cover image Comet Connection

Comet Connection

George Watt. University Press of Kentucky, $35 (158pp) ISBN 978-0-8131-1720-1

In 1943 American aviator Watt was shot down over Belgium with his crew, two of whom were killed. Aided by members of the Comet Line, an underground organization active in helping Allied military personnel in both Belgium and France, he made his way across France, doubly vulnerable because he was a Jew and an American. He reached Spain at great risk--he had fought with the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War--eventually got to Gibraltar and was then taken back to England. The tale of Watt's odyssey is highly suspenseful, with an impact heightened by the account of his return to Belgium in 1984 and 1985 to visit those who had helped him escape--and learn of the bitter price paid by hundreds of members of the Comet Line. (Aug.)