Friday, November 3, 2017

ANGELS IN THE SKY : HOW A BAND OF VOLUNTEER AIRMEN SAVED THE NEW STATE OF ISRAEL
by Robert Gandt 

Very close to midnight, on November 29, 1947, the people of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were dancing in the streets and absolutely delirious. David Ben-Gurion was not. He knew in no time there would be problems ahead. The reason for the jubilation was that the United Nations had voted to partition Palestine into two states: Arab and Jewish. The oppressive rule of Great Britain would cease and the occupying forces would leave in May 1948. This is what worried Ben-Gurion. The five Arab countries that surrounded Israel were heavily fortified militarily. Israel's defense force (the Haganah) could not possibly compete with the Arab strength. They had no army, no air force, and no big ally to support them. One week after the resolution, President Truman ordered an embargo on arms being shipped to Israel. (He had originally supported having a Jewish state, but his own State Department was anti-Israel.) Great Britain and most of the countries in Europe followed suit. Ben-Gurion knew that what was needed most for Israel to survive was aircraft. 
Volunteer airmen from the United States, Canada, Britain, France, and South Africa signed up. Most of them had flown in World War II. They were idealistic, brave, and extremely courageous. Some of them were Jewish, but many were not. It was a small group who were fearless. They risked everything for Israel, flying, fighting, and dying. Because of what these airmen did, they helped save Israel.
Angels in the Sky is another one of those untold stories that nobody has ever heard about. Luckily for us, author Robert Gandt stepped in. He knows plenty about the military and aviation having already written other books on these subjects. If you enjoy reading about combat flying, this is the book for you. It's truly a terrific story. Hats off to to these selfless, heroic men.
Highly recommended.