"Stan Andrews begins life as Stan Anekstein, the son of Jewish immigrants in the Bronx. He loves drawing. He loves movies. He wants a wider life than the one he sees on his block. The authors show how this restless kid becomes a gifted pilot in the US Army Air Corps, flying more than forty combat missions in the Pacific during World War II."
"He attends UCLA, studies writing, picks up screenwriting dreams and circles Hollywood's orbit. He dates, debates and tries to leave his Jewishness in the background. Casual slurs and quiet exclusions chip away at that idea. The book, "Fighting Back: Stan Andrews and the Birth of the Israeli Air Force," does not rush this shift. It spends time with Stan in classrooms, coffee shops and parties where small remarks and closed doors start to matter more than he wants to admit."
"As news of the Holocaust and the struggle over Palestine grows more pressing, Stan's life tilts again. Friends talk about a Jewish state fighting for survival. Volunteers whisper about flying for the Haganah. The authors make this recruiting effort vivid. There are late-night conversations, coded phone calls and the sense that ordinary days in Los Angeles no longer match the stakes of the moment. Stan finally decides that his flying skills matter more in a war zone than in a lecture hall."
Stan Andrews, born Stan Anekstein in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants, develops artistic interests and a desire for a broader life. He becomes a gifted pilot in the US Army Air Corps and flies over forty combat missions in the Pacific during World War II. After the war he studies writing at UCLA, pursues screenwriting ambitions, and encounters casual slurs and exclusions that challenge assimilation. Rising awareness of the Holocaust and the conflict over Palestine prompts conversations about a Jewish state and covert recruitment. Stan secretly travels through Europe to Czechoslovakia to train on rebuilt Messerschmitts with foreign volunteers before entering combat.
#world-war-ii-aviation #jewish-identity-and-assimilation #israeli-air-force-formation #volunteer-pilots
Read at Miami Herald
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]