Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA fitting tribute to an otherwise little-known American hero [...] Highly recommended reading for anyone, but a "must have" addition to the library of military aviation history enthusiasts! * Col. J. Ward Boyce, Jr., USAF (Ret), Former Executive Director, American Fighter Aces Association *
Carl Molesworth captivates the reader with a thoroughly researched biography of Lt. Colonel William N. Reed, an outstanding yet still somewhat unknown American hero of World War II. [...] Bill Reed’s story is also a needed reminder of the hardships and sacrifice shown by those in combat and by their families at home. [...] All of us living today should try to live up to the standards Reed set for himself. * Tom Ivie, author of 'Aces of the 325th Fighter Group' *
Carl Molesworth’s biography of William Reed is a welcome addition to the record of American participation in the air war over China. Molesworth’s description of Reed’s experiences with the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers, provides more depth to an understanding of what daily life for an AVG pilot was like in the dark early days of America’s war against Japan. * Edward M. Young, author of 'B-25 Mitchell Units of the CBI' *
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Part One: The Making of a Man 1 “Everything anyone would ever want to be” 2 “Justifiable homicide” 3 “Three of us passed out of 47”
Part Two: A Grand Experiment – the AVG 4 “Day after day passed by uneventfully” 5 “Don’t be too much concerned, will you?” 6 “I dove and attacked them head-on” 7 “This is no time to take a runout” 8 “A pretty good day’s work” 9 “I might have stayed over there”
Part Three: Back to China 10 “I felt a hit in my engine” 11 “Some scheme afoot in Washington” 12 “Time we stopped fooling around” 13 “Stay in there and try a little harder” 14 “Just one of those Goddamned nights” 15 “The most staggering blow”
Appendix: Chinese place names Endnotes Bibliography List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Index
