num_pages: 322
description: A hell-bent-for-leather fighter pilot Elwyn G. Righetti remains one of the most unknown yet compelling colorful and controversial commanders of World War II. Vanished Hero tells the story of this remarkable man and the air war that he and his comrades fought while examining his possible fate.Arriving late to the war he led the England-based 55th Fighter Group against the Nazis during the closing months of the fight with a no-holds-barred aggressiveness that transformed the group from a middling organization into a headline-grabbing team that had to make excuses to no one. Indeed Righettis boldness paid off as he quickly achieved ace status and additionally scored more strafing victories27than any other Eighth Air Force pilot.However success came at a high cost in men and machines. Some of Righettis pilots resented him as a Johnny-come-lately intent on winning a sack of medals at their expense. But most lauded their spirited new commander and his sledgehammer audacity. Indeed he made his men most famous for loco busting as they put more than six hundred enemy locomotives out of commission170 in just two days!Ultimately Righettis calculated recklessness ran full speed into the odds. His aircraft was hit while strafing an enemy airfield only four days before the 55th flew its last mission. Almost farcically aggressive to the end he coaxed his crippled fighter through one more firing pass before making a successful crash landing. Immediately he radioed his men that he was fine and asked that they reassure his family. Righetti was never heard from again.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Ill See You When I Get BackI Now Have CancerHe Loved Flying More than Anything 7My Flying Has Been Pretty Good LatelyId Rather Fly than EatIm Really Enjoying This AllThe Chance of a Skunk Picking on a LionIm Going off to War Now MomHave My Own Squadron NowEveryone Looks So WellWe Try Not to Hit the CrewTonite This Lad is a Tired GuyIt All Happened Pretty FastJerry Went Out of ControlSeems Like an Excellent Break for MeI Hit the DeckIm Pretty Much TiredDont Be a FoolOne More PassYour Little Daughter is Sure Getting CuterI Felt BadEpilogueAuthors CommentsAcknowledgementsNotesBibliographyIndex
language: English
title: Vanished Hero: The Life, War and Mysterious Disappearance of America's WWII Strafing King
publisher: Casemate