by David Dobbs

The Atavist No. 5, June 2011

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On her deathbed, David Dobbs’s mother Evelyn Jane revealed a secret she’d kept for 60 years about the man she had truly loved, and lost. His name was Norman “Angus” Zahrt, a married World War II flight surgeon with whom she’d engaged in a secret love affair, just before he deployed to the Pacific and disappeared. Intrigued by his mother’s hidden longing, Dobbs embarked on a reporter’s quest to uncover Zahrt’s fate, and that of his family. The story he returned with is an extraordinary tale of love, war, and how we confront the lost chances in our lives.

In this video chapter from the iPad/iPhone version, a pilot from Zahrt’s Air Force Fourth Emergency Rescue Squadron, describes their mission in the Pacific, together with footage from the Second Emergency Rescue Squadron in action:

Read David’s story-behind-the-story at his Wired blog, here.