MISSING

This is a gripping read that seamlessly intertwines the historical backdrop of WWII with a deeply heartfelt personal story. It truly captures the complexities of the war era. What truly sets this book apart is its poignant exploration of the human experience, as Evans delves into themes of loss, resilience, and the enduring power of hope and faith. His book inspired me in many, many ways, as well as, enhancing my knowledge and understanding of events.

Missing tells the incredibly moving World War 2 story of Donald Evans. Don was a P-47 Pilot who was shot down on Day 9 of the Battle of the Bulge. The book chronicles his World War 2 experiences, including how his marraige to his wife Laura Jeanne was tested and strengthened by the uncertainty of war. It also tells of his deep friendships with four fellow P-47 pilots.
I’m giving Missing a five star review for five reasons. First, it’s a great World War 2 story. The story is inspiring, uplifting, and endlessly meaningful. I especially like that it’s a story about ordinary people, a story that has been in the shadows but has been brought to light through this book. Second, Missing is meticulously researched. The primary source material the author had to work with is incredibly vast—over 650 letters written by the main characters, beautifully written personal histories, sharp photographs, scrapbooks, and detailed war records. These primary source materials, coupled with the author’s meticulous research, allow for the reader to get inside the story. You feel you are walking along with the main characters. Third, the book is very well written and I personally like the style of writing. It’s authentic, real, and readable. There’s no sloppy writing or exaggeration—the writing is real and the author clearly worked hard to achieve a high level of writing quality. Fourth, I fell in love with the main characters. The book allows the reader to truly get to know these characters, and they are people who lived strong and noble values and lived lives of goodness. Fifth, I love that that author spent an entire decade researching and writing the book. That is an amazing level of dedication and commitment and reflects a genuine desire to tell this important story as well as possible. When I finished the book, it was an incredibly moving experience for me. I heard once that nonfiction helps us learn, and fiction helps us grow. This nonfiction book, accurately told, provides the reader with both a learning and growing experience. You learn what it was like to train and fly as a WW2 pilot and you learn a lot about the Battle of the Bulge. But you also grow as you read about the sacrifices made by the book’s characters. I will also add that the last 150 pages are gripping. I read this final part in one sitting and couldn’t put the book down. A wonderful book that I highly recommend.

This WWII book doesn’t skimp details, an excellent description of what is what like for Don to go through his many experiences. Love the historical detail too.

Very well written. An emotional roller coaster as you experience the horrors of war. And the emotional tole of loved ones left behind.

Initially I was not enthusiastic about this book. I had hoped to learn about the exploits of a fighter pilot. This story doesn’t go deep into flying. It traces the experience of one fighter pilot. Incidently, the author is writing about his father. Don Evans starts out seemingly as the ‘all -American’ boy who excels at everything, especially at sports, in high school and meets a beautiful cheer – leader in his school, then ends up learning to fly and is sent to England. It was at this point when I first started to see what the book is about. Evans is a clean-living truly decent person who went to war for all the right reasons- fulfilling his duty for the free world. His colleagues in the squadron were similar. They didn’t want to be there but the call of duty was too strong. Then Evans was shot down and captured. His captors were hardened soldiers don’t see their enemy as people and treated them as expendable. We see the effects of this horrible attitude on Evans as the story unfolds. By the end of the book, I developed a very high respect for Evans and his colleagues who may have been representative of a large proportion of American soldiers who served in WW2. Although the story winds down soon after Evans return to his young bride, it’s clear that his war experience had a major impact on the rest of his life. PTSD is a common diagnosis in soldiers.
The author did a superb job. For me the book was primarily a story of the effect of the war experience on a good (young) man. But, the author also did something usually not done in this type of book. He provided background histories for each of the war experiences his father participated in. For example, he described the Battle of the Bulge in detail so we could see exactly what role Evans played in this battle. We learned about the roles of Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley and Montgomery. And he also gave us the background on the POW camps that housed the air force POWs.
I highly recommend this book for a personal experience of what it was like to be a P-47 pilot in WW2. Don Evans was a hero- we are all fortunate that he and others like him served on our side in WW2!