Under a War-Torn Sky (29 page)

Let us, then, think sometimes of the great humanity and courage of young Europeans such as Paul Sarrette and American aircrew like Henry who volunteered to fight terrible battles for our freedom. In such a cruel time, they could still dream of a better world and of better people.

KEY

1. Henry's plane is shot down and he bales out. His parachute lands in Alsace.

2. Henry is helped by a local schoolteacher and taken to Mulhouse.

3. The teacher plans to shelter Henry in Basel overnight, but when his plans are thwarted they go straight to Bern and Henry is left outside a hospital.

4. Henry decides to try and get back to England via France, Spain and Portugal. He meets a resistance worker on a train near Thun who helps him.

5. At Montreux, Henry is met by a resistance contact called Madame Gaulloise.

6. Disguised as a chauffeur, Henry drives to Madame Gaulloise's home in Annecy and stays there for one week.

7. Henry meets his new contact, Pierre, just outside Vassieux. Henry is taken to stay on Pierre's farm.

8. A young resistance fighter takes Henry to a maquis camp in the Vercors.

9. Henry is betrayed by the guide he meets in Carcassonne and is captured by the Nazis in the Pyrenees.

10. Henry is taken to a prison near Toulouse.

11. Henry manages to escape while on route to Lyon.

12. After two weeks on the run, Henry meets a girl called Claudette in Nièvre.

13. Henry is recaptured by the Nazis in Saulieu.

14. Henry is freed somewhere around Metz and finally returns home safely.

aide-de-camp
A military officer acting as secretary and confidential assistant to a superior officer.

Allies
The nations (mainly Great Britain and its empire, the United States of America, France and the Soviet Union) that fought against the Axis countries (mainly Germany, Italy and Japan) during the Second World War.

annex
To incorporate territory into an existing country.

ballbearing
A device containing small metal balls to support and reduce the friction of motion between fixed and moving machine parts, essential to keep machinery moving.

bandolier
A belt fitted with small pockets or loops for carrying bullet cartridges and worn across the chest by soldiers.

barracks
A group of buildings used to house members of the armed forces.

bayonet
A blade adapted to fit the end of a rifle and used as a weapon in close combat.

black market
Illegal transactions in which goods are bought and sold, acting against government controls.

bogey
An unidentified, and possibly enemy, aircraft.

boot camp
A training camp for military recruits.

busboy
A hotel employee who clears away dirty dishes, sets tables, and serves as an assistant to a waiter or waitress.

collaborator
Someone who helps and associates with an enemy occupying force.

column
A formation of troops in which the divisions follow one behind the other.

convoy
A group of vehicles that travel together with a protective escort for safety or convenience.

curfew
A regulation requiring certain or all people to leave the streets or be at home at a particular hour.

debrief
To question someone to obtain knowledge or intelligence gathered on a military mission.

de-icer
A device used on an aircraft to keep the wings and propeller free from ice or to remove ice after it has formed.

Depression
The global economic slump that began in the USA in 1929.

dog tag
A metal identification tag worn on a chain around the neck by members of the armed forces.

flak
The bursting
shells
fired from large weapons designed to shoot upwards at aircraft.

field hospital
A hospital set up on a temporary basis to serve troops in a combat zone.

flyboy
A member of the air force, particularly a pilot.

garrison
A military base or fortification.

Geneva Convention
An agreement, formulated at an international conference in Geneva, Switzerland in 1929, establishing rules for the treatment of prisoners of war, the sick, and the wounded during a time of war.

Gestapo
The German internal security police during the Second World War, known for using torture to extract information and confessions from those suspected of disloyalty to the Nazi regime.

Group Ops
A room on a military base in which military operations are planned.

guerrilla force
A group of armed
resistance
fighters. Also known as a partisan force.

gurney
A metal stretcher with wheeled legs, used for transporting patients.

Luftwaffe
The name of the German air force before and during the Second World War.

MI9
A secret British government agency set up during the Second World War, which helped
Allied
soldiers to escape from Nazi-occupied Europe.

maquis
Mainly rural
guerrilla
forces of the French
Resistance
movement during the Second World War. They were named after a French word for the type of scrubby vegetation in which they were said to hide.

mess hall
A dining room on a military base, also used for recreational purposes.

Milice
A group of
collaborators
trained by the
Vichy government
to function as a police force acting against the
Resistance
. The Milice often used torture to extract information or confessions.

munitions
Ammunition, such as bullets, bombs and
shells
.

Nissen hut
A prefabricated building made of corrugated steel in the shape of a half cylinder, used especially by members of the armed forces as a shelter.

outhouse
A small, enclosed structure with one or two holes in a seat built over a pit, serving as an outdoor toilet.

pretzel
A glazed, brittle biscuit that is salted on the outside and usually baked in the form of a loose knot or a stick.

prop wash
The air currents generated by the fast turning of aircraft propellers.

reconnaissance
An exploration and inspection of an area to gather information.

requisition
A formal demand made by an invading military force upon the people of an invaded country for supplies, such as food or transportation.

Resistance/resistance
Relating to secret organizations that fought to overthrow the enemy forces occupying their country during the Second World War, especially in France.

SAS
A specialist regiment of the British army that is trained to make quick, destructive raids into enemy territory. SAS stands for “Special Air Service”.

shell
A hollow container, usually with a pointed end, which is filled with explosives and fired from a large gun.

shrapnel
Fragments from an exploded
shell
, mine or bomb.

shuck
To remove the husk from an ear of corn.

Special Operations agent
A member of a British organization set up during the Second World War to train and coordinate the operations of armed
resistance
groups in occupied countries. Also known as an SOE, which stands for “Special Operations Executive”.

SS
An elite unit of the Nazi party that served originally as Hitler's personal guard and as a special security force in Germany and the occupied countries. SS stands for the German word
Schutzstaffel
, meaning “protection squad”.

strafe
To attack with a machine gun or cannon from a low-flying aircraft.

swivet
A state of extreme distress.

tracer fire
The bright red flare emitted when specially adapted tracer bullets hit their target. Tracers allow the shooter to get a good idea where the bullets are going, without having to look through a sighting apparatus.

Vichy government
The government of parts of central and southern France during the Second World War. The administration was under Nazi influence and had its headquarters in the city of Vichy.

work camp
A guarded prison camp where civilians and political prisoners are held during wartime, usually under harsh conditions.

During the course of the novel, Henry travels two “odysseys”– one is his physical escape and the other is a journey of personal discovery. How are the two odysseys linked? What does he discover about mankind and himself along the way? How does he change?

Henry's father, Clayton, is a harsh, never-ending voice in Henry's mind. How does this help Henry and how does it hurt him? Why do you think Clayton is the way he is? In the end, Henry realizes that his father had done the “wrong things for the right reasons”. What does he mean by that?

Sometimes characters personify a theme or idea. What does Pierre symbolize? What do Billy and Madame Gaulloise represent?

To help a pilot escape, the Resistance often needed many people to play-act a variety of roles in a sequence of carefully planned events. These exchanges had to happen quickly and fluidly. In chapter eight, Henry is rescued by a series of strangers, and realizes “He'd been handled, just like a hot potato. He was a package no one wanted to be caught holding.” How would you feel in this situation?

To survive, downed pilots had to put their lives into the hands of complete strangers, many of whom spoke no English. What sort of issues does this raise? Have you ever had to count on strangers to help you or your family?

The novel includes many passages of French dialogue. What does the author accomplish by doing this? How would it have been different if the dialogue were only in English?

Aiding pilots was risky. If caught by Nazi troops or turned in by a collaborator, a French person would be executed. His or her family might be arrested, questioned, and killed. Why do you think the French took such terrible risks? How is this kind of courage different from the bravery needed in battle? How is it similar?

Compare Patsy and Claudette. How are they alike? How are they different? Do you think witnessing war first-hand might make Patsy more like Claudette?

Why do you think the old German soldier releases Henry?

Think about your reactions to the novel as you read it. Do you think that there is an overall lesson or moral in the story?

Henry has to leave behind those who have helped him, not knowing their fate. What do you think happens to Madame Gaulloise? To Pierre? To Claudette? How do you feel about leaving them behind?

For links to websites where you can explore photo galleries of pilots, bombers and French Resistance fighters, watch archive video footage and find out lots more about the Second World War, go to the Usborne Quicklinks website at
www.usborne.com/quicklinks
and enter the keyword “war-torn”.

Please make sure you follow the internet safety guidelines displayed at the Usborne Quicklinks website. The recommended websites in Usborne Quicklinks are regularly reviewed and updated, but Usborne Publishing Ltd is not responsible for the content or availability of any website other than its own.

L.M. Elliott is the award-winning author of many acclaimed books, including
Under A War-Torn Sky
,
Flying South
and
Across Enemy Seas
.

Under A War-Torn Sky
, a Jefferson Cup Honor Book and winner of the Borders Original Voices Award, was inspired by her father's experiences in World War II, and the real life stories of the courage and self-sacrifice shown by the French Resistance as they saved Allied fliers and defied occupying Nazi forces.

She lives in Virginia with her family. To find out more about L.M. Elliott and her books, visit her website at
www.lmelliott.com
.