“World War 2 Radio Heroes”
Lisa L. Spahr with Austin Camacho
www.powletters.com, 2008, $ 15.95
ISBN # 978-0-9762181-7-3

This is a too-brief book about the author’s grandfather, who was captured by the Germans in the North African campaign in 1943, and how a small band of ham radio operators notified the family of his captivity.

Ms. Spahr’s family was so advised of her grandfather’s capture.

While the Germans normally treated their American and British POW’s in accordance with the Geneva Convention, communications in those days was erratic at best and impassable at worst. Often the Germans were reduced to reading lists of names of POW’s over the radio as teenage and other ham radio operators in America would copy down the names and addresses and so advise the families of their loved ones captivity.

Her book mentions a few of the radio operators still alive who wrote to her and other families, but not in nearly enough detail or depth. An overly heavy use of old letters and photographs makes the reader wish for more text in order to flesh out what could be a very interesting story.

These ham operators were undoubtedly a source of comfort for the families of the thousands of POW’s, as it was to Ms. Spahr’s family, and perhaps a follow-up book would do justice to their story.