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The Army Air Forces flyers in World War II were an elite corps of young volunteers specially recruited and trained to perform highly skilled combat jobs in the air. The high standard of competence required for the aircrew, pilots, co-pilots, navigators, bombardiers, flight engineers, radio operators, and gunners, was such that all the crew were commissioned and noncommissioned officers. Combat crews worked as a team, the success of which depended upon each and every man doing his job well. The Army caste system so prevalent on the ground did not exist inside a bomber in aerial combat. The aircrew officers were more concerned with flak, enemy fighters and dropping their bombs on the targets than military customs and courtesy. Flying attracted young, free-spirited, fun-loving individualists. They were well educated, nonconformists that did not fit into the Army's mold for submissive nonthinking followers. Nevertheless, they had a great sense of patriotism and loyalty to their country and were eager to do their part in the war. Their character, patriotism and courage followed them as they bailed out from burning bombers and fighter places into the prisoner of war world of the enemy. A Domain of Heroes is the true story of the brave young air warriors that were shot down and survived to become prisoners of war in Germany in World War II.

In World War II, Germany held 92,965 prisoners of war. Of this number, 32, 730 were from the Air Force. Fifty percent of the Air Force prisoners were officers which was comparatively large considering the fact that only ten percent of the Ground Force prisoners were officers. Of the prisoners after June 6, 1944, 15,093 were Air Force and 9,274 Ground Force. Generally, the camps housing Air Force prisoners were under the control of the Luftwaffe while those housing Ground Force prisoners were under the jurisdiction of the Wehrmacht. The Air Force camps for both officers and sergeants were known as Stalag Lufts; however, the noncommissioned officers were separated and held in different camps from the commissioned officers.

The European battlefields for airmen during World War II were high in the sky, deep in enemy territory. All the airmen were commissioned or noncommissioned officers. Hitler and his Nazi thugs branded the flyers Luftgangsters and Terror Fliegers and laid down a policy of murder of captured airmen. Many of the airmen died in their bombers and fighter planes in battle and many were hung, shot and beaten to death by civilians and the SS on capture. Fifty percent of those who bailed out and survived were wounded; 32,000 survived to become prisoners of war in Gernany. This is their story.