It was Feb. 15, 1945, and the 25-year-old U.S. Army Air Forces bomber pilot had just arrived for duty at Poltava Air Base, Ukraine. It was one of three bases in Soviet territory where the U.S. military was allowed to operate during World War II, and Trimble accepted orders there believing it would be a relatively risk-free mission flying out aircraft that had crashed and been repaired.
Checking in with the commanding officer of the small U.S. contingent at Poltava, Trimble asked, "Where are these planes that they want ferried back to Italy and England?"
That's when Col. Thomas Hampton dropped the bombshell, informing Trimble that flying planes out was only a ruse to deceive the Russians. His real business at Poltava was a top-secret mission, working with counterintelligence agents to find recently liberated American POWs and help them get home. The mission would eventually expand to include POWs from other allied nations as well as death camp refugees.
more: http://www.stripes.com/news/special...ission-to-save-hundreds-from-soviets-1.339135
Checking in with the commanding officer of the small U.S. contingent at Poltava, Trimble asked, "Where are these planes that they want ferried back to Italy and England?"
That's when Col. Thomas Hampton dropped the bombshell, informing Trimble that flying planes out was only a ruse to deceive the Russians. His real business at Poltava was a top-secret mission, working with counterintelligence agents to find recently liberated American POWs and help them get home. The mission would eventually expand to include POWs from other allied nations as well as death camp refugees.
more: http://www.stripes.com/news/special...ission-to-save-hundreds-from-soviets-1.339135
