I've been doing a lot of research on my grand-uncle who was a B-29 navigator with the 73rd Bomb Wing out of Saipan during WW2. He was shot down on 27 January '45 while bombing a target in Tokyo. Everyone in the front section, including my uncle, made it out, but his parachute failed to open, the others died later in the Tokyo POW system from treatment and disease. Besides my aging grand-aunt and grandmother (his sister in law) no one else is alive to remember him personally. My grandfather (his brother) died two years ago, and himself a WW2 B-24 pilot and retired CAL Captain. I'd like to finally start writing a book for the family and other crew members families, and would like to do so before my aunt passes away, so she can make corrections regarding the accuracy. There is so much information to write about, but I'm not sure where to start. Can anybody make any suggestions of where to start, and any other ideas of how to write a book? I'd like to cover biographies, the crews training and departure to Saipan, previous missions, and their final mission.

 

This is a huge undertaking that even seasoned authors take about 1-2 years of solid research before putting pen to paper. Then they have a bevy of subject matter experts (SMEs) who will help point out errors and mistakes, suggest different verbiage.

I am a lawyer and I make my living by writing. I write appeals, not historical books; however, I think there are some elementary steps that apply to any kind of writing. These steps include, but are not limited to, knowing the ending/Big Picture; then move on to writing an outline; do research; talk with people who have first hand knowledge; talk with people who have done similar work; read books that are similar to what you have in mind.

I am a WWII buff and have read many books on it. I'll PM you some titles of very good reads.

 

The National Archives have info by the ton - they catalog it by the cubic foot. The problem will be you have to go to them for most stuff. They have warehouses scatterd around the country - a hold over from the Cold War. Most of the WWII personnel records are in STL. But they can send you a copy of his file.

Veterans' Service Records

 

Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I start with the middle, just to get words to paper, then the opening will present itself. Some of the popular war movies as of late seem to have their opening as the present day with the war hero reminiscing about the olden days, possibly during a memorial service or ceremony, each step of the Color Guard triggering a flashback, each row featuring the Vet's story.

AA flew a 737 into OSH during Airventure this past year. That flight could be the foil for the entire story. Seat 3A's story, seat 3b's story. Fading from the 737 to the Bomber. Or the story of each seat on the bomber, each chapter for a different person. You could start with the bailout, the story of the person's as their life passes before their eyes on the way out the door, the chapter or story ending as the person jumps out of the plane.

Get the stories down on paper. Don't worry about having each sentence perfect, you need the ideas and the words on paper (or the screen). Set a timeline and vow to work on the story for a set amount of time each day, even if all you do is type nonsense for 30 minutes. You might even start a thread here and post each chapter or few pages as you write them. Numerous authors have started this way, several ending up with book deals, others having their own publisher (BTW, I have one if you ever come in need of a publisher), and the rest doing print-on-demand. If you do print-on-demand, you won't be subject to family pleas for a copy for free.

No matter which way you organize it to start, it won't matter. The important part is getting the words down. Then you can worry about finding and preserving the historic photographs or other mementos and having appropriate family and others review the content.

 

I would suggest doing interviews with them and recording it on tape. Then at least you will have something concrete in case they die.To prep for the interviews you should learn as much as possible about WWII and focus on bombing strategy. Some questions will emerge out of that and you can use them to get the conversation started with your relatives. Netflix has a ton of videos on the WWII air battles you could watch. Like someone else said, it is going to take some time to get your own understanding up to speed so you can ask the most useful questions.