Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin

The first major history of the American glider pilots, the forgotten heroes of World War II, by a New York Times bestselling author. A story of no guns, no engines and no second chances.
This book distills war down to individual young men climbing into defenseless gliders made of plywood, ready to trust the towing aircraft that would pull them into enemy territory by a cable wrapped with telephone wire. Based on their after-action reports, journals, oral histories, and letters home, this book reveals every terrifying minute of their missions.
They were all volunteers, for a specialized duty that their own government projected would have a 50 percent casualty rate. None faltered. In every major European invasion of the war they led the way. They landed their gliders ahead of the troops who stormed Omaha Beach, and sometimes miles ahead of the paratroopers bound for the far side of the Rhine River in Germany itself. From there, they had to hold their positions. They delivered medical teams, supplies and gasoline to troops surrounded in the Battle of the Bulge, ahead even of Patton's famous supply truck convoy. These all-volunteer glider pilots played a pivotal role in liberating the West from tyranny, from the day the Allies invaded Occupied Europe to the day Germany finally surrendered. Yet the story of these anonymous heroes is virtually unknown. Here it is told in full - a story which epitomizes courage and sacrifice.

Scott McGaugh is a veteran journalist and published author of Honor Before Glory (Da Capo/Hachette, 2016), the New York Times bestseller Surgeon in Blue (Arcade, 2013), Battlefield Angels (Osprey, 2011) and Midway Magic (CDS/Perseus, 2004). Midway Magic became the basis for a History Channel program, Hero Ship: The USS Midway, featuring the author and Honor Before Glory is in development as a feature film. McGaugh served as the founding marketing director of the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, the most visited floating ship museum in the world. Television appearances have included the History Channel, Travel Network and Discovery Channel, among others. Radio appearances have included NPR's Weekend Edition.

Preface
Author's Notes
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1. Guts and Gliders Wanted
2. Crashing is a Lonely Sound
3. "Prepare to Ditch"
4. Pea Patch Savior
5. Popcorn Popping
6. "The Germans Are Coming!"
7. "Our Men Were Lucky"
8. Like Hornets at a Church Cookout
9. They Were Invisible
10. The Hole in the Donut
11. Beyond Commendation
12. World War II's Orphans
13. Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Endnotes
Index