"Beyond the Call" by Lee Trimble

Completed on 6^th of December 2017. Rated with 4 stars.

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Review: 

Not a very well-known episode of the Second World War about the American Air Base in Poltava, Ukraine. 

It was provided to the US Army Air Forces in February 1944 and operated till June 1945. Its original purpose was to for shuttle bombing missions, however it was mainly used for recovery of the American planes that crash-landed in Poland, to be repaired in-situ and transported to Poltava for their return to service.

The story is based on memories of one of the Poltava airmen – Robert Trimble. Having finished his tour of duty as a bomber-pilot in Italy he was asked to serve in Poltava to help fly any damaged American planes found in Poland. Having experienced all the obstacles imposed by the Russian authorities and discovering the real situation in Poland, which turned out to be occupied by the Russians, he started helping all the discovered American and British pilots who went into hiding in Poland when they had been forced to land there, as the Russians often treated them as spies or at least as suspicious characters. 

He also helped a number of POWs who had escaped from the numerous German camps. His main help was to provide them with a train tickets to Odessa, where they were taken up by the British or American ships waiting there. 

He also got involved in helping 480 French women, who had been taken by the Germans, to return home. For this he got help from the Polish railway men and hired the separate train to pick the women in the forest. All those women were hiding from the Russians to avoid any further misery from their hands. All those activities were never properly recognised by the American government, and Robert Trimble’s promotion from captain to major never happened. The only recognition came from the French government for the rescue of the French women.

This is the only book I’ve come across that clearly spells out that Poland was sacrificed by the American and English. Having helped Stalin to overcome Hitler with their land-lease help they should have prevented him from gobbling up more than half of the Polish territory and installing the communist government for the next forty-five years.

It is a riveting read and thoroughly recommended. However, it appears that not all the facts provided there are fully explained, which may doubt the full veracity of the account, therefore four stars only.

Major Characters:

1. Jack Barnett - a Second Lieutenant of 384th Bomb Group. Crashed his plane near Rawa Ruska and was transported by Russians to Lvov, where he met Robert  Trimble.
2. Richard J Beadle - a Sergeant in Infantry division. POW and ex-inmate in Stalag III C near Kustrin. Moved to a refugee camp in Czarnkow
3. Donald Bridge - a lieutenant, pilot who left Mielec airport without Russian clearance, and been court-marshalled in Italy.
4. Deane - General in Moscow American Embassy
5. Leon Dolin - a second lieutenant, King’s defence council. He was a B-17 pilot, who had force-landed in Poland.
6. William Fitchen - Captain, an intelligence officer, staying unofficially in Poltava base.
7. Ronald Gould (The Buffs) - a British private, traveling to Odessa with Beadle.
8. Thomas K Hampton - Colonel, CO of Eastern Command in Poltava
9. Averell Harriman - the American Ambassador in Moscow.
10. Elbert Helton - Colonel, CO of the 493rd Bomb Group at Debach, UK.
11. Edmund W Hill - Major General, head of air division in the American Military Mission in Moscow.
12. Tyler E Jesse - Lieutenant, navigator in Poltava, flying to Poland with Trimble.
13. Myron King- a lieutenant who tried to smuggle a Pole to England, and was to be court marshalled in the American Embassy in Moscow.
14. Kingsbury - Lieutenant Colonel, official from American Embassy in Moscow and working on recovery of the US POWs. Assisting Wilmeth in Lublin. A surgeon.
15. Paul Kisil - a corporal assisting Wilmeth in Lublin. An interpreter.
16. S K Kovalev - Russian Major General, an overall commander of the Poltava base.
17. Mike Kowal - an American Major in Poltava, veteran bomber pilot.
18. Maiya - Russian interpreter, working with Trimble.
19. John Matles - First sergeant, linguistically gifted Romanian-born New Yorker, flying with Trimble to Poland.
20. Jim McNeish - a Scotsman, came across Trimble in Lvov.
21. Montgomery - a Scottish sergeant travelling with Beadle to Lvov.
22. Stan Neese - lieutenant, co-pilot of B-17 Flying Fortress crash landing at Staszow.
23. Planners - a Flying Officer of RAF, travelling with Beadle to Lvov.
24. Picarelli - Sergeant, chief mechanic from New York, flying with Trimble to Poland.
25. Roklikov - Russian pilot nominated to fly with Trimble to Poland.
26. Morris Shenderoff - a young American, whose family returned to Soviet Union. He tried to get back to America by getting help from Poltava airmen. Unfortunately, he got found out by the Russians, who demanded his return. He has been handed over and most likely shot soon after.
27. Arnold A Tillman -lieutenant, captain of B-17 Flying Fortress crash landing at Staszow.
28. Eleanor Trimble - Robert’s wife.
29. Ruth Trimble - Robert’s Mother.
30. Robert Trimble - Captain in 493rd Bomb Group, operating from
31. Robert Vergolina - Sergeant, got hold of Trimble in Lvov.
32. Vlasov - a Russian colonel of POW repatriation in Poland.
33. Wilmeth - Lieutenant Colonel nominated to work with POWs. Moved to Lublin.
34. John G Winant - the American ambassador in London.