Book Review: Down in Flames by Ray Parker
Book Review
by
Janice L. Semmel
Down in Flames by Ray Parker
From the day Ray Parker retrieved the Teletype news bulletin announcing the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, his life changed as he decided at the age of 18 to forego college and his staff job at the Los Angeles Examiner to volunteer with the Army Air Corps.
In his memoir, “Down in Flames,” the 85-year-old author makes the reader part of his experiences from the day he decides to volunteer through his wartime exploits. He interjects humorous stories into the book along with heartbreaking stories of friends lost and relates the camaraderie and family spirit among his fellow airmen and prisoners of war.
Parker’s vivid descriptions of the planes, equipment and terrain paint a picture for the reader and accurately record this moment in history. In addition to his vivid descriptions, Parker includes over 40 black and white photographs throughout the book of himself, his fellow airmen, planes they flew and related wartime images. These descriptions and photographs enhance the reader’s understanding of what happened during the war and how those involved felt.
On their first bombing mission on Dec. 22, 1943, Parker writes their plane flew at an altitude of 24,000 feet where temperatures inside the plane reached 50 degrees below zero. The crew wore oxygen masks with electrically heated gloves, boots and flying suits to survive the extreme temperatures.
The Germans shot down many aircraft, and Parker describes the feelings of fear and anxiety that went along with the constant bombing raids they performed and the loss of fellow airmen and friends. In the Epilogue, he writes he and fellow veterans unknowingly suffered for years from post-traumatic stress disorder because of these experiences, and unlike him, some veterans never got treatment for the disorder.
After losing his original crew and on his first mission with a new crew, Parker’s luck ran out, and the Germans shoot down his plane. Parker spends the rest of the war in a German prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft I, on the Baltic Coast. He documents the journey to the camp and the treatment prisoners received and the many obstacles they overcame to stay alive until the end of the war.
As a former apprentice reporter, Parker became the editor and publisher of the secret daily newspaper the Prisoners of War Waiting on Winning or POW-WOW. The intricate setup the prisoners of war institute to obtain information and get it to Parker for publication and distribution showed their ingenuity, determination and genius.
An excellent writer and a true American hero, Parker puts together a riveting memoir suitable for all to read and enjoy.
