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Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds with Christina Olds & Ed Rasimus Soft Cover
Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds with Christina Olds & Ed Rasimus
Soft Cover
400 pages
Copyright 2010
CONTENTS
Acknowledgmentsix
Prefacexiii
1. Battle1
2. My Early Years5
3. Pilot Training18
4. Off to War29
5. A Small Event Called D-day41
6. The Heat of Many Battles56
7. Victoriesat Last!76
8. Mustangs and Mayhem94
9. R&R, Second Tour, and Home116
10. Going Home132'
11. Life in the Fast Lane153
12. Exchange with the RAF 1948180
13. F-86s at March Field, the Pitts, and Stewart198
14. Landstuhl to Libya210
15. Pentagon to Shaw227
16. The Phantom and the War247
17. Bolo271
18. Rolling Thunder283
19. The Ending Battle313
20. The Painful Way Home341
21. The Academy353
22. IG and Out371
23. Final Landing382
Index 387
PREFACE
There is only one witness to a life. That is the person who lived it. No one else will ever know the totality of that life. A wife may bond completely with her spouse, but she sees only those portions of the man that they've shared. A family may think they know their siblings, but the thoughts within are the individual's alone. Close friends can sit comfortably in silence with each other, but the events past and the experiences outside the friendship can be understood only by the man himself. We show many different faces to the people around us.
Biographers inevitably fail if their objective is to tell the story of the whole man. We are fortunate in this instance because this isn't a biography. This is the chronicle of a life in the words of the man himself. Many of us knew Robin. Some knew him in childhood, some as classmates, others as military superiors or subordinates, still others as friends. Each saw a facet of the life, but without the writings and insights of Robin himself there would be no picture of the whole man.
I spoke with Robin several years ago, and we discussed his obligation to get his story from his own personal perspective into a book. I asked him if I could help himedit his story, ghostwrite it if necessary, or simply help him to get it to a publisher. He was getting older and his story couldn't die with him. His reply to my overture was classic Robin.
"I've already written it. It's taken care of. I've done it already." Somehow I harbored doubts about that. I asked him if I could read it and help him to get it ready for publication. He confirmed my suspicions when he replied that it wasn't quite ready for that yet. To punctuate the conversation he gave me "the glare," which told me I'd best tread carefully, friend or not. "Nobody's going to put words in my mouth, either."
No doesn't always mean no, and the story was too important to let languish. Every time I encountered him, I brought up the book again. I spoke with other close friends of his, Bob Titus, Bill Sparks, Les Pritchard, Jack McEncroe, Stan Goldstein, about his memoir. Jack said he had seen parts of it, at least rough notes. He described it as a jumble of bits and pieces, scattered here and there, jotted down over the years. I asked him to prevail upon Robin to get it moving. The whole group agreed with me, but Robin continued to procrastinate. The story went that even Gen. Chuck Horner had come to Steamboat with Tom Clancy to try to convince Robin to let the famed author help him. It never came to pass.
When Robin fell ill it looked as though this book would never happen. During his final months his daughter Christina stayed with him, and he sought her pledge that she would follow through on the project. He left her an extensive collection of writings, photos, documents, and memorabilia to pave the way. He shared days with her telling her tales of his life, and when he left us, we had all that was necessary to bring this book together.
It was my very distinct honor to be able to help with this work. I hope we've done the man justice, and I hope that his wisdom and experience can offer us all some insight into how a great man lived a remarkable life.
Ed Rasimus December 2008
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