Behind Enemy Lines: A Young Pilot's Story

by H.R. DeMallie

An unforgettable autobiographical tale of survival during World War II. DeMaillie, pilot of a B-17, describes in riveting detail his successful bombing run from England to the industrial center of Germany. But things go very wrong on the return flight when his plane is struck by enemy fire and the crew is forced to parachute into Holland. Although a group of heroic Dutch resistance fighters try to hide him, the Nazis eventually capture DeMaillie and send him to a prisoner of war camp. There, he endures hunger, cold, and brutality until the Allies finally free him. Years later, he returns to Holland in search of his brave Dutch rescuers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Memoir, Autobiography, Aviation, Biography

178 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

H.R. DeMallie is a veteran of World War II and had a career as an engineer for Kodak.

Reviews

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story. It's a story about a B-17 Pilot in world war two who gets shot down over Germany and how he tries to evade capture. It is a very fun book to read and it is a book that you can easily read over and over again.

[ElsaMakotoRenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simply written but very entertaining! I kind of felt like the author might have been targeting his story to younger readers...yet there were occasional bad words and descriptions of violence. I thought the writing style combined with those things made for a bit of a disconnect. However I really enjoyed reading Behind Enemy Lines and I want to thank my friend for giving me the book (you know who you are!). A very quick read. 4 solid stars.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simply written but fascinating autobiography of DeMallie’s service in the Army Air Corps during WWII. His plane was shot down and most of the crew made it out and onto the ground alive. Several were immediately captured. DeMallie and another were assisted by the Dutch resistance and evaded capture for a time. Ultimately he was discovered and spent some time in a prisoner of war camp before being liberated. DeMallie wrote this book for his grandchildren, so that they would know of his participation in the war and what happened to him.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitate to give this book five stars because it’s certainly not great literature. But it’s an amazing (true) story, clearly told and with great heart.

[Lisa Matheny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like I was there....in the cockpit, in hiding, in the stalag. Excellent writing. Rest in peace, sir.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-told story

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a first-hand account of a B-17 pilot shot down over occupied Holland towards the end of WWII, and the story of his subsequent attempt to escape with help from the Dutch underground and later as a POW in Germany. I read the book because my father had also been a B-17 pilot and was also shot down over Holland (but not captured). The story is told in a direct and straightforward manner by a man who is not a great writer but who is very concerned with getting the story down right as his pesonal thank-you to the Dutch citizens who risked their lives to help him. There were probably hundreds of airmen who had experiences similar to DeMallie's, but very few of them have written their stories down in such a compelling narrative.

[Mrs. Strudthoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

For readers who like to read war stories, Behind Enemy Lines is a true story about a WWII pilot who was shot down and then taken prisoner by the Nazis.

Howard yearned for adventure particularly since his friends had joined the war effort. He couldn't want to enlist. After he did, he was trained as a pilot and just a few short weeks later, Howard was flying bombing missions over Germany. When he was shot down, Howard thought that the rest of his crew had died in the crash. Later, all of them meet and are protected by friendly Germans . . . at least for awhile.

This harrowing war story will keep you entranced until the last page!

[Liam Ferris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a bomber in the army who gets shot down and has to parachute out of his plane along with his crew. He luckily does not get captured and goes along with people that help him a lot and even people in his crew. eventually he does get captured and put in a POW camp though. This book talks about his experience through his eyes. Overall this was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure and war.

[carinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remember reading this a good while back. Don't remember much about this storyline, but I remember the book seemed rushed. It was a quick read, not exactly my worst war book, but definitely somewhere near the bottom. I thought UNDER A WAR TORN SKY was a much better read, I enjoyed that book much more. I suggest anyone who loves this story, check out UNDER A WAR TORN SKY.

[Sam Thoreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very resourceful book explaining how H.R.Demallie survived World War 2. He gets more excitement then he thought he would when he signed up for the American Air Forces. It explains how terrible Hitler was and opens up young childrens minds into how bad Hitler really was.

[Relstuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very simply told story. It would probably be good for younger readers though the author does talk about a man being very badly beaten for hours. The author does state (IIRC) that he wrote this for his grandchildren. Awesome that he did this for them.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting true adventure. A fictioal story might have been more exciting, but this story had a lot of authenticity.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a quick read but is still a good story.

[Devin Dallas]

This book puts you in the stories of war told by the pilot that lived them.

[Greg Golz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty quick read if you just want to get through a quick story. There were many details left out that I would have liked to know.

[Ace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that it would've been better if there was a bit more detail about the prison camps. It seemed like everything was a bit grazed over except for the time with the dutch.

Overall good book.