'Lightning Down' tells a story of survival

"Lightning Down" is a World War II story of survival.

There was a quiet American farm boy, named Joe Moser who fell in love with the P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft. He was a boy from the Northwest, born in Ferndale, Washington, a town of just 750 people that is about 85 miles north of Seattle.

He joined the Army Air Corps and became a pilot of the double fuselage P-38 plane. He yearned for combat, but most of his missions were to destroy vehicles, bridges, etc. On his 44th mission to France he was the flight leader, but flew into a trap and was hit by flak, and his engine was on fire and he had to bail out.

He landed in an open field, there were some French farmers there, who tried to get him to the woods, but the Germans got there first, captured Joe and shot and killed the two young Frenchman.

At this time, the Allies were advancing, Hitler ordered Paris destroyed, but the German commander, Dietrich von Choltitz, refused to do it.

Joe was then put on a train (actually the last German train out of Paris) and taken to Buchenwald, a German concentration camp. He and the other Allied airmen were treated just as bad as the prisoners in the camp. Very little food, etc.

They were destined to be shot and killed in a week, but a famous German pilot came to the camp and saw how they were treated, he went to Herman Goering, also a pilot, and told him pilots shouldn't be treated this way. About two days prior to their execution, the German  pilot had success and they were moved to Stalag Luft 111, a prison for pilots. Here they were treated better.

Eventually, the American Army came, broke into the camp and freed them. He eventually, got back  home, had a world experience but now was only 23 years old. He had been reported "missing in action," so his family had thought he was dead, but his mother held out hope, as mothers do.

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and business owner in Priest River.