Crisis Hunter: The Last Flight of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr

Book excerpt: After two tours of duty in war-weary England, Joe Kennedy Jr, brother of the future President John F. Kennedy, had flown enough combat missions to make him eligible to return home, his war over. Instead, Joe volunteered to stay in England, taking on even greater risk to pilot a dangerous mission to target Hitler's devastating V-bombing campaign, however the flight went badly wrong and the plane exploded shortly after takeoff. The crew's bodies were never found. The word hero is often overused, but in Joe Jr's case it is entirely justified. In this short book, Paul Elgood recounts the wartime events and journeys to the site of the tragedy today.