A Pilots History

Book excerpt: This is the compelling story of a. man who learned to fly before WWII. He soon joined the regular army air corps as a private. As war became inevitable he completed flight training as a staff sergeant and had the wings of a military pilot. He flew bombers, fighters and transport aircraft before being sent to the Pacific area. Flying C-54's loaded with priority cargo and personnel in and the wounded out. It was one bloody island after another from the East Indies to Tokyo, not flying as a group but as a single sitting duck for the enemy and friendly fire. As a single plane he landed at Atsugi airport to bring out the first loads of decimated allied prisoners. This was followed by flying "the hump" to help Chang Kia-chek against the communists. Discharged as a captain, he flew for up-start airlines that went bankrupt one after another. Two major carriers did no better. He was called to active duty during the Korean War to drop a weather station in northeast Greenland. Again a civilian, he was a chief pilot, operations director, a student of design and aeronautical engineering while running an aircraft conversion shop. From Peru to the Artic wastelands and places around the world were his work area. This was followed by being a personal pilot and aviation consultant for powerful executives.