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Author:   Carl Molesworth
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Osprey Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 16.00cm , Height: 3.40cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   0.640kg
ISBN:  

9781472840035

ISBN 10:   1472840038
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   20 February 2020
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

"Preface The author has an “aha” moment in 1981 at a reunion of wartime China pilots when he realizes the depth of feeling in the room for Bill Reed and first considers writing this book. Introduction Three letters to Bill’s mother: From Bill re: leaving for AVG; From Bill re: leaving for second combat tour in China; From General Chennault re: Bill’s death. Part One – The Making of a Man Chapter 1 “Everything anyone would ever want to be.” Starts with tease to Bill getting shot down over China in June 1944 (not his fatal flight). Family history – Stone City and Marion, IA; prosperous grandparents but working-class parents; high school success as a scholar and athlete. Intersperses a section on early aviation in eastern Iowa and plants the seed. Closes with Bill’s high-school valedictory speech condemning war and his determination to become an aviator. Chapter 2 “From the testimony presented, we believe the occurrence to be justifiable homicide.” Starts when Bill gets a lucky break that allows him to attend college thanks to the generosity of a local lawyer. Bill’s father dies in 1936, leaving the family in difficult financial shape. But the focus of the chapter is on older brother Ken, with a detailed account of how he was killed in a labor dispute known as the Chicago Memorial Day Massacre 1937. Chapter 3 “Three of us passed out of 47. Home Saturday.” Start with background on the war in China, which was going strong while Bill was finishing college. His nephew and best friend, Dick Reed, follows him to college and outshines him in sports. After graduation, Bill takes a boring office job with Quaker Oats but quickly applies for pilot training in the U.S. Army Air Corps and is accepted. Bill learns to fly in courses at Chicago and two bases in Texas. Includes information on the massive Air Corps buildup before the U.S. entered the war. After graduation Bill spends six months in Training Command, teaching other fledgling pilots what he had just learned about flying. In May 1941 Bill is recruited to join the American Volunteer Group, a secret unit of American mercenary pilots who will fly in the service of China against the Japanese. Includes background on the air war in China and introduces Bill’s future commander, Claire L. Chennault. Bill leaves the Army and travels to San Francisco, where he will ship out for Asia. The excellent pay as a mercenary pilot will help Bill and his mother escape the debt they accumulated during his years in college. Part Two -- A Grand Experiment: the AVG Chapter 4 “Nothing but water, day after day” Bill is one of two dozen volunteers who travel by ship to Rangoon, Burma, with stops in Hawaii, Australia, Manila, Java and Singapore. Much of this travelogue is in Bill’s own words. Chapter 5 “Don’t be too much concerned, will you?” This chapter covers September to December 1941, as Bill and the rest of the AVG train for combat at a remote jungle airfield in Burma. Chennault lectures the pilots on his innovative tactics for confronting the Japanese in the air, developed during his previous five years of serving as an advisor to the Chinese Air Force. In Bill’s letters home to his mother Mayme Reed, he attempts to assure her that he is in no danger, though that’s clearly not the case. Tension builds throughout Asia. Chapter 6 “The Jap exploded right in my face.” With the start of the war on Dec. 7, 1941, Bill and his squadron, the Hell’s Angels, are sent to Rangoon to defend the port from Japanese air attacks. Bill shoots down a Japanese bomber during his first combat mission, Dec. 23, 1941, but he loses a close friend in the combat. The Japanese come back on Christmas day, and Bill shoots down two more enemy aircraft. Both combats are described in detail by quoting Bill’s diary entries and adding information from other sources. Chapter 7 “This is no time to take a runout.” With the war going badly throughout the Pacific, the AVG is one of the few “good news” stories of early 1942 and the unit acquires the nickname “Flying Tigers.” Bill and the Hell’s Angels have a quiet spell in Kunming while they rest and refit, and then they rejoin the fight in a series of combats as they oppose the Japanese advance into northern Burma. Bill has a close call on one mission when his P-40 blows black oil over its windshield, blocking his vision while he is attempting to dogfight with Japanese aircraft. He makes a perilous landing while covered with oil. Chapter 8 “A pretty good day’s work.” On his most notable mission of 1942, Bill and his wingman make a sneak strafing attack on the Japanese-held airfield and destroy 15 enemy aircraft. When the AVG is disbanded on July 4, 1942, Bill decides it’s time for him to go home. He travels by ship with his good friend R.T. Smith and several others from India around Africa and arrives in New York, completing his round-the-world adventure. Chapter 9 “If I’d known what was going to happen when I got home, I might have stayed over there."" Bill returns home to a hero’s welcome in Marion, IA. The government soon recognizes his skill at public speaking and recruits him to sell War Bonds on a tour with Hollywood celebrities throughout the Midwest. He becomes friendly with Jinx Falkenburg, a beautiful starlet and cover girl. Part Three - Back to China: the CACW Chapter 10 – “I felt a hit in my engine and it started to smoke.” Bill rejoins the U.S. Army Air Force and resumes his flying duties in early 1943. Now he’s teaching gunnery to fighter pilots preparing to go overseas. Meanwhile, Bill’s nephew and best friend Dick Reed has completed his Army pilot training and deploys to North Africa as a member of the famed Checkertails fighter group. Dick survives a harrowing experience over Sardinia, including being held briefly as a prisoner of war. Chapter 11 “There isn’t anyone I’d want to be with half so much as Chennault.” Bill quickly tires of training duty and procures an assignment to go back to China. He leaves in the summer of 1943, much to his mother’s displeasure. His diary tells the story of his second trip to the Far East, which was much faster than the first. Bill arrives in Karachi, India, and is assigned to the new Chinese-American Composite Wing. The CACW is a unique unit made up of Chinese and American pilots with a dual command structure. Background on why and how the CACW came to be. Chapter 12 “Time we stopped fooling around and got to work.” Bill forms his own squadron, the Seventh, with his Chinese counterpart, Captain Hsu. After a chilly start to their relationship, they form a close bond while training their men for combat. Explains how the war situation in China has changed during the 18 months Bill has been away. Chapter 13 “Stay in there and try a little harder.” Training complete, Bill leads the squadron to China in late January 1944 and finds himself back in familiar surroundings at Kunming. Bill’s squadron moves up to the forward base at Kweilin, and Bill leads its first offensive mission on March 4, 1944. As missions continue, the Japanese are preparing for a major ground offensive in China; background on that. The Ichi-Go offensive opens in April, and the squadron moves north to oppose it from another airbase at Liangshan. In two big air battles on May 16, Bill shoots down four Japanese aircraft to reach the honorary status of “ace.” Chapter 14 “It was just one of those Goddamned nights.” On June 6, 1944, Bill is shot down by ground fire and force-lands behind enemy lines. He is rescued by Chinese guerrillas and walks out to safety. Along the way, a Chinese officer presents Bill with a fancy sword captured from a Japanese officer. On return to Liangshan, Bill is sent to India to pick up a new airplane. Combats continue through the summer and fall of 1944. Bill leads a very successful mission on October 27, in which he records his last aerial victory of the war. Jinx Falkenburg shows up in China with a USO troupe and Bill takes time off to be with her. On December 18, 1944, General Chennault realizes his dream of pulling off a mass coordinated air strike against Japanese facilities at Hankow. Bill leads his squadron in the attack. The following night, Bill is killed in an unsuccessful parachute jump after his plane runs out of fuel in the dark. He dies three weeks shy of his 28th birthday. Chapter 15 “The most staggering blow” Bill’s friend Charles Lovett retrieves the body, and Bill is buried in Kunming. Word of Bill’s death reaches Marion, IA, and Mayme learns the sad news before being officially notified by the Army. The front-page newspaper story opens with the quote, “Death loves a shining mark.” A funeral service takes place, though his body remains buried in China. Condolence letters pour in to Mayme from servicemen and celebrities, leading her to wonder what Bill might have become if he had lived. General Chennault sees to the delivery of Bill’s Japanese sword to the family. Two years later, the U.S. Government retrieves Bill’s body, and he is buried in Iowa. Mayme’s beloved son finally has come home."

Reviews

A fitting tribute to an otherwise little-known American hero [...] Highly recommended reading for anyone, but a ""must have"" addition to the library of military aviation history enthusiasts! * Col. J. Ward Boyce, Jr., USAF (Ret), Former Executive Director, American Fighter Aces Association * Carl Molesworth captivates the reader with a thoroughly researched biography of Lt. Colonel William N. Reed, an outstanding yet still somewhat unknown American hero of World War II. [...] Bill Reed’s story is also a needed reminder of the hardships and sacrifice shown by those in combat and by their families at home. [...] All of us living today should try to live up to the standards Reed set for himself. * Tom Ivie, author of 'Aces of the 325th Fighter Group' * Carl Molesworth’s biography of William Reed is a welcome addition to the record of American participation in the air war over China. Molesworth’s description of Reed’s experiences with the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers, provides more depth to an understanding of what daily life for an AVG pilot was like in the dark early days of America’s war against Japan. * Edward M. Young, author of 'B-25 Mitchell Units of the CBI' *

A fitting tribute to an otherwise little-known American hero [...] Highly recommended reading for anyone, but a must have addition to the library of military aviation history enthusiasts! * Col. J. Ward Boyce, Jr., USAF (Ret), Former Executive Director, American Fighter Aces Association * Carl Molesworth captivates the reader with a thoroughly researched biography of Lt. Colonel William N. Reed, an outstanding yet still somewhat unknown American hero of World War II. [...] Bill Reed's story is also a needed reminder of the hardships and sacrifice shown by those in combat and by their families at home. [...] All of us living today should try to live up to the standards Reed set for himself. * Tom Ivie, author of 'Aces of the 325th Fighter Group' * Carl Molesworth's biography of William Reed is a welcome addition to the record of American participation in the air war over China. Molesworth's description of Reed's experiences with the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers, provides more depth to an understanding of what daily life for an AVG pilot was like in the dark early days of America's war against Japan. * Edward M. Young, author of 'B-25 Mitchell Units of the CBI' *

"A fitting tribute to an otherwise little-known American hero [...] Highly recommended reading for anyone, but a ""must have"" addition to the library of military aviation history enthusiasts! * Col. J. Ward Boyce, Jr., USAF (Ret), Former Executive Director, American Fighter Aces Association * Carl Molesworth captivates the reader with a thoroughly researched biography of Lt. Colonel William N. Reed, an outstanding yet still somewhat unknown American hero of World War II. [...] Bill Reed’s story is also a needed reminder of the hardships and sacrifice shown by those in combat and by their families at home. [...] All of us living today should try to live up to the standards Reed set for himself. * Tom Ivie, author of 'Aces of the 325th Fighter Group' * Carl Molesworth’s biography of William Reed is a welcome addition to the record of American participation in the air war over China. Molesworth’s description of Reed’s experiences with the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers, provides more depth to an understanding of what daily life for an AVG pilot was like in the dark early days of America’s war against Japan. * Edward M. Young, author of 'B-25 Mitchell Units of the CBI' *"

Author Information

Carl Molesworth, a resident of Mount Vernon, Washington, USA, is a former newspaper and magazine editor now working as a free-lance writer and editor. A graduate of the University of Maryland with a bachelor of arts degree in English, Molesworth served as an enlisted man in the USAF 1968-72 before becoming an award-winning journalist for 35 years and then transitioning to full-time book writing. He has been researching and writing about fighter operations in World War II for nearly 30 years. His 14 previous titles include three books in Osprey’s Aircraft of the Aces series, three in the Elite Units series and two in the Duel series. He is best known for his writing about the China-Burma-India theatre and the Curtiss P-40 fighter. Book reviewer Kelly Jamison, writing in 2016 for the popular web site cybermodeler.com, said this; ‘If you have an interest in aircraft of the CBI or the Flying Tigers, Carl Molesworth is the author you should seek out. I consider him the undisputed champion on the subject.’

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