The Fighter Pilots Wife

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.

Throughout the annals of time, intelligent design has had His hand in producing millions upon billions of souls. For the sake of propagating our species we have been designed in His image. Our divine Maker in all of His glory intended on giving us a fighting chance of survival. The right to exist. In this enterprise we call life, there are absolutely zero guarantees. Every now and again, He would produce a Mary Magdalene, a Joan of Arc, a mother Teresa, or Golda Meir. Aside from giving us His very own Son, every once in several millennium he would create a soul, nearly as perfect as his own. Such a soul is a reflection of His perfect love. A love with an incarnate heart which is as unconditional, undying and as selfless as our divine Maker’s. At this moment, a choir of Archangels would sing out in a glorious celestial chorus. On these rare occasions, He would have smiled with a twinkle in His eye. The creation of yet another miraculous masterpiece.

When Shirley said 'I will' at her wedding to Dave Forgan, she should have added 'I'll move.' At the age of twenty-three, Shirley Dobbins married an air force jet fighter pilot and took off on a globetrotting adventure, from being a first lieutenant's girlfriend to general's wife. Shirley traveled with Dave, all while raising two boys and fulfilling all the duties of a military wife with a sense of humor and dedication. Readers will discover the life of a military wife, a lifestyle certainly not for sissies. It takes a special woman, willing to make sacrifices, but the rewards are remarkable. There are happy occasions, exciting travels, sad times, hilarious incidents, proud moments, and lifelong friends to be made. Military wives and mothers will find comfort and joy in these pages, and civilian women will gain insight into this exclusive world. Join Shirley as she wings her way on this journey in Earning My Wings. It's an unforgettable ride and delight.

Marcia Sargent's memoir of the first few years of her marriage to a Marine jet jockey, detailing how she navigated the unfamiliar skies of officer's wives, military expectations, and the loss of loved ones.

Anita Shreve's hauntingly beautiful #1 bestseller and Oprah's Book Club selection about tragedy, grief, betrayal, and the 'impossibility of knowing another person.' As a pilot's wife, Kathryn has learned to expect both intense exhilaration and long periods alone, but nothing has prepared her for a late-night knock that lets her know her husband has died in a crash. Until now, Kathryn Lyons's life has been peaceful if unextraordinary: a satisfying job teaching high school in the New England mill town of her childhood; a picture-perfect home by the ocean; a precocious, independent-minded fifteen-year-old daughter; and a happy marriage whose occasional dull passages she attributes to the unavoidable deadening of time. As Kathryn struggles with her grief, she descends into a maelstrom of publicity stirred up by the modern hunger for the details of tragedy. Even before the plane is located in waters off the Irish coast, the relentless scrutiny of her husband's life begins to bring a bizarre personal mystery into focus. Could there be any truth to the increasingly disturbing rumors that he had a secret life?

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.

When Kathryn Lyons receives the news that her husband's plane has exploded, she begins an investigation of her own that reveals things she never thought possible.

Consuelo sat watching her air force pilot husband pack his flight bag and prepare for a mission. The mission was for an undetermined number of days to an unspecified location. He could not tell her where he was going nor how long he would be away. She was a seasoned military wife. She knew not to ask. Jeff was a B-2 bomber pilot. She sat quietly trying to beat back tears as she became lost in memories of their lives together. She had to be strong. She didn’t want to show signs of weakness and give him anything to worry about on the home front. She dreaded the lonely days and nights that lay ahead while she waited and wondered where he was, and if he was safe. She knew she would be notified if he wasn’t. Days later, Jeff called. “It is just a cat and mouse, waiting game. We are hoping against hope and praying with all our might that we do not have to take off unless it is to return home. We are waiting for the other shoe to fall.” “Oh Jeff, we are praying that cool heads will prevail, and that the enemy doesn’t decide to escalate the rhetoric with his threats. The world is holding its breath.” As they were saying their goodbyes, Consuelo could hear the alert horn sounding over the phone. Jeff quickly said, “Goodbye, honey. Love you Gotta go.” And the line went dead. Consuelo sat in stone silence praying for his safety and for all the other pilots and military personnel who were scrambling to their duty stations and airplanes because of impending danger. She prayed silently that it was a false alarm and not a real and present danger to America or our allies.

In My Pilot Sarajane Giere offers a rare glimpse into the life of a military wife. She tells the story of her fighter pilot husband, Bernie, who flew 214 combat missions in Vietnam and served twenty-five years in the Air National Guard's world-class 106thRescue Wing. With explicit honesty, she recounts the terror of the Vietnam years. With searing love, she unfolds the lifelong sacrifices that affected her pilot's life and death. In the telling she honors her family, including the military community she holds dear.

Bud Anderson is a flyers flyer. The Californians enduring love of flying began in the 1920s with the planes that flew over his fathers farm. In January 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program. Later after he received his wings and flew P-39s, he was chosen as one of the original flight leaders of the new 357th Fighter Group. Equipped with the new and deadly P-51 Mustang, the group shot down five enemy aircraft for each one it lost while escorting bombers to targets deep inside Germany. But the price was high. Half of its pilots were killed or imprisoned, including some of Buds closest friends. In February 1944, Bud Anderson, entered the uncertain, exhilarating, and deadly world of aerial combat. He flew two tours of combat against the Luftwaffe in less than a year. In battles sometimes involving hundreds of airplanes, he ranked among the groups leading aces with 16 aerial victories. He flew 116 missions in his old crow without ever being hit by enemy aircraft or turning back for any reason, despite one life or death confrontation after another. His friend Chuck Yeager, who flew with Anderson in the 357th, says, In an airplane, the guy was a mongoosethe best fighter pilot I ever saw. Buds years as a test pilot were at least as risky. In one bizarre experiment, he repeatedly linked up in midair with a B-29 bomber, wingtip to wingtip. In other tests, he flew a jet fighter that was launched and retrieved from a giant B-36 bomber. As in combat, he lost many friends flying tests such as these. Bud commanded a squadron of F-86 jet fighters in postwar Korea, and a wing of F-105s on Okinawa during the mid-1960s. In 1970 at age 48, he flew combat strikes as a wing commander against communist supply lines. To Fly and Fight is about flying, plain and simple: the joys and dangers and the very special skills it demands. Touching, thoughtful, and dead honest, it is the story of a boy who grew up living his dream.