Episode #14: The Unbelievable WWII Story You’ve Never Heard (Book: “Coffin Corner Boys”)

Learn the amazing story of Capt. George W. Starks – one bomber, ten men, and their harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied France, in our interview with Carole Engle Avriett, who is co-author of the newly released book: Coffin Corner Boys: One Bomber, Ten Men, and Their Harrowing Escape from Nazi-Occupied France.

SHOW NOTES

• 1:54 What even is a “coffin corner”?
• 4:27 Carole tells us how Capt. Starks and his crew were shot down over Germany – and how they parachuted without any previous experience, only videos and blackboard instructions!
• 11:00 Hear the remarkable story of how brave villagers French people sheltered Capt. Starks and helped him escape from under the noses of the Germans!
• 16:45 Learn how one of her husband’s fishing trips hooked Carole on the Coffin Corner Boys story!
• 18:58 Capt. Starks didn’t just escape Nazi-occupied France. 25 years later, he went back to France and found the people who helped save his life – including the very villagers who sheltered him that day he got shot down.
• 23:06 What can we today learn from Capt. Starks’ story?

OUR GUEST AUTHOR

Carole Avriett is an author of five other books, where her work sits at the intersection of true-life narratives and military history.  She was also an editor of Southern Living Magazine for 15 years.

BOOK OVERVIEW – Coffin Corner Boys

As a young band of brothers flies over German-occupied France, they come under heavy fire. Their B-17 is shot down and the airmen―stumbling through fields and villages―scatter across Europe. Some struggled to flee for safety. Others were captured immediately and imprisoned. Now, for the first time, their incredible story of grit, survival, and reunion is told.

RESOURCES

• Pick up your own copy of Coffin Corner Boys HERE!
• Read about Carole Engle Avriett HERE!

ENDORSEMENTS

Bill Frederick, former Mayor of Orlando, says:

“…readers will catch a glimpse into first-hand accounts of what very young men did in serving our country at a time when the world was at war – and how brave people abroad responded to their mission.  You will be inspired and engrossed at every turn of the page of this remarkable book.”

IF YOU LIKED THIS EPISODE…

…check these out!

• Episode #2: Major Scott Huesing and the Battle of Ramadi
• Episode #12: John Wilkes Booth and the Women Who Loved Him
• Episode #20: Vicksburg: The Real Turning Point of the Civil War 

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Tags: Carole Engle Avriett, Coffin Corner Boys, George W. Starks, World War II, WWII