The Forgotten Tragedy

Voices from a Forgotten Tragedy is a reawakening of the experiences and memories of Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831. Fifty years have passed since the devastating and mysterious crash of the new DC 8F jet on November 29, 1963. The voices of the families, first responders, investigators and others come together for the first time as a virtual conversation within this book. Five minutes after take-off from Montreal's Dorval airport the sleek jet crashed into a muddy field with total destruction and the loss of 118 lives. Aboard the plane, on the one hour flight from Montreal to Toronto, were 101 business men, 10 women and a crew of 7. The dreadful November weather stranded many potential passengers in buses and taxis, causing them to miss Flight 831. The reason for this crash, Canada's worst domestic aviation tragedy, was never determined with certainty. A catastrophic event, such as the crash of TCA Flight 831 sends reverberations through communities and families. Individuals affected by the tragedy are speaking out in this book- voicing how the impact affected their lives and even the lives of their children. Voices from a forgotten Tragedy is an open affirmation of Life after the disaster of November 29, 1963.

More than one thousand American soldiers were killed on 26 November 1943 when the British troopship Rohna was hit by a German guided bomb in the Mediterranean - the greatest single loss of American lives at sea in World War II and one of the worst tragedies in maritime history. At the time, the disaster was kept secret for security purposes, but even after the war little information was given out. Now Carlton Jackson tells the story in full for the first time. To accurately reconstruct this little-known tragedy, Jackson studied official Allied and German reports and countless documents in archives here and abroad, as well as tracking down survivors and the Luftwaffe pilot involved. He gives a detailed account of the air attack on the Rohna, part of a convoy headed east through the Mediterranean. The only ship to take a direct hit, the Rohna sank quickly, killing 1,149 people. Many of those who managed to survive the initial explosion and avoid German strafing attacks succumbed to the sea. A lucky few were rescued, their lives forever changed by the dramatic chain of events so ably chronicled in this book. Jackson's mesmerizing account of the attack and rescue and the survivors' recovery makes a decided contribution to World War II literature and to the history of the sea.

The sinking of the RMS Leinster is regarded as Ireland's greatest maritime disaster. One hundred years on, it is high time for reflection and commemoration. How and why did this terrible tragedy happen?

Bill Cosgrove, in his fourth and latest book, graphically depicts the early history of the Chicago Fire Department with authoritative accuracy. He gives the reader an insight into how the Department was organized, how it functioned, the use of technology that was available at the time, and paints a vivid picture of the many great fires of the day. He also describes the tremendous physical stamina, dedication and bravery of the firemen and the intrepid leadership of some of the officers. Bill provides the reader with a highly detailed story of the tragic stockyards fire of December 22, 1910 where 21 firemen lost their lives, including the Department's Chief of the Brigade, James Horan. This is such a fascinating account of the early history of the Chicago Fire Department that the reader will have great difficulty putting the book down until it is finished. A great read, by a great story-teller! Thoroughly enjoyable and fully factual. William C. Alletto Deputy Fire Commissioner (Retired) Chicago Fire Department

"A gripping true-to-life account of a tragic incident in U.S. history that needs to be read by everyone." Congressman Jack Metcalf, U.S. House of Representatives. THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING On November 26, 1943, one day after Thanksgiving and one day out to sea, one thousand, nine-hundred and eighty one young American soldiers were presented with the most challenging and terrifying experience of their lives. On that day, they became players in what was to become one of the greatest at-sea tragedies in United States history. More than half of them never survived to tell their story. On that day, two of the WWIIs least known but historic incidents occurred. The United States suffered its greatest loss of troops at-sea in its history when the HMT ROHNA a British transport was sunk by a guided missile launched from a German bomber over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of North Africa. The ship, with officers and crew of one hundred ninety five was transporting American troops and Red Cross workers to the China-Burma-India Theater of war One thousand and fifteen American troops, three Red Cross workers and one hundred and twenty ships officers and crewmen perished, a loss second only to that of the Arizona at Pearl Harbor. In addition to the record number of casualties that were incurred, the bombing itself was historic because it was the first ever, successful "hit" by a remote-controlled rocket-boosted bomb, launched in the air from a German bomber, on a merchant vessel chartered for military use in war time. This incident was, in effect, the dawning of the missile age. The ship, badly in disrepair, was part of Convoy KMF-26 en-route to Bombay, India with men and supplies needed for the little known China - Burma -India theater of WWII. It was a noteworthy historic event that received little notice and still has not been acknowledged by the United States government. Understandably, for security reasons, the War Department immediately suppressed news of this catastrophe. Compounding this tragedy, no details were ever provided to the grieving fathers and mothers. Parents went to their graves never to learn the fate of their sons. Families still do not know how their loved ones died and this disaster continues to remain virtually unknown to the public. Over eight hundred bodies were never recovered, and their remains are scattered over hundreds of miles at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. THE ROHNA DISASTER (227P) describes that tragic, but little known incident at sea. Each chapter presents electrifying eyewitness accounts of the inhumane shipboard conditions, the actual bombing and sinking, and the struggles to survive and be rescued in heavy seas at night. Accounts of heroism and courage are woven through each chapter, and the anquish of families, as they waited fifty years in an emotional void, is poignantly told. THE ROHNA DISASTER is, in many respects, told by the people who played their different roles as survivors, rescuers and family members. Every survivor was willing, if not anxious, to share his experience, painful though it often was, some because they wanted to help the author in his search for information about his brother, most, because they felt very strongly that this story should be told and that the casualties should be given an honored place in American history. It is important that history be chronicled, and that this story, an important part of our history, be told, heard, taught and remembered. It is also important that those who played roles in this incredible drama, the survivors, rescuers and casualties, be given their due honor and recognition, and that the families of those who perished, who have a right to know what happened to their loved ones, be given an opportunity to learn that truth. This book was written for those reasons. "We are slowly losing a unique breed of people, the likes of which we will never s

At once riveting and poignant, The Sinking of the Eastland brings to life a bygone era that yielded one of the most significant American disasters of the last century. Includes 16 pages of black and white photos.

The story continues in The Forgotten Kingdom, the second book in the epic Lost Queen trilogy, already hailed as “Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark) and “The Mists of Avalon for a new generation” (Linnea Hartsuyker, author of The Golden Wolf). AD 573. Imprisoned in her chamber, Languoreth awaits news in torment. Her husband and son have ridden off to wage war against her brother, Lailoken. She doesn’t yet know that her young daughter, Angharad, who was training with Lailoken to become a Wisdom Keeper, has been lost in the chaos. As one of the bloodiest battles of early medieval Scottish history scatters its survivors to the wind, Lailoken and his men must flee to exile in the mountains of the Lowlands, while nine-year-old Angharad must summon all Lailoken has taught her and follow her own destiny through the mysterious, mystical land of the Picts. In the aftermath of the battle, old political alliances unravel, opening the way for the ambitious adherents of the new religion: Christianity. Lailoken is half-mad with battle sickness, and Languoreth must hide her allegiance to the Old Way to survive her marriage to the next Christian king of Strathclyde. Worst yet, the new King of the Angles is bent on expanding his kingdom at any cost. Now the exiled Lailoken, with the help of a young warrior named Artur, may be the only man who can bring the Christians and the pagans together to defeat the encroaching Angles. But to do so, he must claim the role that will forever transform him. He must become the man known to history as “Myrddin.” Bitter rivalries are ignited, lost loves are found, new loves are born, and old enemies come face-to-face with their reckoning in this compellingly fresh look at one of the most enduring legends of all time.