It has been said that there is no bond stronger than one brother's love for another.

Growing up together, brothers form a bond that lasts through life.

It was just such a connection that was forged between Walter Urda and his older brother, Nicholas. It was a bond that Walter has continued to feel - even since Nicholas' death in 1986.

Given that connection, it is not surprising that Walter Urda has written a book dedicated to Nicholas' service in the Army Air Corps in World War II.

The book, "World War II Fame and Foibles," is the diary of Nicholas Urda , kept from 1943-45, with historical narrative filled in with letters and documents found after Nicholas' death. Details of events documented by Nicholas were also enhanced through discussions that Walter Urda had with Danbury resident
Robert Doran . Doran flew as co-pilot of the "Mission Mistress," the B17 on which Nicholas served as waist gunner during the war.

"Nicholas was five years older than me, born in 1922. He was my mentor. He took me every place he went, taught me to fish, to skip stones, to do all the things that boys do," Walter Urda recalled last week from his Ridgefield home.

"Writing this book, reading through Nicholas' diary and his letters was like deja-vu. I was in the Korean War myself," Walter Urda said, his face becoming gravely serious.

Nicholas Urda's diary tells of a young man caught up in events beyond his control, as so many young men were in the 1940s. About to matriculate from Syracuse University , Nicholas was called up to active duty and was stationed at one Air Corps base after another until he was sent to a base near Bury St. Edmunds in England.

Assigned as part of the 94th Bombardment Group 410th Program, Nicholas flew 18 missions over Germany. It was on the 19th of those missions that fate turned against him and the crew of the "Mission Mistress."

And it is the riveting account of that day, Jan.6, 1945, that is perhaps the most compelling episode in Urda's book.

"They got off the ground successfully," Walter Urda said, "and were about 100 feet up when one of the engines caught fire. With six 1,000-pound bombs loaded on the plane, they knew they were in trouble."

Doran's first-hand recollections, and diary and newspaper accounts of the crash that followed, catch in graphic detail the horror of the event that took the lives of five members of the "Mission Mistress" crew.

"Doran had a tough time extricating himself from the cockpit," Walter Urda said. "He pulled himself out by grabbing at tree branches that were all around the cockpit. His clothing was on fire as another crew member rolled him on the ground to put the flames out."

Nicholas Urda writes of being in the middle of the plane, in the waist-gunner's position at the time of the crash. Away from the flames, but knowing they would reach him soon, he crawled out of the wreckage and made his way through the 30-foot crater created by the crash. As he lay on the ground on the other side of the crater, he could hear the screams of members of the crew still caught in the flames.

"Medics crawled through a hail of exploding 50-caliber machine gun ammunition, despite the possibility of explosion of several 1,000 pound bombs still in the burning bomber, to carry survivors to safety," the local East Anglia paper read. Four crew members died.

The accounts of the crash highlight how precarious the lives of airmen on combat missions were, Walter Urda noted. Their lives were often short, ending in explosion and flames.

Walter Urda began his journey through Nicholas' memories of that day, and the war, in 1998 when a young man, Chris Argent , from Bury St. Edmunds wrote his family.

Walking in the woods where the crash took place, Argent came across scrap pieces of aluminum and shells in a crater. The find piqued Argent's curiosity and he began looking into the crash. That exploration lead him to Walter Urda and began Urda's exploration into his brother's war career.

The end result, "World War II Fame and Foibles" was published last year. The advance copies of the book arrived on Aug. 16, 2003, five days after Robert Duran died.

"I would have liked to have Bob see the finished book," Walter Urda said. "He was such an important source of information for it."

Urda's book has brought inquiries from historians and museums. The Mighty 8th Air Force Museum in Savannah, Ga., has asked that Urda donate his brother's original diary. Urda is considering the request.


Copies of "World War II Fame and Foibles" can be purchased directly from Urda. The price is $14.95. Call (203)438-5919 for further information.