The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain Book

The title of this book really has two meanings......first, the Few refers to the RAF in the Battle of Britain as mentioned in one of Churchill's most famous speeches; second, it also refers to the "few" Americans who came to England while the United States was still neutral, to fly and fight with their English brother airmen in the RAF. We seldom hear of those original seven Americans who risked their citizenship to join the fight against the Nazis. And what a group they were, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in bob sledding; a 4'10" fellow who needed a pillow to reach the Spitfire instruments; the son of White Russian immigrants; and just plain Joes. (Only one of these pilots survived the war.) The author uses excerpts from logbooks, diaries, and letters to flesh out the characters of these men. He also provides the stories of the German Luftwaffe aces, especially Galland and Molder who ruled the skies over the Channel, at least for a while. It is a wonderful book which tells of the heroics of those men who felt that they must come to the aid of England in her darkest hour.
The final sentence in the book pretty much tells it all. In Sussex, on the gravestone of RAF Pilot Officer Billy Fiske, the first American pilot to die in the Battle of Britain, the following words are inscribed for all to see.
AN AMERICAN CITIZEN WHO DIED THAT ENGLAND MIGHT LIVE.