Inspiration Behind New WWII Book

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Episode #830 of Hometown Heroes, airing March 23-28, 2024, features the story behind the new book Bombing Hitler’s Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe, set for official release on March 26th.

You’ll hear the author, Mike Croissant, outline the journey of discovery that led to this thoroughly researched page turner. The quest began with a desire to learn more about his late uncle, picked up steam with an interview that aired on Hometown Heroes more than a decade ago, and has culminated with the debut of a book that has garnered extremely positive reviews.

“My uncle tragically passed away in a plane crash, just after the war ended, up in Wisconsin,” you’ll hear Croissant relate. “This, of course, devastated the family, including my father, who was very close with Uncle Ellsworth.”

In 2011, Mike began researching the World War II service of the uncle he never met, learning about Ellsworth Croissant through the memories of his siblings, through letters Ellsworth had sent home during the war, and through records of the missions he had flown with the 459th Bomb Group.

One particular mission stood out in Mike’s research: the April 25th, 1945 attack on Linz, Austria, which Adolf Hitler viewed as his hometown. Reaching out to over 100 members of the bomber crews that converged on Linz that day, he ended up interviewing 55 of them before their passing. The mosaic formed from their first-hand accounts, compiled throughout more than a decade of uncovering one detail after another, presents a powerful picture of a very costly conquest in Bombing Hitler’s Hometown.

“One after another, bombers are knocked from the sky,” the author explains. “Ultimately, fifteen would be shot down, and 28 Americans would lose their lives.”

The more Mike learned about the mission, the more he craved more information. One detail led to another, and stumbling onto Dale Shebilsky’s interview on episode #116 of Hometown Heroes from 2010 helped crystallize his commitment to capturing it all in print for families who might otherwise never know what their loved ones truly encountered and endured on that fateful day.

Shebilsky, a native of Omaha, NE, was on one of the bombers that was shot down that day. After surviving his B-24’s crash landing, he ended up in the custody of Soviet forces, who beat him and even used electric current to try to jolt information out of him. His captors threatened him with death if he were to expose the extent of their inhumane treatment. When he finally made it back to the United States, Dale would learn that his parents had been told he was killed in action, and even been sent $10,000 as a result. When he called home, his brother didn’t know who was on the other end of the line.

“Jack, you dummy, I’m your brother, Dale,” you’ll hear Shebilsky remember exclaiming, followed by a surreal response: “You’re dead! We were told you were dead.”

Instead, Dale Shebilsky would enjoy nearly 70 more years on earth before passing away at the age of 89 in 2014. Mike Croissant had the opportunity to speak with Dale before his passing, and also to read his memoirs, which went a long way toward informing the passages about Shebilsky in Bombing Hitler’s Hometown.

Another chill-inducing moment in the new book comes from the account of John “Duck” Dominey, a ball turret gunner who recalled what it was like to fly through a horrifying wall of flak that “blotted out the sun” on April 25th, 1945, convincing Dominey that death was imminent.

“Duck begins to say the Lord’s Prayer, and he knows he doesn’t have time to say the whole thing, so he pauses and he asks God if He will have him,” you’ll hear Mike Croissant explain. “He’s filled with peace, and then he enters the flak zone, and within minutes, the bomber is devastated.”

With a slate of book signings lined up for the weeks and months ahead, Mike Croissant is sure to receive plenty of feedback about how the extreme scenarios captured in Bombing Hitler’s Hometown resonate with readers. Asked about the man who inspired the mission Mike has spent over a decade completing, Mike reveals that he’ll soon return to his uncle Ellsworth’s burial site to leave a copy of the book at the spot where he once made a solemn commitment to honor the heroes of that historic bombing raid in print.

“I hope he would be grateful that someone cared enough to tell his story,” the author says of the uncle he never met. “I’ve kept that promise, so the book is for him and all the others who went on the mission, and especially those who didn’t make it back.”

—Paul Loeffler