Hell Is So Green: Search And Rescue Over The Hump In World War Ii

by William Diebold, Richard Matthews

Lt. William Diebold served in the Army's Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India theater of World War II and never fired a weapon in battle. Like many men who flew the Hump, he never saw on-the-ground combat, but he fought bravely by saving lives. Flyers who crossed the eastern Himalayas to keep the allied armies in China supplied with food, fuel, and weapons against Japan―preventing it from concentrating its power in the Pacific―often flew in zero-visibility, sometimes crashing into mountains or falling from the sky from Japanese Zero attacks. Those pilots who survived, Bill Diebold rescued. In Hell Is So Green , Diebold vividly describes the heat and stink of the jungle; the vermin, lice, and leeches; the towering mountains and roaring rivers. Rich with war slang, wisecracks, and old-fashioned phrases, his story reverberates with authenticity and represents the stories of many men that have never been told. After the author's early death, the manuscript was put away in an attic―until now. Here, from the shadows of that attic, comes a compelling story of courage under fire and heroism for the ages.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2011

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real gem of a read. This book has a great deal of significance to me as I worked with Marvin Jacobs (one of Lt Deibold's rescues) near the end of his working life. It's extraordinary discovering that these journal entries have been published.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend of my husband’s loaned him this book. As soon as it entered our house, I grabbed it up and read it in just two evenings. This is the true story of a search and rescue party who went into the jungles to rescues lost pilots who had gone down on missions that went over the hump of the Himalayas in 1944.

Lt. William Diebold, of Pittsburgh, PA led the mission and wrote the story. The manuscript was found after his death by his daughter who never knew anything about the mission. She found a publisher and now we can all know the story about unbelievable bravery and ingenuity of this crew. Stories this good cannot be made up.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lt. William Diebold is one hell of a character, but it’s too bad he wasn’t alive to see his memoirs published. His story is incredible and his bravery even more so. His mission was to rescue downed airmen who flew resupply planes to the Chinese over “The Hump.” And there were plenty of crashes in the remote jungle between India and China since the route over the Himalayas was terribly perilous. Diebold’s positive attitude and resourcefulness got him through some dangerous situations. Not only did he parachute into dense regions of jungle, he negotiated with natives who didn’t speak his language, had close encounters with tigers, navigated formidable terrain, and even buried bodies of doomed airmen he was too late to save.

This quote from his first mission perfectly reflects his personality: “The bourbon had been so good I’d completely forgotten it was at all unusual to be singing in a shack on a mountain in the middle of the Burmese jungle with a bunch of opium-drunk natives.” This is my first encounter with this particular theater of WWII and it was fascinating to know how many soldiers risked their lives in this part of the world during the conflict.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

My father flew the hump many times during the war. He never talked about it; however, this book gave me insight into what some of the airmen had to endure during the war when they went down over the jungles.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great unpublished diary/memoir with incredible stories and well edited.

[Anna Diebold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A colorful, engaging, period piece that keeps your attention; and hard to believe one man would parachuet into the jungles of Burma, each time to save one pilots life. I found it hard to put the book down.

[Lisa Matheny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed his writing and his humor. So sorry to hear of his life postwar.

[Matt Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read lots of memoirs from WWII and this is one of the best. A great, unknown story told with vivid detail, hilarious banter, and real emotion. Could not put it down.