Hell’s Angels: The True Story of the 303rd Bomb Group in World War II by Jay A. Stout is a revealing insight into the lives of the pilots in the air force at the time of the United States’ entry into WWII. The book primarily concerns itself with telling the history and activity of the 303rd bomb group, providing a detailed description of events and personnel in chronological order starting at the group’s inception. Stout wrote the book because he was a pilot himself and because he wanted to show the conditions pilots had to go through during WWII and the impact they had on the war. He chose the 303rd bomb group specifically because he felt it had the most impact on the European theatre of WWI.
Using a mixture of first person biographical descriptions …show more content…
Eisenhower’s strategy to use the 303rd to pave a path for the D-Day invasion of Normandy proved effective, as the “German Air Force offered no meaningful resistance whatsoever” (Stout, 255). Had it not been for the missions run by the 303rd and other bombing groups in the air force, the Allies may not have secured such a strong footing in Europe. However, Stout also makes the point that most of the men within the 303rd didn’t realize the importance of their missions, and felt a sense of monotony in their tasks. It’s at parts like these that make Stout’s inclusion of personal accounts and biographical stories really shine, as it shows that there were indeed humans with emotions and disagreements about what an official document might merely say was a successful mission. Simply providing an encyclopedic account of the history and success of the 303rd would make the novel uninteresting, so the addition of biographical information and first-person segments focusing on different individuals help to make the novel feel more personal. It helps to make the novel feel more like a real story , thus making it a more entertaining and interesting read.
This principle also goes the other way as well. Only including personal information very likely will not give the full picture. The inclusion of factual information and official reports provides not only the “what” but also the “why” with regards to the actions and conditions
Using a mixture of first person biographical descriptions …show more content…
Eisenhower’s strategy to use the 303rd to pave a path for the D-Day invasion of Normandy proved effective, as the “German Air Force offered no meaningful resistance whatsoever” (Stout, 255). Had it not been for the missions run by the 303rd and other bombing groups in the air force, the Allies may not have secured such a strong footing in Europe. However, Stout also makes the point that most of the men within the 303rd didn’t realize the importance of their missions, and felt a sense of monotony in their tasks. It’s at parts like these that make Stout’s inclusion of personal accounts and biographical stories really shine, as it shows that there were indeed humans with emotions and disagreements about what an official document might merely say was a successful mission. Simply providing an encyclopedic account of the history and success of the 303rd would make the novel uninteresting, so the addition of biographical information and first-person segments focusing on different individuals help to make the novel feel more personal. It helps to make the novel feel more like a real story , thus making it a more entertaining and interesting read.
This principle also goes the other way as well. Only including personal information very likely will not give the full picture. The inclusion of factual information and official reports provides not only the “what” but also the “why” with regards to the actions and conditions