The Last Best Hope!

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Has anyone seen the new PBS production called "The Last Best Hope"? It is the story of a 56th group pilot who was shot down in Belgium in 1943 and hidden by the underground. His son toook him back to Belgium and after 60 years they visited with the people of the underground who hid him from the Gestapo. They explain the different escape trails like Comet and Eva and how they were exposed by traitors. They also unearthed remains of his P-47 that crashed when he hit a telephone pole while straffing a train.

I recommend this one highly!

[GrumpE]

Agree. It was VERY well done. I wonder how many more AC are buried like his P-47 around Europe. Amazing it was never at least scrapped.

Eric

[Zachary]

Who was the pilot featured in the documentary? Do you happen to remember?

Thanks,
Zack

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Bill Grosvenor was the pilot and his son David was the producer of the piece.

[oscardeuce]

So, what happened to the pieces of the P-47?

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

So, what happened to the pieces of the P-47?

They didn't say. They just showed Billl with the gunswitch and they showed the engine being pulled out of the trench the dug. Apparently there was quite a fire when it crashed .

[wendovertom]

Yes - I saw it too - really well done and it was cool that they were able to find actual "home movies" of Mr Grosvner when he was in England. Very well done.

Didn't I see them pull out guns as well from the dig?

Tom P.

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Yes, there was one shot tha looked like, two guns still attached to each other.


The were about 5 feet in length and severly corroded with mud everywhere.