A review by nkmeyers
The Last Mission by Harry Mazer

3.0

The story of a 15-16 yr old jewish american boy who assumes his brother's identity to train and fly as a gunner in a bomber against germany during the end of WWII. By the time he has flown several missions the young man has a different view of the realities of war from the air. By the time the concentration camps are freed he has a changed view of revenge and offers his last piece of bread to a german adolescent who is wild with hunger in the street. By the time the news breaks about the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki he's matured beyond his years compared to his peers who stayed at home and in school. The story closes as in a classroom back home he tries to explain his feelings about war and peace to an audience of young people who've never experienced war or been the victim of bombings themselves.

The narrative voice's young character is not always believeable but the circumstances of the story and the way they are presented outshine any complaints I could make about character development. The narrator's visit to his best mates' parents' home after the war is very well portrayed as are the grieving parents of a young Sgt. who did not come home.