because my dad, Joseph Peter Hoffman, was one of the forgotten 500. I'm so appreciative to Gregory Freeman for bringing this event to a potentially large audience. My father never spoke much about his experience, but we would hear more about it from the more vocal crew members that he kept in contact with throughout his life. His crew bailed out due to mechanical issues with their plane. One of his crewmates broke his leg during the landing, and he was carried by...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I asked author Gregory Freeman what drew him to the story of ‘Operation Halyard’, he didn’t hesitate:

“My interests as an author usually lead me to stories of heroism and sacrifice that went unrecognized for too long, and the story of Operation Halyard fits the bill perfectly. I was drawn to the idea that not only was this an amazing tale of intrigue and bravery, but it had been purposefully hidden from the American people for decades. A dramatic story is one thing; a dramatic story that has...more

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May 13, 2013 Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Now in paperback?the ?amazing?( James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers) never-before-told story of the greatest escape of the Second World War.

In 1944 the OSS set out to recover more than 500 downed airmen trapped behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. 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.

From Booklist

Bombing of the Ploi

...more

Now in paperback?the ?amazing?( James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers) never-before-told story of the greatest escape of the Second World War.

In 1944 the OSS set out to recover more than 500 downed airmen trapped behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. 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.

From Booklist

Bombing of the Ploiesti, Romania, oil refineries, a key German resource, started in 1942. Allied pilots sustaining damage frequently bailed out over Serbia in German-occupied Yugoslavia, where the resistance and others hid them. By 1944, more than 500 were stranded and slowly starving. The OSS concocted the daring Operation Halyard to airlift them, but they had to construct a landing strip without tools and without alerting the Germans or endangering local villagers, and then the rescuers had to avoid being shot down themselves. The operation's story is an exciting tale, but it was kept from general knowledge for decades; the resistance leader most responsible was a rival to Tito. Nazi-baited by a Stalinist mole in British intelligence, he was executed in 1946 with the consent of Britain and America, which thereafter refused to acknowledge having been snookered (the State Department kept many details classified more than 50 years). Evoking the rescuees' successive desperation, wild hope, and joy, and their gratitude to the Serbians who risked their lives to help, Freeman produces a breathtaking popular account. Murray, Frieda

Review

“Riveting.”
—James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers

“Exciting…breathtaking.”
—Booklist

“Fascinating…full of romance, action, and adventure…told with skill and grace.”
—America in WWII

“A literary and journalistic achievement of the highest order, a book that illuminates [and] thrills… It will take your breath away.”
—Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep Dark

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Feb 24, 2013 D rated it 3 of 5 stars

The forgotten 500. I have not read any others but this has to be the most comprehensive book detailing the rescue of American airmen in Yougoslavia during WWII.

The story details personal accounts from downed airmen and pilots, OSS officers who orchistrated the plan to get them out and a broad background of the political climate and other obstructions that they had to overcome to make the rescue happen. The book also details the aftermath of General Mihalohivich who without his say so the protec...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Brion rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent book about the rescue of 500+ Allied air crew members who were shot down on missions over Yugoslavia in 1944-45. The main focus of the book is the role the OSS and Gen'l Draza Mihailovich (former General in Chief of the Yugoslavia army) played in the mission "Operation Haylard". The book is very critical of the British and US diplomats and in particular US Department of State for their willingness to believe false accusations of collaboration with the German military on the part of...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Ricky Macdonald rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is about the story of 12 American Airmen who were on a mission to bomb the oil fields in Romania to stop the Germans from progressing any further in their domination of territory during World War 2. There is no certain main character since it goes from one airman to another telling in detail how their b-17's and b-24 bomber planes went down and the story of how some of the airmen escaped and some didn't. In my opinion, this book gets boring at times because of all the facts and how the...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fantastic book which does a superb job of describing a period of history that I had never read of even though I consider myself fairly well read on this period of time. What is revealed is the OSS effort to rescue numerous allied airmen who had been shot down over Yugoslavia while enroute to attacking the oilfields in Romania. What is particularly poignant is the story of the partisians and all they risked to fed and harbor the Allied Airmen from the Nazis at great peril to themselves and thei...more

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Aug 15, 2012 ***Dave Hill rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction, text

I've read about the Greatest Rescue Mission of WWII (Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission), and this mission, sadly, doesn't live up. Neither does the book.

Not that the mission in question isn't epic in its own way. Some 500 Allied (mostly American) fliers, shot down over Yugoslavia, are protected by the local Serbian villagers until a mission can be mounted to fly C-47s in and airlift them out.

But in reality, this would have made a nice, lengthy article in...more I've read about the Greatest Rescue Mission of WWII (Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission), and this mission, sadly, doesn't live up. Neither does the book.

Not that the mission in question isn't epic in its own way. Some 500 Allied (mostly American) fliers, shot down over Yugoslavia, are protected by the local Serbian villagers until a mission can be mounted to fly C-47s in and airlift them out.

But in reality, this would have made a nice, lengthy article in Smithsonian. Fluffing it out to book length means that it reads as thinly disguised transcriptions into third person of the various American who play a significant role in the story. We get tremendous amounts of padding, relating either the same tale over and over, or else side plots that don't really significantly contribute to the final narrative. The number of times when I felt "Y'know, that last five pages could have been summed up in a single paragraph" was legion. As well, many of the most critical moments of the story become gummed up with melodrama over the feelings of the participants.

The actually interesting parts of the story are not the actual mission itself (which, while highly risky, end up going off without a significant hitch), but the politics around it, focusing on two major, interrelated issues: (1) the decision by the Allies, driven by the British (and apparently manipulated by British Communists in the SOE and Foreign Ministry, and to a lesser degree American Communists in the OSS and State Dept.) to favor Josef Tito's Partisan resistance over Draža Mihailović's Chetniks, and (2) the suppression of news about the mission due to the invaluable role that the Chetniks played in protecting the stranded fighters and the complications of that reality with Mihailović being on the outs both during and after the War.

Freeman's reliance on testimonial narrative gives him more than a bit of anti-communist fervor. While there's every reason to disapprove of the political gameplaying at the time, and of Tito and the Communist plans for Yugoslavia, there far too strong of a "filthy commies" undertone in much of the book, and too easy a glossing-over of the charges that at least some elements of the Chetniks did indeed collaborate with the Axis (and no mention at all of Chetnik persecutions of non-Serbian Yugoslavians). If Mihailović ended up getting a raw deal from the Allies, he (and his cause) get a very subjective boost from the story coming largely from people who had a deep gratitude to him and the Chetniks.

Patrick Lawlor's narration is unpolished but earnestly effective. His almost unavoidable use of accents is not his strength, but he does manage to take many personal tales and render them with personal spirit.

This is a good book to discuss a forgotten part of the War -- the bombing campaign against Ploeiști and the fate of the flyers who made that run ... the resistance movements within Yugoslavia ... the the political machinations over whom the Allies should support and why, and who was manipulating that process. As such, it has a lot of value. But as a self-contained tale, it just passes muster through its repetition and highly subjective barely-third-person narrative.(less)

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Jul 03, 2012 Forrest rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book gives an amazing historical account of a bold and daring rescue mission to save 539 Allied Airmen (97% were Americans) late in 1944. The stranded Airmen were trapped behind German enemy lines in Yugoslavia. The stranded Airmen were being fed, clothed and sheltered by Royal Chetnics, led by General Mihailovic, who was rebelling against the German occupation. Freeman offers the reader much more than just a historical account of this little known story. He gives a chilling account on how...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If there's a great deal of repetition in a book, nothing will make it more obvious than listening to the entire thing during a couple days' worth of driving. This book repeated itself frequently and the melodrama was pretty thick, as well, though I'm less critical of such a thing when taking into account that wars can be pretty dramatic undertakings.

There was a lot of background provided on most of the major characters, which was well done and helped to indirectly set the tone for a lot of the...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Earleen Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an interesting, riveting read. Gregory Freeman seems to have teased out a story the US government would still rather not have known. What a shame!

The book gives background stories on the men involved in the rescue as well as has a section of pictures. It only lightly illustrates the brutality of the German soldiers of that time frame, with which we are all familiar. But it is abundantly clear about the warmth and generosity of the Yugoslavian people, including Mihailovich. What sacrific...more This is an interesting, riveting read. Gregory Freeman seems to have teased out a story the US government would still rather not have known. What a shame!

The book gives background stories on the men involved in the rescue as well as has a section of pictures. It only lightly illustrates the brutality of the German soldiers of that time frame, with which we are all familiar. But it is abundantly clear about the warmth and generosity of the Yugoslavian people, including Mihailovich. What sacrifices those people made to get our boys home!

If the book is true, and I suspect it is, not one person or official in the United States has any right to demean the Yugoslavian hero, Mihailovich.

Every American would do well to read this book and get an idea of the deception and cover up that takes place to comfort high-ranking egos, even back when lots of people trusted the government.

Here is what Ronald Reagan wrote in September 1979: (from the book)

"I wish that it could be said that this great hero (Mihailovich) was the last victim of confused and senseless policies of Western governments in dealing with Communism. The fact is that others have suffered a fate similar to his by being embraced and then abandoned by Western governments in the hope that such abandonment will purchase peace or security. Thus, the fate of General Mihailovich is not simply of historic significance--it teaches us something today as well. No Western nation, including the United States, can hope to win its own battle for freedom and survival by sacrificing those comrades to the politics of international expediency.

"Reagan went on to say that the betrayal of Mihailovich showed 'beyond doubt that both freedom and honor suffer when firm commitments become sacrificed to false hopes of appeasing aggressors by abandoning friends.'"

This is the long-suppressed story of some of the our heroes, what they went through during the war and what became of them after the war, but it also tells the story of government deception and betrayal. An excellent read!(less)

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Nov 19, 2009 Sue rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

This book covers some of the experinces of American fliers forced to crash-land behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia/Hungary/etc., and the top-secret rescue effort to airlift them out. However, I never got that far to find out how they pulled it off...

While the topic is fascinating, I found the writing so melodramatic and repetitive that I've quit a couple of chapters into it. Granted, I'm listening to this on CD while commutting, so much of that drama is due to the overwraught reading style of the...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Forgotten 500. This is a well written, untold story of a truly remarkable rescue undertaken by a fledgling group of men ( the OSS- the early CIA), using lumbering aircraft to snatch 500+ airmen from right under the noses of the Nazis, in the daylight, from rural, mountainous Yugoslavia. Even a herd of cows entered the picture at just the right time (coincidence you say?).

These airmen had to evade capture while awaiting rescue with the aid of Serbs who loved the USA and valiantly fought the...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Carl Nelson rated it 5 of 5 stars

"The Forgotten 500" recounts the successful rescue of more than 500 Allied airmen, downed behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia, and how they are rescued by dedicated OSS agents and the Serbian people. History makes it a bittersweet tale at best, as it is also the story of the Allied abandonment of General Draza Mihailovich and his subsequent arrest, show trial, and execution as Yugoslavia was handed over to Communist rule.

Gregory A. Freeman writes with a thorough style that gives a good overview of...more "The Forgotten 500" recounts the successful rescue of more than 500 Allied airmen, downed behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia, and how they are rescued by dedicated OSS agents and the Serbian people. History makes it a bittersweet tale at best, as it is also the story of the Allied abandonment of General Draza Mihailovich and his subsequent arrest, show trial, and execution as Yugoslavia was handed over to Communist rule.

Gregory A. Freeman writes with a thorough style that gives a good overview of related events, such as the development of OSS and the conflict between the Chetniks and the Partisans. I found that I knew some of these asides, but not all, and they never detracted from the central narrative. I caught a few errors regarding details in the book (a westward flight from Italy to Romania would be a near circumnavigation) that detract a bit from it, but the primary material is authoritative and reliable.

The story of the Operation Halyard rescues almost pales next to George and Mirjana Vujnovich's nearly unbelievable escape from Yugoslavia after it fell to German forces. Their story was a tense journey through several countries and minefields both physical and diplomatic. My favorite part of the book was how they were unwittingly aided through a passport checkpoint by Joseph Goebbels' wife Magda. "The Forgotten 500" is worth a read for that incident alone.

Mihailovich is presented by Freeman in a flattering light when the historical record is more mixed. Mihailovich at a minimum condoned through inaction the ethnic cleansing activities of the Chetniks (though the reliability of evidence that he himself ordered such actions is hotly disputed). From this book, it is clear that Mihailovich supported the Allied cause and risked himself to see the downed Allied airmen safely home; he certainly deserved better than abandonment by the Allies, a trial by kangaroo court, and summary execution. Likely Yugoslavia's post-war days would have been much brighter under Mihailovich than how they unfolded under his Communist rival Tito, whose rise to power was aided by Allied support.

The warm welcome given to the downed airmen by the Serbian people is exemplary, as is their quiet bravery in risking German reprisal by keeping them safely. The villagers were willing to share all of their meager supplies with the American airmen, and their hero's greeting to the bomber crews is touching. The image of rescued airmen huddled in a cold C-47 after giving their jackets and boots to the villagers is a satisfying one.

"The Forgotten 500" is a great read for WWII buffs and laypersons alike, a human story of triumphs and mistakes.(less)

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Oct 12, 2012 Larry rated it 4 of 5 stars

"The Forgotten 500" is a remarkable story of a little known event during World War II when literally hundreds of Allied airmen (mostly American) were trapped behind enemy lines in the rugged hills of Yugoslavia. More than a tale of courage and a nearly impossible rescue that the United States somehow pulled off, the books goes into detail about the social, political, and religious landscape of the Balkans. The OSS, the precursor of the modern day CIA, played no small role in this event and it wa...more

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Sep 01, 2009 Gonzalo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 11th-grade

This is the Third book i've read this summer, it tells of the story of the 500 airplane pilots,mechanics,aereal gunner, navigators and more who were shot down while going on bombing raid missions to bomb key resource points over nazi-occupated yugoslavia, and how the greatest WW2 rescue mission went down. It's a wonderful book, that immediately caught my interest as i was like buying books for the summer. i loved the stories of the pilots and was in awe when the book revealed to me facts and coi...more

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May 21, 2012 Syed rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

Its one of the interesting tales of WWII. This book reveals how, big powers loose allies due to their arrogant behavior, while failing to check at their own end the infiltration of rouge factors into their intelligence system. One can observe that they have never learned from their mistakes and still conducting themselves in the same fashion. The recent example of this is Pakistan, where US and NATO is still blaming Pakistan for every thing, failing to realize and acknowledge that, Pakistan is t...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Andre Danciu rated it 5 of 5 stars

The forgotten 500 NAL Trade; Reprint edition, 2008, 7.99,375 pp
Gregory a. freeman ISBN-13: 978-0-439-86130-8
Never Forgotten
In the forgotten 500, 500 us soldiers on a mission to bomb Romanian oil fields to stop the Nazi war machine. They took off from Italy knowing that they might not have enough fuel to make it back to Italy. But just as they thought nothing could get worse but it could German air fighters shot the fuel tanks and now they had to bail out into the mountains of Yugoslavia the sol...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Jerome rated it 3 of 5 stars

The subject matter of this book is very interesting and certainly worthy of learning about. However, I found this author to be maddeningly juvenile in his style of writing. I felt like he was writing to four year olds.

After only a few pages, the author mentioned the first Ploesti raid from North Africa and said it was a high level raid, and that the subsequent raids on Ploesti were low level raids from Italy. I read the book, Ploesti, some years ago which described that first raid in detail. As...more The subject matter of this book is very interesting and certainly worthy of learning about. However, I found this author to be maddeningly juvenile in his style of writing. I felt like he was writing to four year olds.

After only a few pages, the author mentioned the first Ploesti raid from North Africa and said it was a high level raid, and that the subsequent raids on Ploesti were low level raids from Italy. I read the book, Ploesti, some years ago which described that first raid in detail. As I remember, after all of the difficulties and miscommunications, the B-24s attacked the oil fields from the north at dangerously low levels and suffered mightily for it.

Another faux pas I noticed early on was that the author stated that the bombers attacking the oil fields of Ploesti flew west (look it up!) to reach the oilfields. It was then that the author's credibility waned quickly. My thought was, "This guy doesn't know what he is talking about."

At one point he describes the U.S. OSS as a bastion of "effete" academics and communists, which may or may not have been true, but which was served up so blithely and without historical context (the Soviets were our allies at the time, after all, and communism wasn't quite the dirty word in the 1930s and early 1940s that it is today) that it made me wonder if I was reading the work of a right-wing ideologue using 70-year old history to advance a more modern, anti-intellectual frame for blaming the Cold War on liberals.

- I wonder if author ever consulted a map or is aware of the fact that North is up on maps. So, the north of Yugoslavia he constantly refers to would put happenings in Slovenia or northern parts of Croatia not in Serbia, east to southeast part of Yugoslavia where it actually happened.
- Military forces and factions operating in Yugoslavia are misplaced all over the place. So, author puts Croatian ustashe in Serbian Belgrade of all places. This is hilarious actually.
- Wrong airplane descriptions and how turrets operate
- Unnecessary and invented reflections of airmen while suspended under canopy. Anyone who ever tried to jump out of an airplane, even worse bail out, knows that things are happening so fast and are so intensive that one simply goes into automatic mode of saving life not contemplating nature and political questions while ground and 50/50 chance of braking limbs or dying are coming at you very fast.
- During WWII the largest free territory in all occupied countries in Europe was in Tito's (partisans) hands stretching over large parts of Yugoslavia. There was even Allied airfield from which British Spitfires operated on island of Vis. Again, taking a look at the map would reveal a fact that all those airmen could have simply marched over to Tito's forces and would be out of Yugoslavia quickly. That is if Mihalovich would allow them or transfer them to Tito's forces instead of using them as bargaining chips with Allies.
- The book constantly treats readers as idiots trying to revision history by claiming that author knows facts better than British or American military of that time and all this by quoting pro chetnik sources exclusively. This simply kills the joy and fun of reading about one spectacular operation. If he stuck and more thoroughly researched technical and military aspects of the operation instead of writing political pamphlet it could have been a good book
- There are many more issues in the book like Mihailovich collaborating with Nazis against partisans, not quoting relevant and official military sources of that time, claiming that all the Serbs were chetniks,etc., etc., taking sides and making arguments instead of giving us facts and letting the reader be a judge and draw conclusions.

There are a number of other little errors, like the fact that the ball turret on the underside of a B-17 did not have hand cranked controls, there was no side hatch on a B-24 (people bailed out through the bomb bay doors), etc. He also claims that Halyard was the biggest air rescue of the war. Wrong. There was a airlift of 1100 airmen from an airport near Bucharest in August, 1944 that happened in THREE DAYS, under mortar fire no less. The jacket copy I remember seeing hailed Freeman as having "20 years of experience as a journalist." Geez, what kind of journalist?(less)

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May 29, 2013 Bailey rated it 5 of 5 stars

LOVED this book!!! I know my grandfather went through something similar to this and it makes me want to research his past and see if he was one of these men!!!! Great great great read, thoroughly enjoyed learning about such brave men.

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Oct 29, 2010 Ob-jonny rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing true story of the multitude of American Air Force soldiers who had to bail out of their planes over Yugoslavia during bombing runs against the oil fields of Romania. Yugoslavia is gigantic and it swallowed up all of the air-men whose bombers had been damaged by German fighters and anti-aircraft shells. The stories of how they were treated by rural Yugoslavians was amazing. They were treated like heroes and every person in the village would hug and kiss each of the Americans and they woul...more

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Apr 05, 2010 Katie Christian rated it 3 of 5 stars

EXCELLENT story, kind of dry writing. I completely understand why we're given so much background on the characters, but it does get a bit tedious after a while. That being said - I literally could've cheered when the fighter planes and the huge cargo plane got to Yugoslavia to save the remaining hundreds of men! I'm sure that was an amazing sight. Incredibly sad and engaging ending to the book. I would like to think that our country wouldn't abandon someone who was such a friend and hero to our...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Wendy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I generally don't like history books, but I could not put this book down! The way in which this was written, with the characters coming to life, causing you to get personally attached to their wellfare, and the history of WWII in Yugoslovia, I found this story absolutely fascinating, exciting, and very well-written. I had never heard of this story--ever--in all the history that I took in school, college etc, let alone all the politics behind the rescue and acknowledgement afterwards. What an ama...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Dejana Vuletić rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-books-of-all-time

They don't realize what Communism really is, the way it works to overpower a country's people and take everything from them. They don't understand that Communism is a cancer that can spread all over if you don't stop it.

The Forgotten 500 tells the story of the American airmen who were trapped in Nazi territory during World War II and the courageous citizens of Yugoslavia who risked everything to help them. With riveting details, undeniable truths, and downright appalling military policy, the sto...more They don't realize what Communism really is, the way it works to overpower a country's people and take everything from them. They don't understand that Communism is a cancer that can spread all over if you don't stop it.

The Forgotten 500 tells the story of the American airmen who were trapped in Nazi territory during World War II and the courageous citizens of Yugoslavia who risked everything to help them. With riveting details, undeniable truths, and downright appalling military policy, the story Freeman tells here should not be ignored.

I will admit that parts of this made me angry, but it had nothing to do with the author's writing style or anything of the sort. I was angry at America. I was angry at the Allies for being so stupid and trusting mere suspicions more than they trusted their friends. Parts of the book had me screaming, crying, and just downright heartbroken when I learned of the horrible things the Nazis would do to the poor Serbian villagers when a Nazi soldier was wounded or killed. Such horrifying truth that no one can deny any longer.

Being Serbian myself, this story drew my attention because no one ever talks about the Balkans anymore. If you tell someone you're Serbian, they just look at you like, "Oh...so you're from Siberia?" It's almost sad how little people know about the beautifully rich history of the region. Time and time again the Yugoslav peoples have triumphed over their enemies, and time and time again they have resisted and risked everything to help their allies. It really is a shame that no one knows our story, but kudos to Freeman for telling that story! It truly warms my heart to know that someone out there cares about our history. :)

I recommend this to any and all who are interested in the Balkans and/or World War II history. The conversational, story-telling tone of the story makes it easy to read for those of us who aren't historians out there, and the suspense kept me turning page after page to find out the fates of the airmen and their new allies in Serbia.

Loved it! Fabulous, riveting, chilling, and just downright elucidating! Wonderful read that I will definitely come back to a few more times in the coming years!(less)

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Jun 01, 2013 Tony Graff rated it 2 of 5 stars

This was a little difficult to get into. I had found a playaway at the library and thought it would be an interesting read.

The book at the overall tone of a grandfather telling his kids what was going on. One of those stories where you have to wonder in some areas what he's making up. And that was kind of sad, because with all the descriptions and names and dates and details, it felt odd that I'm left with that vibe.

The book is about 512 soldiers hiding in Yugoslavia, and their heroism plus th...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Bk70lvr rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Wow...where to begin?!

First: I listened to the audiobook. Which was fantastic! Patrick Lawlor adds so much depth, character and emotion to this story that I recommend anyone who likes audio, to "HEAR" this book!!! You'll feel so much more like you're there. When the Airmen & Serbs cried and cheered when those first rescue planes came in, it was easy to want to do the same.

Second: In the beginning I was a bit thrown by being introduced to individual Air Force Airmen, Gunners, Teachers, Navig...more

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title link	preview: The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All For the GreatestRescue Mission of World War II
avg rating	preview: The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All For the GreatestRescue Mission of Worl Goodreads rating: 3.91 (964 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1707116.The_Forgotten_500?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1187197382l/1707116.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1707116.The_Forgotten_500?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All For the GreatestRescue Mission of World War II by Gregory A. Freeman[/url]

The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All For the GreatestRescue Mission of World War II

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The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All For the GreatestRescue Mission of World War II

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