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FROM THE PUBLISHER:
The incredible true story of John "Lucky" Luckadoo, who survived 25 missions as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot in WWII.

When Second Lieutenant John “Lucky” Luckadoo—a wide-eyed 21-year-old assigned to the Eighth Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group—arrived in England, “Axis Sally,” an American broadcaster employed by Nazi Germany to disseminate propaganda during World War II, welcomed his squadron by name.

“This isn’t your war,” she told them. “You don’t have any business being here, but as long as you’re here we’re going to teach you a lesson.” And they did.

Kevin Maurer’s Damn Lucky tells the true story of “Lucky” Luckadoo who flew some of the deadliest missions of World War II during the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history. Lucky served with the 100th Bomber Group during the early days of the bombing of France and Germany from England. His story starts with his quest to join the Royal Air Force with his best friend before the war, through 25 missions in combat over Germany to the one mission—a raid over Bremen—where Luckadoo felt like his luck had run out.

The statistical chances for a heavy Bomber crew in Europe to be lost on a mission were 1-in-10. At a 25-mission tour of duty, statistically, once a flyer made it to 10 missions they were literally on borrowed time. Anyone who served a full tour and survived was remarkably lucky.

Drawn from Lucky’s firsthand accounts, acclaimed war correspondent and bestselling author Kevin Maurer delves into this extraordinary tale, uncovering astonishing accounts of bravery during an epic clash in the skies over Nazi Germany.

The memoirs of Second Lieutenant John “Lucky” Luckadoo are brought to live in the book, "Damn Lucky" by Kevin Maurer. Set in the beginning of WW II in the U.S. and our entry into the European war after being attached at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, this traces a young man's hopes, desires, fears as well as hi formidable spirit.

The book outlines his desire to join the Air Corp first in Canada and his parents refusing before the US actually entered the War to his time when we were in the think of the fighting. His best friend was allowed by his parents to go to Canada and he joined as a fighter pilot. Lucky wanted to be a pilot more than anything and this memoir traces his journey form almost washing our of flight school to bis being assigned to the multi-engine B-17 Super Fortress.

The job of the B-17 pilots was to conduct daytime raids when the German Luftwaffe was at its strongest in the early 1940s and just waiting for a chance to shoot down these large lumbering beasts who could rain destruction onto the Nazi territory,

The memoirs trace Lucky's hopes and fears...much as any young man might have being shoved into service in a war where he actually volunteered.

The book is well written and definitely has the feel of an war adventure novel. When the reader realizes that this is not a cardboard cut-out but a real human who has his hopes, fears, desires, it becomes much more real. Having to complete 25 bombing missions is needed before rotating back to the US is difficult as losses of life or capture by the Germans is much more likely than success. Near misses and luck is with Lucky and he survives.

A good read for those interested in World War II and how "boys" were forced to become men overnight and fight for the way of life of us in the United States. It is especially good for those of us who only had fathers, uncles, and brothers who may have fought since we were born after the war. It gives us some insight into this war that we, at least I, was missing. There are some good history lessons here including why the term 12 o'clock high was a feared position.for fighters.

The Greatest Generation really seems to have been made out of different stuff. There were parts of this memoir that had me clenching my teeth. I've read a lot of books and accounts of WW2, including ones centered around the air defenses. I have never read a firsthand account of a pilot before. Harrowing is not an adequate word. Whether books or movies, I try to put myself in the place of the storyteller and imagine how I would feel in the same position. I have no idea how to begin to wrap my brain about what they faced every day. The prospect of war and being shot at is bad enough, but when you take all of that and put yourself tens of thousands of feet in the air in an airplane that is not pressurized or insulated or really adequately protected against the threat... I have no idea how anyone could mentally survive 25 missions.. or 30. Forget about being drafted. I could not imagine volunteering for something like that. I'm grateful that they did because I also cannot fathom a world where the Nazis won, but I cannot really envision myself in their shoes.

The Afterword was probably one of the best parts of the book. To read Lucky's own take was incredible and also heartbreaking. After just reading everything he had volunteered to go through to defeat fascism, and then know he is spending his final years with the knowledge that America has forgotten who she is and spiraling toward yet another pointless war is just... indescribable. I agree with his sentiments about the futility of war. I wish there was a way to turn it around.

Wow. Just, wow! This is one man’s story of what he did during World War II.John “Lucky” Luckadoo survived a tour of 25 B-17 missions with the 100th Bomb Group, nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth because so many were killed, captured, or wounded.
Air combat was untested, with many decisions that were irrational. For example, many 100th copilots were switched to pilots because they were better than the pilots. They were replaced on their crews by flight schools grads who had no training on the B-17. In Lucky’s case, he was resented by the rest of the crew and harassed by his fellow officers when they should have been a cohesive team. The pilot did nothing. This same aircraft commander delayed his crew’s departure to England because he was being treated for gonorrhea after sleeping around.
Curtis LeMay was determined to bomb Berlin, and ordered the 100th to do it alone. Lucky’s squadron commander cowardly ordered Lucky to lead the suicide mission. Fortunately, weather forced a recall.
The men were told they’d be killed, so just accept it and get on with it. What the Greatest Generation accomplished is amazing. Equally harrowing is Lucky’s belief that the freedoms bought by the Greatest Generation are now being squandered away.
Highly recommended. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Pretty riveting true story of one man's experiences in the Army Air Corps during WWII. This is not an overarching history but more of a glorified, expanded memoir (told in the 3rd person, except for one distracting paragraph). If you enjoy the period and adventure stories, this one is for you! I feel like I've read plenty of naval aviator histories, so Luckadoo's experiences with the "Flying Fortress" were new territory.

When I first encountered "Damn Lucky" by Kevin Maurer, provided to me in the form of an ARC by St. Martin's Press, I was somewhat taken aback because I have read extensively in this type of literature with very mixed results. However, I had expressed a willingness to read it, and my interest in the subject matter kept me going long enough to allow for a complete reading. The book traces the story of a young airman in the Army Air Corps during World War II from his training as a pilot to his eventual assignment to the Eighth Air Force in the European campaign against the Third Reich. The pilot in question, named John Luckadoo (predictably known as Lucky), dreamed of flying in fighters but eventually found himself as a copilot and then a lead pilot in a B-17 Flying Fortress. The most fascinating feature of the narrative, apart from the wealth of detail involving flight operations of these formidable aircraft in combat against the Luftwaffe, turned out to be the development of a hardened warrior from an idealistic and untried young man in the cauldron of horrific combat. Initially, Lucky thought of the war in terms of abstractions and the propaganda that was pervasive at the time, but as his experience mounted, he came to understand both his own nature and the true nature of the task he had trained for. He grew stoic and more than a little pessimistic about his mission and the underlying ethos of airpower as it was used in WWII. Nonetheless, like most of the the young men around him, he doggedly persevered in performing what he perceived as his duty even as he grew skeptical of both the weapons and doctrines that animated the Army Air Corps (and would persist to this day to some extent). Needless to say, his skepticism towards the doctrine of Strategic Bombing comes through loud and clear, and his character, by the end of his tour of duty, had been shaped by his experiences and his innate intelligence. For me, this was the most interesting part of the narrative.
In Maurer's capable hands, the tale comes alive, and one leaves it saddened for the very human cost of war to those who do their duty in spite of their misgivings.

A truly inspirational book about one mans struggle to survive the bombing campaign against Germany in WW2. The first hand accounts of the missions and the crew members struggles was deeply moving and really held my attention. A must read book.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martins Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.