Betrayed Valor

Book excerpt: The little known story of the largest rescue mission of World War II…Based on the testimony of hundreds of American Airmen comes a story of bravery, betrayal, and hope… By the summer of 1943, Hitler had ruthlessly occupied most of Europe. Determined to stop him, the Allies are stepping up their attacks on the Romanian Ploesti Oil Fields. For Lieutenant’s O’Donnell and Petrovich of the 15th Air Force, this flight was just one mission closer to ending this God forsaken war. However, when the Nazis attack, tragedy strikes and nothing is ever the same again. Back at the Allied base in Italy, Lieutenant Petrovich refuses to believe that O’Donnell is dead. Fighting his way through a merciless web of deception and governmental red tape, he is desperate to convince the Royal Air Force to approve a seek and find mission. Convinced that a mission would be suicide, they refuse. Stranded in Yugoslavia and unsure of what awaits him, O’Donnell is taken on a journey for miles through the mountains, hills and forests of Serbia. When he arrives, he is shocked at what he finds. Unsure of anything anymore, O’Donnell tries to survive behind enemy lines and finds himself fighting for a cause that he never thought would be his. Surrounded by tens of thousands of Nazis, an evacuation seems impossible and O’Donnell’s time is quickly running out. Based on actual events and one of the best kept secrets of US history, Betrayed Valor tells the story of one of the largest and most daring rescue missions of World War II-Operation Halyard.