Lightning Sky : A U.S. Fighter Pilot Captured During WWII and His Father's Quest to Find Him

A U.S. fighter pilot captured by the enemy. A father determined to rescue his son. One of the most remarkable and moving true stories of faith and perseverance to come out of World War II. October 6, 1944. Twenty-year-old Army Air Corps Second Lieutenant David "Mac" Warren MacArthur was on a strafing mission over Greece when a round of 88-mm German anti-aircraft flak turned his P-38 Lightning into a comet of fire and smoke. Dave parachuted to safety as the Lightning lived up to her name and struck the Adriatic Sea like a bolt of flames. In minutes, he was plucked from the water--only to find himself on the wrong end of a German rifle pointing straight at his head. Dave's father, Lieutenant Colonel Vaughn MacArthur, was a chaplain with the 8th Armored Division of Patton's Third Army when he learned of his son's capture. He made it his personal mission to find him. For the duration of the war, as Dave was shuttled from camp to camp--including Dachau--his father never stopped searching. Then in May 1945, Vaughn's last hope was Stalag VII-A in Moosburg, Germany. Through the barbed wire fence, he cried out his son's name. Incredibly, out of tens of thousands of POWs, one of them, squinting into the sunlight, turned and smiled. Father and son spent the next two weeks together celebrating, a forever cherished memory. Over the next twenty-five years, Dave would go on to honor his father on rescue missions of his own, becoming a highly decorated and genuine American war hero. In both Korea and Vietnam, Dave would carry with him the legacy of a great man who gave everything to save his son. An inspiring, harrowing, and unforgettable chronicle of love of family and love of country, Lightning Sky is a timeless testament to extraordinary lives in extraordinary times. Foreword by Marcus Brotheron -- A note to readers -- Part 1 / 1. One-man war -- 2. Keep 'em flying! -- 3. Hatbox Field -- 4. The north pole -- 5. On wings of eagles -- 6. The crack-up -- 7. Blitzkrieg -- 8. Thundering herd -- Part II / 9. The fork-tailed devil -- 10. Strafing Salonika -- 11. "For you, the war is over" -- 12. No use playing possum -- 13. Smokey Joe -- 14. Sabotage -- 15. "Heil Joe Stalin!" -- 16. Red Tails -- 17. The flying toolshed -- 18. "Lieutenant David W. MacArthur, 0-714466" -- 19. The great escape -- 20. The continent -- 21. Death march -- 22. Stalag VII-A -- 23. The search -- 24. Stars and stripes -- Part III / 25. Meatloaf and apple pie -- 26. Home -- 27. Bugout -- Afterword: Ace for the enemy -- Endnotes -- Acknowledgments.;A U.S. fighter pilot captured by the enemy. A father determined to rescue his son. One of the most remarkable and moving true stories of faith and perseverance to come out of World War II. On October 6, 1944, twenty-year-old Army Air Corps Second Lieutenant David "Mac" Warren MacArthur was on a strafing mission over Greece when his P-38 Lightning was struck over the Adriatic Sea. Captured by the Germans, he spent the duration of the war shuttled from camp to camp. Meanwhile, his father, Lieutenant Colonel Vaughn MacArthur, a chaplain with the 8th Armored Division of Patton's Third Army, never stopped searching for his son. In May, 1945 he finally found him at Stalag VII-A in Moosburg, Germany--Adapted from jacket flap. A U.S. fighter pilot captured by the enemy. A father determined to rescue his son. One of the most remarkable and moving true stories of faith and perseverance to come out of World War II. October 6, 1944. Twenty-year-old Army Air Corps second Lieutenant Colonel David "Mac" Warren MacArthur was on a strafing mission over Greece when a round of 88-mm German anti-aircraft shells turned his P-38 into a comet of fire and smoke. Mac parachuted to safety as the Lightning lived up to her name and struck the Adriatic Sea like a bolt of flames. In minutes, he was plucked from the water—only to find himself on the wrong end of a German rifle pointing straight at his head. Mac's father, Lt. Col. Vaughn MacArthur, was a chaplain with the 8th Armored Division of Patton's Army when he learned of his son's capture. He made it his personal mission to find him. For the duration of the war, as Mac was shuttled from camp to camp—including...