Read Online The Secret Rescue by Cate Lineberry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cate Lineberry
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Albania after the war. Meanwhile the Germans were launching the first of several antipartisan operations in what would become known as the Winter Offensive. The Americans of the 807th didn’t know it yet, but they were not only trapped behind Nazi lines, they were also caught in the middle of a civil war.
As the Americans tried to recall anything they knew about Albania, Baggs asked Gina and the other partisans if they were friends of Draža Mihailović, the leader of a resistance group battling the Germans in Yugoslavia. Though Mihailović was fighting the Germans, he was also fighting the communist-dominated partisans in Yugoslavia, Gina’s brothers-in-arms. Gina frowned in disapproval at the question and turned away to speak to his men. When he addressed the Americans once again, he responded sternly that the partisans were not friends with Mihailović, and if they thought the Americans were they would shoot them.
The severe reply shocked the Americans, who were still trying to take in the surreal scene before them. Just that morning they had been at headquarters in Catania, and now they were in the hands of Gina and his battle-hardened men who could easily kill them without anyone ever knowing their fate. Though they knew they were hardly the first military personnel to be stranded in enemy territory, the gravity of their situation was becoming apparent.
Gina, who had a habit of adding “my dear” to all of his statements regardless of whom he addressed, further revealed to the men and women that he and his men had been preparing to shoot down their plane with a machine gun they had in the woods until they saw a white star painted on the fuselage. Gina thought the white star might be a symbol used on American planes, as he’d seen in newspapers and magazines, and had ordered his men not to shoot.
The Americans later learned that Gina had learned English at the prestigious Albanian Vocational School, which, for many years, had been run by American Harry T. Fultz and was often referred to as the Fultz School. When the American Junior Red Cross founded it in 1921, Albania had only two secondary schools, neither of which offered technical or vocational courses. The Albanian Vocational School and other schools, however, were later nationalized to diminish foreign influence on the country, but by then Fultz’s school had produced more than one hundred and fifty graduates, including Gina, who were versed in some English.
Though everything Gina had said unnerved them, the Americans recognized that the partisans may have information they could use, and they asked Gina about the last airfield they had flown over. He confirmed it was in German hands and agreed that the Germans might come looking for them, and they should leave the area immediately. He and his men offered to lead them to a village about two hours away where they would take care of them while they decided what to do next. Though the Americans had no idea if they could trust them, they had few options. The pilots and the others surmised that their best chance of finding some shelter, some food, and maybe a way out in the unfamiliar terrain stood with these strangers.
As they prepared to leave, Thrasher yelled to Lebo, the radio operator, to turn off the IFF. Lebo walked to the back of the plane and activated a charge that set off a small explosion and destroyed the classified equipment that sent coded signals.
Thrasher then called to the copilot, who was in the cockpit turning off switches. “Hey, Baggs, hurry it up!” With their nerves already frayed, some of the nurses still in the plane, who, like the rest of the passengers, were unaware of the flight crew’s names, thought Thrasher was referring to them. After a few indignant moments, they realized their mistake and prepared to leave, grabbing their personal gear and exiting by the passenger door.
The rest of the medical personnel grabbed their musette and medical bags from the plane. All but three
As the Americans tried to recall anything they knew about Albania, Baggs asked Gina and the other partisans if they were friends of Draža Mihailović, the leader of a resistance group battling the Germans in Yugoslavia. Though Mihailović was fighting the Germans, he was also fighting the communist-dominated partisans in Yugoslavia, Gina’s brothers-in-arms. Gina frowned in disapproval at the question and turned away to speak to his men. When he addressed the Americans once again, he responded sternly that the partisans were not friends with Mihailović, and if they thought the Americans were they would shoot them.
The severe reply shocked the Americans, who were still trying to take in the surreal scene before them. Just that morning they had been at headquarters in Catania, and now they were in the hands of Gina and his battle-hardened men who could easily kill them without anyone ever knowing their fate. Though they knew they were hardly the first military personnel to be stranded in enemy territory, the gravity of their situation was becoming apparent.
Gina, who had a habit of adding “my dear” to all of his statements regardless of whom he addressed, further revealed to the men and women that he and his men had been preparing to shoot down their plane with a machine gun they had in the woods until they saw a white star painted on the fuselage. Gina thought the white star might be a symbol used on American planes, as he’d seen in newspapers and magazines, and had ordered his men not to shoot.
The Americans later learned that Gina had learned English at the prestigious Albanian Vocational School, which, for many years, had been run by American Harry T. Fultz and was often referred to as the Fultz School. When the American Junior Red Cross founded it in 1921, Albania had only two secondary schools, neither of which offered technical or vocational courses. The Albanian Vocational School and other schools, however, were later nationalized to diminish foreign influence on the country, but by then Fultz’s school had produced more than one hundred and fifty graduates, including Gina, who were versed in some English.
Though everything Gina had said unnerved them, the Americans recognized that the partisans may have information they could use, and they asked Gina about the last airfield they had flown over. He confirmed it was in German hands and agreed that the Germans might come looking for them, and they should leave the area immediately. He and his men offered to lead them to a village about two hours away where they would take care of them while they decided what to do next. Though the Americans had no idea if they could trust them, they had few options. The pilots and the others surmised that their best chance of finding some shelter, some food, and maybe a way out in the unfamiliar terrain stood with these strangers.
As they prepared to leave, Thrasher yelled to Lebo, the radio operator, to turn off the IFF. Lebo walked to the back of the plane and activated a charge that set off a small explosion and destroyed the classified equipment that sent coded signals.
Thrasher then called to the copilot, who was in the cockpit turning off switches. “Hey, Baggs, hurry it up!” With their nerves already frayed, some of the nurses still in the plane, who, like the rest of the passengers, were unaware of the flight crew’s names, thought Thrasher was referring to them. After a few indignant moments, they realized their mistake and prepared to leave, grabbing their personal gear and exiting by the passenger door.
The rest of the medical personnel grabbed their musette and medical bags from the plane. All but three
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