Alumnus authors book on ill-fated B-29 mission

Gregory Hadley A Jordan crewman after his capture.

The Nodaway County Historical Society will host a presentation by scholar, author and Northwest alumnus Gregory Hadley at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, at the society's museum at First and Walnut in Maryville.

A professor of American cultural studies at Niigata University of International and Information Studies in Japan, Hadley is the author of the recently published "Field of Spears: The Last Mission of the Jordan Crew" (Paulownia Press).

Hadley spent three years researching and writing the story of an ill-fated B-29 crew shot down over Niigata, Japan, in July 1945. His research included personal interviews with both eyewitnesses and the relatives of villagers who lived in the countryside near where the plane went down. He also spoke with members of the American flight crew who survived the crash and a harrowing internment as prisoners of war.

Written in narrative form, "Field of Spears" draws on recently declassified documents and previously unpublished photographs while describing the capture and lynching of B-29 crew members by Japanese civilians and the horrific experiences of the survivors.

In addition, Hadley explores the tepid efforts of war crimes investigators after the war and studies the effect of the incident on both the American survivors and Japanese villagers, who where all largely forgotten by their governments.

"Field of Spears" reached the top of the Amazon.com best-seller list in the Oral History category. A limited number of copies will be available for sale and signing by the author following Hadley's presentation.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone (660) 562-1704
Fax (660) 562-1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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