On Dec. 15, 1944, Major Glenn Miller was on a plane traveling from England to France that disappeared over the English Channel. Piloted by John Morgan and also including Lt. Colonel Norman Baessell as a passenger, the plane has never been found. There have been many theories advanced as to what actually happened to Miller, who hastily took the flight to set up details about the transfer of his finest orchestra (the Army Air Force Band) to the recently liberated France.
In Glenn Miller Declassified, Dennis M. Spragg unravels the mystery as much as possible, disproves all of the conspiracy theories, and gives readers a remarkable amount of details.
The book in its ten-page prelude, has an excellent summation of Glenn Miller’s life and career up to time of Pearl Harbor. The rest of this work covers Miller’s remaining three years. He did not have to join the military since he was 37 years old and married, but his patriotism and his desire to do something significant to help the US in the war were major priorities for him. He was originally rejected by the Navy before he joined the Army Air Force and had to fight red tape, bureaucracy, and conservative authorities in order to form his military swing orchestra.
The first part of his group’s evolution found his massive orchestra touring the US, raising money at bond rallies, and broadcasting exclusively for the troops overseas. In J
