He kissed her, then asked, "Are you all right?"
"Everybody is all right. It was you in that airplane, wasn't it? You water-bombed the Klan! I was never so proud of anybody in my life. They were going to kill us."
"I'm taking you back with me. You're not going to put yourself in danger like this again."
He didn't let her reply, enveloping her with his arms, closing her mouth with a kiss.
Behind her screen door, Lucy Tate looked out with approval, saying softly, "That's it, that's what she wants, man. You got her now, you take her with you!"
***
Author's Note
It is sad that the Korean War has truly been the forgotten war, for it signaled so many social, military, and political changes for the United States. Even though the most powerful enemy in the Korean War was China, the war's most important effect was the final polarization of the two great powers, the United States and the Soviet Union. In the process, the war forced a major rethinking on the role of the American military. Where in the past the country had depended upon a well-prepared Navy to defend its shores until a tiny Army and Air Force could be expanded to meet a threat, it was now evident that full-time professional military forces would have to be maintained permanently.
This book tries to tell the story of how the military coped with that changing situation, complicated as it was by both the growth in air and space technology and by social changes caused by the growing civil rights movement. Although there were still many individual instances of discrimination, the military services in general, and the Air Force in particular, led the way in implementing the changes in the law and in our social consciousness that the civil rights movement achieved.
Researching material for this book took several years and would have taken more had it not been for the remarkable contributions of a number of individuals who gave freely of their time to provide me with material or to review what I'd written for accuracy. I was particularly concerned that my portrayal of black characters be accurate, and my special gratitude goes to a friend and colleague, Colonel Tommy Daniels, USAF, who was untiring in finding knowledgeable people to help me. Tommy put me in touch with a number of Tuskegee airmen as well as other black officers who had served during the period and experienced the problems of the times. I am grateful to Major General James Whitehead, Colonel John Whitehead, Colonel Charles McGee, Lt. General Frank Peterson, and Lt. General William E. Brown, Jr., all of whom were helpful in the extreme. And among the Tuskegee airmen, I was, like anyone who knows him, inspired by their stalwart commander, Lt. General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Because I was even more concerned about my depiction of a black woman character, I sought and received help from Captain Julia Barnes, NC USN (Ret), a wonderful lady who has been successful in both military and nonmilitary careers. Carlos Campbell was also helpful in reviewing material.
The issue of the treatment of prisoners has always been a haunting problem, and never more so than during the Korean War, when for the first time our soldiers and airmen were captured by hostile Communist forces. Colonel Walker "Bud" Mahurin, who scored twenty victories in World War II, scored four more in Korea before being shot down. I am indebted to him both for accounts of action in MiG Alley and for his hard-earned information on life in a Korean prisoner of war camp. Major General Frederick C. "Boots" Blesse, who scored ten victories in Korea, was also extremely helpful with insight into air combat. And former astronaut and Skylab commander, and now novelist, Dr. William R. Pogue filled me in on life in an F-84 outfit.
For the forest-fire fighting material, I am indebted to the dean of forest-fire fighting, Jack Wilson, of the Boise Interagency Fire Center, as well as to Fred Fuchs, of the U.S. Forest Service; George Patterson, of the Forest History Association; and Jonathan Jones, a forest-fire fighter.
Pearly Draughn, librarian of the Air Force Association, was always helpful, as was Paul Schlus of the Arkansas Air National Guard. And I want to thank Leo Opdycke for his insightful, if sometimes painful, commentary. I'm grateful, too, to Roy and Sandy Bradley for the information on Little Rock and its environs.
At Crown, I'm indebted to my editor James O'Shea Wade, his able assistant, Victoria Heacock, and to all the wonderful people who did so much to pull the book together. And, as always, I'm glad to have as my agent the gracious Jacques de Spoelberch.
Walter J. Boyne
Ashburn, Virginia
Air Force Eagles Page 48
