Contains a detailed memoir concerning Summers's induction, flight training, and combat. On his first transfer attempt to Europe, his airplane suffered major mechanical problems and his crew was forced to ditch in the Atlantic ocean. Includes newspaper articles and sketches related to this crash landing and the crew's subsequent rescue by a passing convoy. Discusses his bombing missions, as part of a B-17 Liberator Bomber crew, in the European theater, with great detail paid to descriptions of enemy resistance (fighters and flak). Describes an early mission over Hamburg, Germany in which his airplane was shot down and the crew was captured by German soldiers. Majority of memoir spent detailing life in the German prison camps (the bulk of his time was spent in Stalag 3). Describes the treatment received by German guards, transfers, usually by rail, from one camp to another, living conditions (food rations, Red Cross packages, bartering, heating, recreation, sanitation), interrogations, escape attempts, medical care, and his eventual liberation at the hands of the U.S. Army. Photographs show Summers in full military dress, with his flight crew, with a training airplane, and on the ship that rescued his marooned crew. Also shown is Summers's wife. Contains sketches showing the approximate damage done to his B-17 prior to its crash over Hamburg.
