Berwyn natives publish book on WWII aircraft recovery efforts

What began as a group of boys messing around on Lake Michigan turned into so much more for Taras Lyssenko and Allan Olson who now own A&T Recovery, a Chicago business that pulls World War II aircrafts from the very same lake.

The business owners grew up in Berwyn and are soon releasing a novel detailing the adventures and complications life has thrown their way. The book, titled “The Great Navy Birds of Lake Michigan,” will be released Aug. 26 and sold at Target and Amazon, among other locations.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, a plan was set forth to train Navy aircraft pilots on Lake Michigan, a place German and Japanese forces would not be able to easily use the trainees for target practice. Many of those aircraft were lost in Lake Michigan, and A and T Recovery obtains them.

Lyssenko said there are many misconceptions concerning the business of aircraft recovery—many misconceptions his novel addresses.

“I think just about everybody can find something of interest in the book,” Lyssenko said. “Because there’s human interest stories in the middle of it and people who have family members close to war will find something. It’s something for everybody”

Lyssenko, who often gives presentations on his work, said interest in a book has been high for years, but he was unable to find a publisher until recently. Now that a contract has been signed and the book has been written, he said demand appears to be mimicking earlier peaks of interest.

Lyssenko’s voice shines through in the writing as moments of passion and humor are sprinkled throughout. Retelling events such as the company’s involvement in solving mysteries, playing pranks and locating treasures, Lyssenko dives deeper than the mechanics of aircraft recovery, shedding light on misconceptions along the way.

“There always seems to be a prevailing belief that if one person searches for and finds something that has been lost underwater, the item becomes the property of the person who finds it,” Lyssenko writes in the novel. “The concept is just not true.”

From the preface, readers learn this story will be one of the stuff out of films—heroes and villains, breaking the law, changing the law and even hula dancers. At one point, Lyssenko writes that despite the unbelievability of the story he is telling, it is completely true.

Lyssenko, who credited his grandfather for having made him the man he is, said he hopes the book teaches readers to see the world through the eyes of a child, with excitement, innocence, feelings of invincibility and curiosity above all else. Having given presentations at local high schools, he said he hopes it inspires students to see the challenges of the future as opportunities for great change.

“[Kids] don’t have to let themselves be painted into a box by anyone,” Lyssenko said. “If they have a will, they can do unbelievably, wonderful, fantastic things. They just have to give it a lot of thought and a lot of determination.”

In addition to telling his own story of breaking out of the box, the novel also discusses the politics of aircraft recovery. Lyssenko said recovering aircrafts is about working with government agencies and cutting through red tape as much as it is about anything else.

Looking to the future, Lyssenko said this novel is helping push new possibilities forward. He said one possibility includes an exhibit that would allow high school students to see shipwrecks in real time. Additionally, he said A and T Recovery is beginning several projects that could make up a second book.

“We found a lot of shipwrecks we’re going back to look at, so my joke is we’re starting book two,” Lyssenko said. “This isn’t just about aircraft recovery; it’s about government and the weirdness around it, it’s about people, and it’s about a group of kids that just liked to go and find stuff, so we did.”