SMAC355 The Navigator’s Letter

Today we have a special guest Jan Cress Dondi author of The Navigator’s Letter The Navigator’s Letter, a USA Today bestseller and WWII narrative nonfiction, follows the Ploesti campaign through the experiences of two B-24 navigators, John B. and Bob—Jan’s uncle and father—friends from the same small Illinois town whose lives unfolded in strikingly parallel ways.

Sponsor:

https://pilotcounsel.com/

Talking Points:

The discovery of 500-600 wartime letters

• Why Ploesti matters

• Operation Tidal Wave—audacious as planned; obstacles in execution

• The two navigators’ parallel journeys, their voices throughout the book

• Research and personal connection

• Operation Reunion—overlooked humanitarian mission, forgotten history

Links:

The Navigator’s Letter: The True Story of Two WWII Airmen, a Doomed Mission, and the Woman Who Bound Them Together