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Old 30th June 2019, 00:40
kaki3152 kaki3152 is offline
Alter Hase
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
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"Old Man in A Baseball Cap" by Fred Rochlin

I've had this book for a long time and found it an interesting read, written in a different style from other B-24 books about the 15th AF.

One thing I've always wondered is the account where he is forced down in Yugoslavia and makes his way to Allied control with the help of a partisan woman.

While looking for information on this incident, I can find no other information to back this up. There is a mention of Lt. Fred Rochlin being one of two survivors of B-24H, s/n 42-94777, 456th BG, 747 BS,lost on Sept 20, 1944. All the crew members bailed out of the B-24H near Pianosa Island, with only the pilot Lt. Dale V. Maupin (pilot) and Rochlin listed as survivors. The MACR has Lt. Maupin as MIA but with a later entry of RTD (Returned to Duty). He survived the war to die on 2014 at the age of 94.

Curiously, there is no mention of this in the book. Any ideas?

Also, there is a mention of a captured Bf-109 pilot having a fist fight with a black US Army soldier. It seems odd, since the only Bf-109 to land intact in Italy was flown by an Alsatian Luftwaffe pilot who conceivably would not engage in this type of behavior

There's a fair amount of sex in the book, which also sets it apart.
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