| Central Coast Aviators in World War II Contributor(s): Gregory, Jim (Author) |
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ISBN: 1467139521 ISBN-13: 9781467139526 Publisher: History Press OUR PRICE: $19.79 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2018 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - State & Local - West (ak, Ca, Co, Hi, Id, Mt, Nv, Ut, Wy) - Photography | Subjects & Themes - Regional (see Also Travel - Pictorials) - History | Military - World War Ii |
| Dewey: 940.544 |
| LCCN: 2017963920 |
| Series: Military |
| Physical Information: 0.4" H x 6" W x 8.9" (0.70 lbs) 144 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1940's |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: During World War II, thousands of volunteer combat aviators trained at places like Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and Hancock Field in Santa Maria. Some air cadets and WASPs--young women pilots--lost their lives in training accidents. The graduates would go on to fight in both the Pacific and European theaters. They faced flak bursts and collisions that resulted in horrifying explosions and were sent on strafing runs that made them targets in a lethal shooting gallery. Downed airmen encountered both unexpected kindness and cruel deprivation as prisoners of war. Through interviews and official records, Jim Gregory tells the stories of heroic Central Coast veterans who fought a war that stretched from New Guinea to North Africa. |
Contributor Bio(s): Gregory, Jim: - Jim Gregory is a longtime Arroyo Grande resident, and this is his fourth book on local history. He attended the two-room Branch School in the Upper Arroyo Grande Valley, Cuesta College, the University of Missouri and Cal Poly. He taught for thirty years at Mission Prep in San Luis Obispo and at Arroyo Grande High School, earning Teacher of the Year in 2010-11 and retiring in 2015. Gregory is married to Elizabeth, a campus minister and teacher, and is the father of John and Thomas. |