Beyond the Call: The True Story of One World War II Pilot's Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front

Written by Lee Trimble and Jeremy Dronfield

Narrated by Donald Corren

Near the end of World War II, thousands of Allied ex-POWs were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front. With no food, shelter, or supplies, they were an army of dying men. The Red Army had pushed the Nazis out of Russia. As they advanced across Poland, the prison camps of the Third Reich were discovered and liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans. The United States repeatedly offered to help recover their POWs, but were refused. With relations between the allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield; it would provide the base and the cover for the operation. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble. With little covert training, already scarred by the trials of combat, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and a determination to do some good in a terrible war. Alone he faced up to the terrifying Soviet secret police, saving hundreds of lives. At the same time he battled to come to terms with the trauma of war and find his own way home to his wife and child. One ordinary man. One extraordinary mission. A thousand lives at stake. This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow men home to safety and freedom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490656113

Reviews for Beyond the Call

[paul9the9well9read · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This true story of the behind the lines heroism of an Air Force Captain called to an unfamiliar and highly dangerous duty made for a good read. This historical fiction accounting of the strained relationship between the US and the USSR demonstrates exactly what it was that made us so different from the Soviets: respect for life.
I found the book interesting, engaging, enlightening and an altogether good read.

[kcshankd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a powerful story that only came to light because of a son's persistent questions towards the end of the father's life. The Russian's disdain of their own, though well known, is always shocking.

[numeric-4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you only ever read one book on WW2 - read this one. This book should be a film. The bravery of one man Captain Robert Trimble has been immortalised by his son in the incredible read. Read it - you won't want to put it down.

[jose3pires · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As the Red Army advanced across Poland in 1945, thousands of freed Allied POWs – viewed by the Soviets as cowards or potential spies – were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front.In total secrecy, the OSS – wartime forerunner to the CIA – conceived an undercover mission to rescue them. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran Eighth Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble.With little covert training, Trimble survived by wit, courage, and a determination to do some good in a terrible war. Alone, he faced up to the terrifying Soviet secret police and saved hundreds of lives, fighting his own battle against the trauma of war while finding his way home to his wife and child.Based on hours of testimony from his father, Beyond the Call is written by Trimble’s son and by British historian Jeremy Dronfield. It is a filmic, inspiring story of a hitherto unknown true hero.

[stbalbach_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beyond The Call concerns an aspect of WWII that is not well known. In the final months of the war, an American airbase was established in Ukraine(!) from which technicians would travel to Poland and Ukraine to salvage downed American airplanes and rescue pilots who had ditched while on bombing runs from bases in England. Reasonable enough, but some of these salvage crews were acting as covert operatives under the auspices of the OSS, their mission to rescue thousands of American POWs freed from German prison camps who had been left by the Soviets to wonder around Eastern Europe without food or shelter. Now, it doesn't make sense the Soviets would mistreat their allies former POWs, but they did for reasons explained in the book. And it doesn't make sense that American covert operatives were traveling around Russia during the war rescuing other Americans on the run from KGB, but there it was. It foreshadowed the Cold War and growing hostility between the USSR and the west. This is a first hand account that reads like a thriller with one foot in WWII and the other in the Cold War.