Summary of The Forgotten 500

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. The Forgotten 500 is the astonishing, long-hidden account of one of World War II’s greatest rescues—a mission so daring and improbable that it reads like fiction, yet remained classified for decades. In the summer of 1944, as American bombers struck the oil fields of Romania, many were torn from the skies by relentless German fire. Hundreds of airmen fell into Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, scattered across rugged mountains and hostile terrain. Their chances of survival seemed slim, but against all odds, they found unlikely allies in Serbian peasants and villagers who chose compassion over safety. These ordinary farmers risked everything—feeding, clothing, and hiding the Americans—while German patrols prowled nearby. As the numbers of stranded airmen grew, so too did the urgency for a rescue. Out of this desperation, Operation Halyard was born. Conceived in secrecy, it called for the impossible: the Americans and their Serbian protectors would carve a landing strip out of the earth, long enough for C-47 transport planes, using only hand tools, sweat, and sheer determination. Every step carried danger. The Germans could discover them at any moment, and the villagers faced certain death if caught aiding the enemy. Yet side by side, hungry airmen and impoverished farmers transformed fields into runways under the cover of night. When the day came, American cargo planes braved enemy skies to land in this hidden haven, gathering the stranded fliers and lifting them to safety. Against staggering odds, not one soldier was left behind, and not one rescue plane was lost. More than five hundred men were spirited away from behind enemy lines in what became the largest rescue of downed airmen in the entire war.