John Lowe is a man on a mission--His 14th, to be exact.

On April 10, 1945, Lowe was on that 14th mission as a 19-year-old waist gunner aboard a Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" over Brandenburg, Germany.

Suddenly, bullets from a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter ripped into Lowe's plane, setting it on fire. There was only one way out: through the aircraft's kicked-out rear hatch and a terrifying tumble through the turbulent skies below.

Having already survived the "gauntlets" of 13 prior flak-filled missions, U-boat infested waters on the trip to Europe--even packs of "grabby" English girls, Lowe now faced his most dangerous ordeal: how to stay alive through calamity, capture and chaos in the final weeks of World War II.

Lowe, a longtime Shorewood resident and former head of Boeing's wind-turbine program, tells his story for the first time in his new book, "My Fourteenth Mission," based on a diary he kept while serving with the 487th Bomber Group in Lavenham, England, and while awaiting transport back to the U.S.

Lowe made it home safely. But 233 men of the 487th--including two of Lowe's crewmates--never came back.

Having just paused to honor and remember our veterans on Memorial Day, we are reminded that the freedom we enjoy today--and every day--lives only because they were willing to pay the ultimate price.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of My Fourteenth Mission, Lowe may be reached at 206-242-1058.