Berlin to the Gulf of Mexico

About the Book

: “BERLIN TO THE GULF OF MEXICO; POW 5518 REMEMBERS” author James J. Crooke, Jr. On his third combat mission over Germany as a B-17 Navigator the formation of bombers exploded sending four of the air crewmen to their deaths. The author and four other air crewmen parachuted to quick captivity some 20 miles from Berlin. J. Earle Bowden, Editor Emeritus The Pensacola News Journal in his column January 27, 2007 succinctly describes the author’s first book: “His lean narrative provides the mirror through which we see the many whose youth was cut short and their war transformed to cruel isolation, while others fought to liberate Europe. His memoir is a clearly articulated lesson for other generations.” Bowden continues: “With these revelations, Crooke hopes others will never know the hard lessons of his generation. As the years have passed, Crooke has obviously deepened his appreciation for all the old familiar places that were and will never be again.”

About the Author

Born in Pensacola, Florida on April 11, 1921, James J. Crooke, Jr. attended public schools thorugh High School and graduated from Pensacola High School in 1939. Military experience began in 1938 at Fort Barrancas in Pensacola with the Citizens Military Training camp, Coastal Artillery. As a freshman at the University of Florida in 1940, Crooke began his studies in the School of Architecture, further military experiences in the ROTC, field artillery included horse drawn and motorized artillery for two years while at the University. In June 1942, Crooke joined the Army Air Corps as a cadet in pilot training. After washing out of pilot training, Crooke received the wings of a Navigator/Observer at Selman Filed, Monroe, LA in the spring of 1944. Assigned to a Flying Fortress B-17 crew in Alexandria, LA, weeks of day and night training missions prepared the crew for combat. Mid summer of 1944 the crew flew solo across the North Atlantic Ocean to join the 303rd bomb group in Molesworth, England. On a bombing mission to Brux, Czechoslovakia September 12, 1944 German fighter planes shot Crooke’s B-17 down. Three crewmen and the pilot died in the exploding fortress. Crooke, the Co-Pilot and three crew members parachuted to captivity by the Germans. Entering a POW camp in Barth, Germany in late September, Crooke was liberated by Russian Soldiers in May, 1945. In January, 1946 Crooke returned to the University of Florida to graduate as an Architect in 1950. After forty plus years practice as an Architect, Crooke retired and now resides in Walton County, Florida enjoiying life on a Horse Farm.