Recounting Tale of Unlikely World War II Mission

By Joan Baum

The dynamic duo of Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is back with their new collaboration, “Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission,” their fifth book together and Mr. Clavin’s nineteenth effort. The title refers to the jerry-built Fortress B 17 that was assembled and flown by maverick air man Captain Jay Zeamer and his hand-picked “ragtag oufit” for a mission that would prove central in “the annals of The United States Air Force.” Notwithstanding Midway in 1942, Captain Zeamer’s “crew of misfits” a year later, on June 16th, managed to pull off a reconnaissance flight that revisionist historians believe was “the turning point of the Pacific War.” So how is it that this extraordinary event of derring-do escaped notice until now?

For one, working together Mr. Drury and Mr. Clavin always been attracted to tales of action, tough conditions and a lost way of life – certainly true of their best-selling “The Heart of Everything That Is,” another “untold” story about the powerful Sioux Warrior, Red Cloud. Set in World War II, “Lucky 666” describes a time gone by, when individual heroism was still possible, when “eager beaver” guys down the line bucked the higher ups and when good and bad were absolutely discernible. Hitler was bad, Pearl Harbor was bad. Outnumbered, sacrificial Americans defending allies abroad was good. So, when a chance reference to Jay Zeamer appeared in an email from a WW II marine the authors had written about in a previous book, they knew they had found their next heroic subject. As to why no one really knew about Old 666, Mr. Clavin says that “Jay always kept a low profile,” and, besides, “a reconnaissance mission is never as sexy as combat on the ground or dropping bombs.” Another reason, however, may have to do with the prominence of the European theater. Germany was the villain before Japan. The European nations in jeopardy were closer allies than Australia and New Zealand.

Named for the last three numerals in the Fortress’s full designation—B-17E 41-2666—Old 666, as the boys called her, was “lucky” because it had seen action before that June and always returned, though damaged. It was more than “luck,” however, that guided Captain Zeamer and his best friend bombardier Joe Sarnoski to attempt what others saw as a 1,200 mile solo suicide mission. Jay was an unusual character, a happy but go-your-own way, do-it-yourself child whose leadership skills soon emerged in the Boy Scouts, then Eagle Scouts and then as a star cadet in Army Flying School in Illinois. Once in the war, he straddled the line between “glory and insubordination,” seeking similar qualities in others. Together their band of “Eager Beavers” would “Zeamerize” the dilapidated Fortress, taking and guarding spare parts from the base’s junkyard. The authors acknowledge Jay’s rebellious nature, but they clearly admire his courage, perseverance, talent and, most of all, capacity for friendship. After all, they point out, quoting Napoleon, “insubordination may be only the evidence of a strong mind.” How else to explain that this “screwball” and his crew took on the Zekes, or Zeros, with their “legendary status as acrobatic dogfighters.”

[caption id="attachment_57633" align="alignleft" width="309"] Author Tom Clavin.[/caption]

An amazing amount of secondary sources and primary materials were consulted in Mr. Clavin’s research, including letters, journals, U.S. Army Air Force after-action reports, even a translated Japanese Imperial Air Force original account of the dogfight, but an end note testifies to the difficulty of gaining firsthand accounts. Only a few of the veterans (now in their 90s) could be found, but the authors did interview their children, other family members and friends.

The narrative reads easily and dramatically. A prologue opens the story in medias res, in the present tense: “They were close now, the zeros. Running him down from behind.” The dogfight will be resumed later on and in full detail, as the lone and now unlucky 666 comes up against enemy fighters with an air-to-air combat kill ratio of 12-1. Seriously wounded that day, and presumed dead, Jay almost lost a leg. Tragically, he lost Joe, his closest colleague and best friend (Jay died March 22, 2007). Theirs was an unusually close friendship. They “finagled to fly together,” not too hard to do, the authors point out, given all the deaths, injuries, illnesses and transfers.” Indeed, some of the more riveting sections of the book are descriptions of the conditions the fighting men of the Pacific Theater had to endure: “the shoddy state of equipment, lousy food, rampant illness. Even the poker games seemed listless.” Like Tolstoi, whose “War and Peace” forever changed the way battle was written about, Mr. Drury and Mr. Clavin fill their narrative with graphic, brutal detail and imagery that presumes an intelligent readership (references to Miro and Banquo’s ghost, for example). Incidentally, “Lucky 666” has important footnotes, including some fascinating quotations from biographer and historian William Manchester whose take on Douglas (“Dugout Doug”) MacArthur is apparent from his book’s title, American Caesar. Although Mr. Clavin concedes that most women might not be drawn to the subject, he does point out that the publisher is promoting “Lucky 666” as a “Dad’s book for the holidays.”

Tom Clavin will be the guest speaker at the Book and Author Luncheon presented by the Friends of the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor on Sunday, December 4 at noon at The American Hotel. Tickets are $55. Reservations a must: (631) 725-3803 or by emailing ecitchris@aol.com. Checks should be sent to: Chris Tice, 6 Overlook Lane, Sag Harbor, NY 11963. Mr. Clavin will discuss “Lucky 666” and also his own forthcoming “Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and The Wickedest Town in the American West.”