American Warrior Radio

“Shot Down” tells the story of the crew of the “Susan Ruth”, a WWII B-17 shot down on Feb. 8, 1944 over the French/Belgium Border. The name was given to the aircraft by Pilot Howard Snyder in honor of his young daughter. Steve Snyder, Howard’s son, has written a meticulously researched and detailed book that describes the lives of the crew members and their harrowing months in hiding from German forces. The book also tells the stories of the brave Belgian citizens who risked all to keep the American crew members safe. Steve had a great deal of material to work with in putting together Shot Down. He had diaries and correspondence from the crew members as well as interviews with his father Howard before he died. There were also some surprises. He was able to get in contact with the German aviator who was one of the pilots that shot down his father’s plane. (Both German fighters were also shot down by the B-17 in that action.) A random Facebook message also put him in touch with the granddaughter of one of the