Fighter Pilot's Daughter: Growing up in the Sixties and the Cold War details author and Professor Mary Lawlor's unconventional upbringing in Cold War America. A personal narrative braided with scholarly, retrospective reflections as to what that narrative means, Fighter Pilot's Daughter zooms in on a little girl with a childhood full of instability, frustration and unanswered questions such that her struggles in growth, her struggles, her yearnings and eventual successes exemplify those of her entire generation.
Fighter Pilot's Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War details author and Professor Mary Lawlor’s unconventional upbringing in Cold War America. Memories of her early life—as the daughter of a Marine Corps and then Army father—reveal the personal costs of tensions that once gripped the entire world, and illustrate the ways in which bold foreign policy decisions shaped an entire generation of Americans, defining not just the ways they were raised, but who they would ultimately become. As a kid on the move she was constantly in search of something to hold on to, a longing that led her toward rebellion, to college in Paris, and to the kind of self-discovery only possible in the late 1960s. A personal narrative braided with scholarly, retrospective reflections as to what that narrative means, My Cold War zooms in on a little girl with a childhood full of instability, frustration and unanswered questions such that her struggles in growth, her struggles, her yearnings and eventual successes exemplify those of her entire generation. From California to Georgia to Germany, Lawlor’s family was stationed in parts of the world that few are able to experience at so young an age, but being a child of military parents has never been easy. She neatly outlines the unique challenges an upbringing without roots presents someone struggling to come to terms with a world at war, and a home in constant turnover and turmoil. This book is for anyone seeking a finer awareness of the tolls that war takes not just on a nation, but on that nation’s sons and daughters, in whose hearts and minds deeper battles continue to rage long after the soldiers have come home.
A fresh, unique insider’s view of what it’s like to be a woman aviator in today’s US Navy—from pedicures to parachutes, friendship to firefights. Caroline Johnson was an unlikely aviation candidate. A tall blonde debutante from Colorado, she could have just as easily gone into fashion or filmmaking, and yet she went on to become an F/A-18 Super Hornet Weapons System Officer. She was one of the first women to fly a combat mission over Iraq since 2011, and one of the first women to drop bombs on ISIS. Jet Girl tells the remarkable story of the women fighting at the forefront in a military system that allows them to reach the highest peaks, and yet is in many respects still a fraternity. Johnson offers an insider’s view on the fascinating, thrilling, dangerous and, at times, glamorous world of being a naval aviator. This is a coming-of age story about a young college-aged woman who draws strength from a tight knit group of friends, called the Jet Girls, and struggles with all the ordinary problems of life: love, work, catty housewives, father figures, make-up, wardrobe, not to mention being put into harm’s way daily with terrorist groups such as ISIS and world powers such as Russia and Iran. Some of the most memorable parts of the book are about real life in training, in the air and in combat—how do you deal with having to pee in a cockpit the size of a bumper car going 600 miles an hour? Not just a memoir, this book also aims to change the conversation and to inspire and attract the next generation of men and women who are tempted to explore a life of adventure and service.
Fighter Pilot is the memoir of legendary ace American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force, Robin Olds. Robin Olds was a larger-than-life hero with a towering personality. A graduate of West Point and an inductee in the National College Football Hall of Fame for his All-American performance for Army, Olds was one of the toughest college football players at the time. In WWII, Olds quickly became a top fighter pilot and squadron commander by the age of 22—and an ace with 12 aerial victories. But it was in Vietnam where the man became a legend. He arrived in 1966 to find a dejected group of pilots and motivated them by placing himself on the flight schedule under officers junior to himself, then challenging them to train him properly because he would soon be leading them. Proving he wasn't a WWII retread, he led the wing with aggressiveness, scoring another four confirmed kills, becoming a rare triple ace. Olds, who retired a brigadier general and died in 2007, was a unique individual whose personal story presents one of the most eagerly anticipated military books in recent memory. Please note: This ebook edition does not include the photo insert from the print edition.
Offering an inside look at military family life spanning WWII through the Korean and Vietnam Wars, this memoir not only chronicles the heroism of those in combat, but also that of the wives and families at home as they live under the constant shadow of potential loss. Married at the age of 22 to a dashing young jet pilot, young bride Gilberta Guth embarked on what was for many years a global journey, following her husband all over the world as he pursued his career. From their honeymoon in Las Vegas to an Ichibon sayonara and a St. Gobain au revoir to his final assignment in civilian life, she stood by his side and raised their four children. In the process she learned to cope with the tragic death of young pilots and how the other wives and family members comforted the widows and helped them pack up their children and leave the familial embrace of the military. Reproductions of letters, photos, and newspaper clippings further enrich this moving account of the challenges faced by a military family in both wartime and peacetime.
James Leininger was just two years old when he began having disturbing nightmares that would not stop. He screamed out in the night: 'Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!' While nightmares are common among children, what happened next shocked those around him... James began to reveal details of planes and war tragedies that no two-year-old boy could know. His desperate parents were at a loss to help him until he said three things: 'Corsair', 'Natoma' and 'Jack Larsen'. From these tantalising clues, James's parents travelled thousands of miles and spent many long years piecing together these facts to try and find an answer that could end his torment. Finally, despite his mother's fears and his father's staunch Christian beliefs, they found only one possibility to the endless coincidences that surrounded every detail in James's life – that their son was reliving the past life of a World War II fighter pilot. Their touching story is one that will challenge sceptics and confirm the beliefs of those who already believe in life after death.
Celebrate real-life heroes in the US Air Force with this early introduction board book series to the US military branches. The Mini Military series focuses on introducing young readers to the various branches of the US military. Lil' Air Force Pilot highlights what it's like to be in the US Air Force, focusing on uniforms and flight gear, and introducing toddlers to military vehicles, such as the fighter jets, helicopters, and bombers. Perfect for military families, those with veterans in their family, or for anyone looking to expose their youngest readers to parts of American society, this book and the series is sure to inspire and celebrate our brave service men and women.
Lt. Kara Hultgreen was just twenty-nine and the U.S. Navy's first fully qualified female fleet fighter pilot when her Tomcat slammed into the Pacific Ocean in October 1994. Her death was not only a tragic loss to her family but a serious blow to a navy struggling to redefine the role of women in its ranks. The image of this beautiful and vibrant young woman with her fierce warplane -- plastered across the front pages of newspapers around the world after the crash -- provoked strong emotions and gave new life to the controversy. Written by Kara's mother, Sally Spears, the book goes behind the headlines to tell the story of a remarkable woman who made history. Spears presents Kara's shortcomings along with her strengths -- the ups and downs in her personal life along with her professional career. She draws freely from Kara's journals, kept from the time Kara entered the navy, and from extensive interviews with her daughter's friends and peers as well as some of her commanding officers. From the athletic teenager who dreamed of becoming an astronaut to her pursuit of that dream earning a degree in aerospace engineering and joining the navy, this book chronicles Kara's efforts to become a navy pilot. It demonstrates how her outspokenness sometimes created problems in an environment hostile to women and how her sense of humor allowed her to cope. It describes how her ambition to fly combat aircraft collided with the customs of the navy, the mores of society -- and, until the repeal of the combat exclusion rules in 1991, with the laws of the United States.
