red randall
by r. sidney bowen

Red Randall was in Hawaii on that fateful morning of December 7, 1941, when the Japanese struck their treacherous blow. The son of an Army Air Force Colonel, Red was determined to be an Army pilot himself. But, when the war came, he was thrown into a series of exciting events that permitted him to serve his country much sooner than he had hoped.

Red Randall and his buddy Jimmy Joyce have completed their flight training and been assigned to a base in Darwin, Australia. They're looking forward to getting some revenge against the Japanese for Pearl Harbor, but there's not much excitement at the moment. Until suddenly there is!

The young pilots distinguish themselves in the combat, and are picked for a special secret mission. It seems Douglas MacArthur needs new planes and pilots to hold the Phillippines against the Japanese invaders. Surprisingly, our heroes botch their mission and are captured by the Imperial forces. Can they free themselves in time to save the day?

Red and his side-kick, Jimmy Joyce, who had acted heroically at Pearl Harbor, are sent on a perilous secret mission to contact a United States Intelligence Agent working in Japan. The agent has information vital to the American forces in the Pacific. The action takes the two heroes from Australia to the coast of China, where they meet up with General Chan, the head of a group of Chinese Guerrillas fighting the Japanese. Through a clever trap, the two Americans are captured by the Japanese and imprisoned. How they escape and complete their mission is at the core of their adventure. Plenty of aerial combat in this book ... some of the escapades are hair-raising.

An urgent summons for Red Randall and Jimmy Joyce to report to Air Forces Headquarters in Melbourne, an exciting secret flight over the Pacific, climaxed by their being temporarily attached to the U.S. Carrier Falcon is only the beginning of a story full of the gripping adventure of dogfights, bombings and sea battles into which the two sensational air heroes of Pearl Harbor and Tokyo carry their war wings with miracles of daring and accomplishment.

How they hunt out a Japanese task force steaming toward Midway behind a protective weather front and pull off a daring singlehanded raid: how their courage and ingenuity sames them from death as the hands of a Japanese naval officer; and how their amazing escape with enemy plans turns the tide at the battle of Midway make intensely exciting reading.

Readers who thrilled to the breath-taking exploits of Red Randall over Tokyo and in the Battle of Midway will find in this new story a further record of his indomitable fighting spirit and spectacular flying skill.

How Red and his flying pal, Jimmy Joyce, are shot down over New Guinea and captured by headhunters; how they make their way down a jungle river through Jap-infested territory to reach an outpost held by the renowned Australian, Major "Wild Willie" Wilkins; and finally how, against enormous odds, they help "Wild Willie" and his Raiders pull off a daring attack on a secret Jap airfield, make an electrifying story of incredible bravery and extraordinary.

When Red Randall volunteers for a special duty in the Aleutians he wants action -- and he's not disappointed! Here in the Aleutians where visibility is zero, where williwaws rage, and where jagged mountain peaks are blanketed in fog, Red and his flying pal, Jimmy Joyce, have some of the most harrowing experiences of their careers. For not only are the Japs their dangerous enemies, but the elements,too, are a constant challenge to their flying skill and courage.

How they hunt out a Jap task force moving stealthily through the fog toward Dutch Harbor, and how they rescue the crew of a Catalina flying boat stranded on one of the fogbound islands, make a thrilling story charged with high-voltage suspense and swift tense action

Red Randall and Jimmy Joyce are en route to Calcutta to join the Twelfth Air force when Jap dive bombers swoop down out of the sky and send Transport 58 to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Adrift on a life raft, the two Yank air aces cling to the hope that they will be rescued. They are "rescued" ... by a Jap submarine!

In their dank little cell aboard the submarine they find another airman -- an R.A.F. officer -- more dead than alive. the story of his escape from Burma in a Jap plane, and of the plight of Allied men trapped there behind the enemy's lines, fires Red and Jimmy with a grim determination to finish the work he had set out to do. How, through a strange twist of fate, Red and Jimmy escape and carry to a daring finish the R.A.F. officer's incompleted mission makes a high-powered story of flying and adventure in World War II.

On the eve of the impending Allied invasion of the Philippines, Red Randall and his pal Jimmy Joyce must fly into Japanese-held Luzon to rescue a guerrilla officer who has vital information critical to the Allies' plans. After some difficulty, they find the officer and Jimmy flies him back to their carrier. Meanwhile Red, staying behind, launches a murderous attack on a Japanese prison camp, mercilessly slaughtering "Japs" by the score and liberating 150 POWs! Red learns the invasion has been successful, due in no small part to his and Jimmy's action.

Cover Scan Courtesy of Roberta Walsh.