Doorknob Five-Two

[gregv]

I bought this book on ebay years ago and was surprised that it came from the author, complete with two signed glossy b&w 8X10 prints. After reading it I was suspicious of some of the content, but it was a decent read, although perhaps a little heavy on the anti-semetism angle.

In my humble opinion the author should have just labelled it "adventure fiction based on some of my experiences in WWII" and left it at that. He could have written a series of them, similar to what Sven Hassle and many others did in the seventies, back when that genre of WWII fiction was in vogue. He would have had a successful little run of books. Heck, I would have read them all.

cheers

greg v.

[SaxMan]

I don't remember any Jewish guys in my AF training or Guard duty; but then I probably would not have identified them as seperate. However I would not be to quick to dismiss that part of Kohn's story....

I honestly don't know what happened on the ground, although other accounts from other squadrons ranging from Europe to the Pacific never mention the depth of anti-Semetism Kohn/Arnold claims. But, even assuming that it was there on the ground, the thought that pilots would take personal feelings into the air and allow a fellow pilot to be shot down based on those feelings is absurd. From what I've read about fighter-to-fighter combat, things move pretty quickly. How one pilot could identify one P-38 from another in a split second, realize that was a guy he didn't like, and then overcome the basic fighter pilot's instinct to clear a squadron mate's tail is simply beyond any kind of logic.

While it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, a good contrast to this story is in Tom Blackburn's "The Jolly Rogers". Blackburn readily admits that when he first met Lem Cooke, he didn't like him personally and assigned him to wing slots. However, Blackburn quickly came to recognize Cooke's flying and leadership skills. While they were never close on the ground, in the air they worked as a team.

...and Jack, thank you for the information on the rebuttal.

It is a shame that he had to exaggerate the record, because his service was honorable. Whether one got one kill, no kills or 20 kills, history has recognized that all those who served honorably were heroes.

[Jack Cook]

A postscript on Lt Art Franke the accused anti-semite. He scored 3 kills including 2 109s both off other P-38s in a big dogfight on June 5, 1943 but was shot down and killed by a third. He received the DFC posthumisly along with the Purple Heart and 6 Air Medals. My opinion at depicting a KIA has evil in your fake book is not printable.

[Randy Haskin]

What is it about a guy being awarded a medal, or shooting down another airplane, or being KIA, that makes him somehow "more equal"?

Portraying someone as something they are not, especially after that person is dead and unable to defend themselves, is foul. There's nothing about a military pilot who is decorated that makes this any more applicable...

[Bill Greenwood]

Author Kohn, or is it Con, had an airshow booth, perhaps Madera or Reno and I spoke to him and bought the book. I thought it was entertaining reading, but had some doubt if the 109 story was totally accurate. There are other stories of some act of chivalry in combat. I know I wasn't drawn to his personality, and I think I gave the book away a few years ago. One thing I particularly wondered about, was it possible to even talk air to air between a P-38 and the 109 in those days? As previous guys have posted, if he had simply labled it historic based fiction, there would have likely been no problem.