The book outlines his desire to join the Air Corp first in Canada and his parents refusing before the US actually entered the War to his time when we were in the think of the fighting. His best friend was allowed by his parents to go to Canada and he joined as a fighter pilot. Lucky wanted to be a pilot more than anything and this memoir traces his journey form almost washing our of flight school to being assigned to the multi-engine B-17 Super Fortress.
The job of the B-17 pilots was to conduct daytime raids when the German Luftwaffe was at its strongest in the early 1940s and just waiting for a chance to shoot down these large lumbering beasts who could rain destruction onto the Nazi territory,
The memoirs trace Lucky's hopes and fears...much as any young man might have being shoved into service in a war where he actually volunteered.
The book is well written and definitely has the feel of an war adventure novel. When the reader realizes that this is not a cardboard cut-out but a real human who has his hopes, fears, desires, it becomes much more real. Having to complete 25 bombing missions is needed before rotating back to the US is difficult as losses of life or capture by the Germans is much more likely than success. Near misses and luck is with Lucky and he survives.
A good read for those interested in World War II and how "boys" were forced to become men overnight and fight for the way of life of us in the United States. It is especially good for those of us who only had fathers, uncles, and brothers who may have fought since we were born after the war. It gives us some insight into this war that we, at least I, was missing. There are some good history lessons here including why the term 12 o'clock high was a feared position.for fighters.
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