THE SECRET RESCUE

The compelling untold story of a group of stranded U.S. Army nurses and medics fighting to escape Nazi-occupied Europe.

When 26 Army nurses and medics--part of the 807th Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron--boarded a cargo plane for transport in November 1943, they never anticipated the crash landing in Nazi-occupied Albania that would lead to a months-long struggle for survival for all those on board. A drama that captured the attention of President Roosevelt and the American public, the group dodged bullets and battled blinding winter storms as they climbed some of Albania's tallest mountains, aided by courageous villagers who risked death at Nazi hands to help them.

A mesmerizing tale of the courage and heroism of ordinary people, THE SECRET RESCUE tells the story not only of this struggle for survival by women and men not trained for combat, but the daring rescue attempts by American and British agents, and the tumultuous landscape of the war.

Cate Lineberry is a former staff writer and Europe editor for National Geographic and the web editor of Smithsonian, and her work has appeared in the New York Times. She lives in the greater Washington, DC, area.