Fifty months since publication (November 2023), and the author’ s first book, now with thousands of copies sold on Amazon at 96% reader and 100% professional reviewer recommendation. Now in hardbound, Kindle, and paperback. This is THE book for the avid reader of WW II history who thought that everything worthwhile had long ago been revealed about the war that saved civilization. Decades of research, interviews, visits, and never-seen images at the real and existing places forgotten by history but essential to the conduct of the war and its victory. The author received the U.S. Naval Institute’s “Author of the Year” award for revealing portions of one time secrets now revealed for the first time.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
TEN years since first being announced, MASTERS OF THE AIR, a Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks co-production, will premiere on Apple TV+ in late January 2024. The final sequel to the much admired and Emmy-award winning Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Masters of the Air, will being viewers on the same harrowing missions as flown by the Eighth Air Force, which had TEN TIMES the casualties of the infantry, with 26,000 killed in action. In preparation, the author of THE HIDDEN PLACES OF WORLD WAR II walked the remains of the same British airfields eight decades later, interviewed participants, included never-seen author images showing the daily lives of the crews, and included five chapters that bring new insights into how the air war was fought by the heroic USAAF and RAF airmen. This site has an updated summary of the new nine-part mini-series, intended to serve as a primer for what will be one of 2024’s major television productions.
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FROM FORWARD REVIEWS: “…This book shows that there is more to the story than we think…rare views of the most critical moments of the Twentieth Century written with a journalistic eye for detail and historical integrity.”
FROM GOODREADS: “A remarkable work of history that reads like a novel.”
A London Blitz survivor: “ The best book I have ever read about the Second World War.” An Amazon book reviewer: “I wanted to put it down but couldn’t.” Others said: “extraordinary,” “revealing,” “a page-turner.“
The deeply researched first book from decades-long investigative journalist, Jerome M. O’Connor, U.S. Naval Institute “Author of the Year” and U.S. Navy destroyer vet.
MILITARY REVIEW, “the professional journal of the U.S.Army,” published by Army University Press. “The author sets the table with a very good introduction and prologue…(He) does a very good job of putting the reader in the setting…the book is very well-written…the author discusses many topics that are not well known to most Americans. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in military history… it definitely fuels the desire to research those locations and events more thoroughly.”
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DESTROYER VETERANS/TIN CAN SAILOR “Overall rating four of four stars: Highly recommended” “It is seldom that a book on history excites readers other than those of us who are historians…it is both a pleasure to read and a wealth of things you will be happy to have learned. It is a book you will want to read.” By Terry Miller, Executive Director. CONTACT THE AUTHOR USING THE FORM FOR PROGRAMS AT YOUR LOCALE 
JEROME O’CONNOR NAMED THE US NAVAL INSTITUTE “AUTHOR OF THE YEAR”
Since 1965, award-winning, internationally published features describing the vital but overlooked people, places, and significant events of the 20th Century. Enter the same history-changing locales as they appeared then and as they are now.
Every locale is personally visited, extensively researched, and fully documented with photos from the era contrasted with present-day images. These include prior world exclusives that were the first to reveal Winston Churchill’s wartime Cabinet War Rooms, Bletchley Park, where the German Enigma cypher was broken, and Trent Park, the London mansion where the casual conversations of 59 Nazi generals were secretly recorded. Disclosures from recordings made from the hidden microphones located throughout the vast estate, were translated into English, evaluated, and then sent to Allied commands. Visit the same indestructible U-Boat bases in France, appearing almost as when they survived intact after hundreds of USAAF and RAF missions. 
Read how the intricately designed seven-layer roofs overcame penetrating damage. Other locales linking WW II with today are part of O’Connor’s 22 chapter, 340-page hard-bound, Kindle or paperback edition with never-seen photos in THE HIDDEN PLACES OF WORLD WAR II. (photo by author)
Published for the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in 2020, various chapters honor those who preserved freedom in its darkest hour to bring readers to the same places where the epic events happened, but which were overlooked in scores of thousands of books about the war. The result of decades of research originating at the actual locations, includes first-person interviews and numerous never-seen photos at the same sites.
The Chicago-based author, a U.S Navy veteran, educator, and dynamic program presenter, is available for 60-90 minute image-based presentations describing the original features on this site. In 2001, Jerome O’Connor received the U. S. Naval Institute’s Author of the Year award “for his significant literary contributions to the history of WW II”.
Group tours are available to Chicago locales described. Complete the contact form for information and availability.