Tailspin by John Armbruster

World War II tail gunner Gene Moran fell four miles through the sky without a parachute and lived. Captured by the Germans, he survived a harrowing eighteen months as a prisoner of war, including a six-hundred-mile death march in 1945 across Central Europe.

When Gene returned home, he kept those memories locked up for nearly seventy years. His nine children knew little of their dad's war story. But when John, a young history teacher, learns of Gene's amazing fall, he's desperate to learn more. Finally, Gene agrees.

So begins a series of Thursdays with Gene interviews. Gene, nearing his ninetieth birthday, recounts incredible tales. But John has no idea what wounds he's reopening. Gene's nightmares and grief return. But both men persevere, bonded by their close and growing friendship.

As the interviews go on, John faces an ordeal of his own. His wife is fighting brain cancer. What will happen to his wife and his two young children? John must continue uncovering Gene's story of survival as he himself confronts the greatest trial of his life.

Tailspin is more than a war story. It's a story of two men's separate journeys confronting trauma and loss. It's a story of resilience and hope.

My Verdict

This one was intriguing for me. Gene Moran was a World War II soldier from Wisconsin. He was living a peaceful life in Wisconsin after surviving the unbelievable. Even his own children didn't know the story. Enter John Armbruster, a local high school teacher and history buff. It seems unlikely that this would turn into a great book. To hear John tell it, which I did at a local reading, he never thought he could do Gene's story justice. He did just that though. This is an incredible story that John was able to draw out of Gene after all those years. And that story comes alive on the page. I'm so glad I checked this one out. I give this book 4.5 stars.