Mission Thirteen: The Real-Life WWII Adventure We Need to Know About

How Little I Knew About How the War Actually Worked

I like history, but I am not a World War II buff and know only the basics of the war. Of course, I knew about Hitler's encroachment on France, Poland, Belgium, and his horrendous slaughter of millions of Jews, Gypsies, and any other group that didn't fit into his crazed vision of a master race. I had read about the codebreakers, both men and women, who were drawn into the War by Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor. I understood and admired the Resistance movements in various countries, the hiding of Jewish refugees, the network of forgers who risked their lives to craft papers, and the movement of children under the protection of false names and new religions.

But there was SOOOO much about the war I had never really even thought about. I knew nothing about military operations. I didn't have the foggiest idea of how American pilots and their crews were chosen and trained. What were the different aircraft like? (Truthfully, I had NO knowledge of the configuration of a B-24 bomber and hadn't even wondered about it!) How many missions were pilots expected to fly, and what were their odds of survival? What instructions were the air crews given in case of being captured?

Reading Melanie Tolliver's Mission Thirteen: A Common Man's Courage in Evading the Germans During WWII spoon-fed me, in delicious, bite-sized morsels, astounding facts about the war while telling the real story of one B-24 bomber crew that was shot down, fell to different locations, suffering different fates. Her father-in-law, Herb Tolliver, was one of that ten-member crew.

The Impetus of the Book

Melanie Tolliver, the author of Mission Thirteen, often wondered about her sweet-natured, quiet father-in-law, Herb Tolliver and his war experience. He NEVER talked about it. It wasn't until many, many years later when Herb made an off-handed comment that she began taking notes whenever he said anything about his past. When one of the grandkids had to do a history project, Herb agreed to answer his questions about the war. He couldn't have known that, after he was gone, his daughter-in-law would begin an eight-year quest to fill in the gaps of his story so his family would know about his experiences during the war.

What she found was that Herb had an amazing story, one that was only made possible by the remarkable bravery of total strangers, everyday people who risked - and some who gave - their lives to save downed American airmen.

Herb Tolliver's story is of Mission Thirteen, the unlucky-numbered mission which ended with his B-24 being shot down over Belgium. Some of his crew were picked up by the Germans, and some of the luckier ones were rescued and sheltered by various escape and evasion lines of the Belgian Resistance. These strangers willingly gave their food and risked everything to save downed airmen, believing that these fliers were essential to winning the war and liberating Belgium from the Nazis.

Mission Thirteen: An Easy Primer on World War II

I learned so much about the details of war and the way the military works by reading this book!

The book is structured with the first section being "The Backdrop." Fact by fact, we learn about how and where crews were trained. (Not knowing much about the military, then or now, I was amazed by the many, many training camps and airfields that existed around the country.) You learn the shocking figures of the number of people killed each day and the massive loss of life throughout the course of the war. If you didn't know how the Air Force divided its troops into manageable units, you'll know within the first fifteen pages. The status of the United States forces, how the troops were transported, and the dedication of Resistance lines are all facts you'll absorb quickly in "The Backdrop" section of Mission Thirteen.

Because the information is written in a simple narrative, it's easy to process. Best of all, all the details and facts given in the first part of the book are essential to the story of Herb Tolliver and his crewmates that unfolds in the second half of the book.

Six sons from Benham, Kentucky

Herb Tolliver was one of six sons in a family of nine children growing up in Benham, Kentucky. His dad worked for a subsidiary of International Harvester in this Appalachian town specifically founded to be a coal mining enterprise with the coal being used to produce steel for International Harvester.

Herb Tolliver tried to enlist immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but he was told to go home and eat bananas because he wasn't heavy enough. After eating five or six pounds of bananas, Herb tried to enlist again, but was rejected because of a hemorrhoid. The strict entrance requirements to enlist didn't last, and Herb was drafted shortly after when the US Army began overlooking minor medical issues.

He was the first of five Tolliver sons to leave to serve his country. At one point, five of the six boys served in the U.S. Armed Forces simultaneously. The only son who didn't serve was the oldest boy, and he wanted to, but was turned away because of a hearing problem. The youngest son joined as soon as he was able, but it was toward the end of the War. He left home for his stint before his other four brothers came home from the war.

Most of the war, four Tolliver boys served simultaneously in three different branches of service.

Five Tolliver Sons Served

I tried to find out how many American families had four or five sons serving simultaneously during the war, but no database for such figures exists. However, the most prominent example of five sons serving is the tragic story of the FIVE Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa. All five were in the Navy, and all five were killed in the Battle of Guadalcanal when their ship, the USS Juneau, was torpedoed by the Japanese in 1942.

In case you're wondering...

No, the movie Saving Private Ryan was NOT based on the tragedy of the Sullivan Brothers, but on the Niland Brothers. However, because of the simultaneous death of all five Sullivan boys, the military enacted the "Sole Survivor" policy that allowed a sole surviving child to request separation from the military if the family had suffered another death. It is this policy that is the basis for Saving Private Ryan, often cited as one of the best war movies ever because of its realism.

U.S. Airmen and Belgian Bravery

Would you risk your life to help someone else? I've always wondered if I would have hidden a Jewish refugee during Hitler's reign, or if I would have helped the escape and evasion lines of Resistance fighters. Would I have that kind of courage? I hope so, but there's no way of knowing.

One of the most moving aspects of Mission Thirteen: A Common Man's Courage Evading the Germans in WWII is the example of the bravery of the Belgians. Time after time, they rescued American and English airmen who had been shot down. They had dozens of places survivors were shuttled to. False papers, clothes to disguise Americans - (a real problem since most were so much taller than the average Belgian male), and medical care were all provided at great risk, with sometimes deadly consequences.

Herb Tolliver, and other members of his B-24 crew, survived only because of these brave Belgian citizens. It's a tale of sacrifice, loss, daring, and courage. It's an adventure we need to know about. Belgians were brave, and the servicemen they risked their lives for were also brave in a quiet, patient, test-your-endurance way, as Mission Thirteen demonstrates.

Not only did the Belgians rescue soldiers during the war, but many citizens and historians today help researchers find people and places that were important to the airmen they aided. Melanie Tolliver, the author of Mission Thirteen, was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the relatives of some of the original Escape and Evasion line volunteers who helped her find the actual homes where Herb Tolliver was hidden eighty years ago.

With the passage of time...

Eighty years is a long time. It would be easy to forget the massive loss of life, the sacrifices of strangers who helped others to survive, and the chaos of the world during a war that enveloped much of the globe.

Books like Mission Thirteen are important because they help us understand events that seem far away. They remind us of the courage of common men and women fighting for the good of others. To acknowledge that, despite pain, loss, and evil, there is still goodness in people.

Mission Thirteen was written because the author wanted her kids and grandkids to understand the duty their grandfather performed as a gunner in a B-24 during WWII, an important legacy similar to one thousands of other men in their prime performed during the 1940s.

Such quiet heroism creates a ripple effect. My favorite part of the book is page 163. Forty-six of Herb Tolliver's descendants smile from the page, proof that the bravery of Herb and the Belgians who saved him, dramatically - and positively - affected the future.

Full Disclosure:

The author, Melanie Tolliver, is my sister! We came from parents who loved learning, and who passed that love of history, reading, and writing down to us. I am so proud of Melanie's meticulous research, storytelling ability, and her desire to keep the legacy of bravery - both of her father-in-law and of the Belgian people who sheltered him - alive.

We must never forget!

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