"Indelibly burned into the memories of the men who were there, Jack Gordon's gripping story of the fliers of the China-Burma-India Theater vividly recaptures the experience of the 27th Troop Carrier Squadron. Here is preserved how it was to fly through monsoon and Japanese action to drop supplies to Wingate's Chindits in the Burmese jungle, to support the Chinese Nationalists opening the Burma Road in mountainous Yunnan Province, to cross the treacherous, uncharted skies of the Hump in their C-47s. For everyone -- children, grandchildren, the young and the old -- this is a new kind of history of WWII. With authentic photos, this is a crystal-clear picture of part of the American experience in Southeast Asia. Wings over Burma and the Himalayas is a living portrayal of the emotions and times of a generation." --Book jacket.
Jack Gordon, as a 19 year old, enlisted in the Canadian armed forces in 1940. After training in Canada as a navigator-bombardier, he served in Wellington night torpedo bombers in RAF 203 Squadron. He was transferred to the United States Air Force in India in March 1944 and was assigned to the 27th Troop Carrier squadron at Sylhet,Assam. At the completion of his missions in Burma and China, he was awarded the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross. He arrived home in April 1945.