Coffin corner boys : one bomber, ten men, and their harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied France / Carole Engle Avriett with George W. Starks ; foreword by E.G. "Buck" Shuler, Jr.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-261) and index.

Part I. Beginnings. Reconnecting: the "search" trip -- Beginning at sixteen -- Only one jump--ever -- Part II. The crew and first days down. A whistle signal -- Betrayed by the gendarmes -- "Are you Hebrew?" -- Cognac and eggs -- Meeting up with buddies -- Meeting in a shack -- A casket and a bicycle -- Part III. The helpers and the enemy. Processing in Frankfurt am Main -- Living with the Videls -- "Get the hell out of here" -- Sitting around a French fireplace -- An engineer's home, a dress shop, and a root cellar -- A squeaky wheel -- Life in Stalag Luft III -- 11, Rue de Saussaies, Gestapo Headquarters, Paris -- Fresnes Prison, Paris -- Dulag Luft and the Forty-and-Eights -- Stalag Luft IV, deeper into Germany -- Angels watching over -- Troop train and a brave man -- The captain -- "Frisco" -- The theater and the stress of POW camp -- One more day -- Steaming clothes on a stove -- The chief of police and Giselle -- A train full of Germans -- Maurice Baverel, a spy for all seasons -- Dr. Charlin and the five-horsepower Peugeot -- Part IV. The final push out. Worsening conditions -- The black death march -- A small miracle -- Swiss surprise -- Enough of Switzerland -- Rowboat ride at midnight -- Part V. Going home. George Starks and the Green Hornet -- Irv Baum and Ted Badder -- Dick Morse -- Bill Wyatt with Don Edgerly and Bob Williams -- Andy Brenden with Wally Trinder -- Dale Beery and William Wallace -- Part VI. Finding old friends. Reconnecting, 1969 -- On to Pontarlier -- The Boillots and Dr. Charlin -- Back with Mike, 1970 -- More visits with friends -- Reunion with the crew -- Epilogue: one more time to France.

As a young band of brothers flies over German-occupied France, they come under heavy fire. Their B-17 is shot down and the airmen--stumbling through fields and villages--scatter across Europe. Some struggled to flee for safety. Others were captured immediately and imprisoned. Now, for the first time, their incredible story of grit, survival, and reunion is told.