Marcus Nannini - Midnight Flight to Nuremberg: The Capture of the Nazi Who Put Adolf Hitler Into Power

MIDNIGHT FLIGHT TO

NUREMBERG

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, that the Act entitled An act for making further and more effectual provision for the national defense, and other purposes, approved June 3, 1916, as amended, be, and the same is hereby, amended so that the Air Service referred to in that Act and all subsequent Acts of Congress shall be known as the Air Corps.

Public Law 69-446, 2 July 1926

From the author of Left for Dead at Nijmegen , 2019 Nonfiction Book of the Year.

We found the narrative compelling. Julie Huggins, Smithsonian Books

MIDNIGHT FLIGHT TO NUREMBERG

The Capture of the Nazi who put Adolf Hitler into Power

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

Air World

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Marcus A. Nannini, 2021

ISBN 978 1 52679 273 0

eISBN 978 1 52679 274 7

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52679 274 7

The right of Marcus A. Nannini to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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These are the World War II experiences of C-47 Pilot/Instructor, First Lieutenant Harry E. Watson Jr., a veteran of twenty-seven combat missions, recipient of three Air Medals, and seven Battle Stars. Conversations and speeches have been recreated to the best of Harrys excellent memory.

Harrys wife Donna is my editors aunt and was the reason we drove from Phoenix, Arizona, to visit them at their California home. I was mildly aware Harry was a World War II veteran. It didnt take long for us to hit it off. After all, I was writing World War II stories, and hed served in the war. We spent several long weekends with them at their home in Riverside, California, across two years.

Harry and I would sit together for hours on end while I took notes, and he relived his experiences, beginning as a child and continuing right through the war. I knew Harry and Donna were devout Christians, we went to their church with them, but Harry seldom went to a formal church service before the war. It was a subject he was hesitant to speak of. But my interview process is based on patience and establishing a close rapport with my interviewee as we develop a friendship.

In between visits, I researched Harrys story as I sought to verify myriad details. We spoke and emailed almost daily as I worked on the initial, full draft. Then wed drive to California for a long weekend when Harry and I would hammer out the various aspects of his story. As with all my previous interviews with World War II vets, the best details were the most elusive.

Eventually, Harry revealed hed been skeptical concerning the existence of a supreme being; that is, until the day of his initial solo flight. I worked through the sequences of that flight numerous times until he announced that what I had written had made him relive the experience as if it were happening again. Only after achieving such a degree of accuracy did he begin to feel comfortable enough to share some very private thoughts about his wartime experience.

In loving remembrance of my mother, Esther Pierina Paganelli Nannini Biagini And my dear friend, Captain Harry E. Watson

A special thank-you to my editor, Susanne C. Johnson, M.A.

First Lieutenant Harry Watson, eyes closed, his body sunk deep into his bunk at Greenham Common Airbase, England, was enjoying a slow start to what was scheduled as his first day off in a week. A copy of Stars and Stripes was propped on his knees, but his thoughts were drifting to a future life as the pilot of a Pan-Am clipper flying boat, soaring over the peaceful expanses of the Pacific Ocean. It was his childhood dream, a dream he never considered possible until the opportunity to join the U.S. Army Air Corps presented itself.

The day before, hed been flying under miserable weather conditions for hours on end while routinely intercepting radio traffic alerting him to the fact German fighter planes were sharing the sky with him. The enemy activity compounded the stress he was experiencing following a week of running supply missions, frequently in foul weather, and often landing in hastily mown fields.

It wasnt long before his respite was interrupted by the all too familiar sound of a Jeep grinding to a halt over loose gravel. He slowly sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bunk while simultaneously tossing the paper to the side. Harry was considering how he might intimidate some hapless young private he assumed was about to intrude upon him when, to his surprise, he heard his co-pilot, Al, calling to him.

Harry, are you in there? Harry recognized Als usually upbeat tone was missing and lost no time responding as he jumped to action and quickly scurried to the front of the tent.

Al, Im here, he said, while deftly slipping through the unfastened canvas flaps. He blinked his eyes a few times as he adjusted to the midday sun before returning his attention to Al. Whats the big deal?

Al appeared to be both annoyed and anxious as he explained Colonel Donalson wanted to see him, as-in right now, and it sure didnt sound like hes going to invite you to a dance party, so lets get a move-on!

Al paused a moment, tossed his cigarette onto the gravel, ground it with the toe of his right boot to make sure it was out, then removed a fresh cigarette from a pocket in his brown leather flight jacket and lit it. Harry recognized the behavior as indicating Al was worried. Truly worried because Al only smoked when he was nervous, anxious, or both, and ever since their unorthodox flight to Orly Airport in August, just the mention of Donalson was enough to put both men on edge.