{"product_id":"into-the-inferno-the-story-of-a-b-17-gunner-over-nazi-occupied-europe-9781636245584","title":"Into the Inferno: The Story of a B-17 Gunner Over Nazi-Occupied Europe","description":"\u003cb\u003eBert Ibelle and Fran Brighenti share their contrasting war experiences, navigating friendship and personal challenges.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe temperature was 40 degrees below zero when fighter planes screamed out of the clouds, puncturing the fuselage with a spray of machinegun fire and sending the bomber beside them into a death spin. This was followed by intense flak, as a hundred cannons on the ground tried to blow them out of the sky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen they finally made it back to the base, another enemy awaited them: homesickness, crushing boredom, relentless cold, and more mud than they could imagine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBert Ibelle was a 19-year-old freshman at Dartmouth College when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps to fly dozens of bomber missions over Nazi-occupied Europe and win the Purple Heart. His buddy, Fran Brighenti, served as an infantry marksman on the opposite side of the globe, slogging through the steaming jungles of the Philippine and the fiery hell of Okinawa.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTheir wars couldn't have been more different, nor could their approach to life. While the ever-exuberant Fran was a ladies man, Bert only had eyes for \"Red,\" the girl back home who was in love with another young man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is their story--one that combines terror, humor, friendship, and a son's search for his elusive father.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Casemate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/15\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781636245584\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192","brand":"Bill Ibelle","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45187138126005,"sku":"9781636245584","price":28.01,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_8978d3ce-7f8a-437e-b838-a6101613ae38.jpg?v=1742271285","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/into-the-inferno-the-story-of-a-b-17-gunner-over-nazi-occupied-europe-9781636245584","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}