This is an I-Heart podcast.

And we return to our American stories.

Up next, a story from Steve Snyder, author of a fantastic book, Jot Down, the true story of pilot Howard Snyder, and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth.

Today, Steve shares with us a story of survival, determination, and America's efforts to beat back Nazi Germany from the skies.

Let's get into the story. Here's Steve.

Being a combat crewman in the 8th Air Force was the most hazardous, dangerous duty assignment in the United States military during World War II.

26,000 men were killed. That's more than the entire Marine Corps fighting in the Pacific.

And another 28,000 men became prisoners of war after their bombers were knocked out of the sky by either German fighters or anti-aircraft fire.

And it was dangerous from the time they took off to the time they landed. Back then, there was no

air traffic control. There was no radar. Usually the weather was socked in, and it was all based on

visual sight, so you couldn't see anything until you got above the cloud layer.

So mid-air collisions were not uncommon on trying to form up.

And then they had to face the elements.

These planes weren't pressurized back then, so above 10,000 feet you'd have to go on oxygen

or else you'd pass out in a couple of minutes and could die.

Plus, it was so cold at the altitudes they were flying.

It was minus 40 to 60 degrees below zero, so frostbite was a huge problem.

Then when they got close to the target, they would run into anti-aircraft fire, or flak.

Flack was the German, abbreviation for the German word for aircraft defense cannon.

And even when they made it back to England, they faced many dangers. Again, the weather could be

lousy and overcast and socked in, and they couldn't even find their bases. You could have planes

that had crewmen that had been killed or seriously injured men who needed

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