Flyboys: A True Story of Courage

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Flyboys: A True Story of Courage is a non-fiction book by writer James Bradley, and a national bestseller. This book details a World War II incident over the Pacific island of Chichi-jima, one of the Ogasawara Islands (Bonin Islands). Additionally, it analyzes the rise of the airplane, and the various cruelties and war crimes of both the Japanese and American armies.

As U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima some 150 miles away, U.S. warplanes bombed the small communications outpost on Chichi Jima. While Iwo Jima had Japanese forces numbering 22,000, Chichi Jima's forces numbered 25,000. Additionally, Iwo Jima has flat areas suitable for a naval invasion, while Chichi Jima's geography included hilly terrains and unsuitable coasts. According to one Marine (who Bradley does not identify), "Iwo was heck. Chichi would have been impossible." Assumedly, it is because of this that U.S. pilots, known as "Flyboys", were needed to neutralize Chichi's defenses.

Nine crewmen survived after being shot down in the raid. One was picked up by the American submarine USS Finback. His name was Lieutenant George H. W. Bush, who later went to become the forty-first President of the United States. The others were captured by the Japanese and were executed and partially eaten as POWs, a fact that remained hidden until much later.