{"product_id":"war-birds-diary-of-an-unknown-aviator-paperback","title":"War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn Macgavock Grider\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eElliott White Springs\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor), \u003cb\u003eClayton Knight\u003c\/b\u003e (Illustrator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the summer of 1917, more than two hundred American men volunteered for service in England's Royal Flying Corps, where they would be trained to fly with the Allies until American squadrons could be organized. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e John MacGavock Grider, assigned to Royal Air Force Number 85 Squadron, \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eflying SE-5a pursuit planes, was shot down and killed some twenty miles behind German lines in the summer of 1918. He was not a hero, nor were his training and combat experiences much different from those of his fellow pilots. He is set apart only by the records he kept of his experiences during that year. This is Grider's story, but in telling it he encompasses the opinions and prejudices, the successes and failures, the lives and deaths of those 210 volunteers. He details the rigors of training, the terrors of combat, and the respite of social activities. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Of this group, fifty-two were killed in training or in combat, thirty were wounded, fourteen became prisoners of war, and twenty dropped out of training under the mental pressures of combat flying. After the war, many of these pilots returned home without rank or medals, suffering by comparison with the much-decorated pilots from the American front. This book is not an attempt to make heroes of these men, but rather to tell the story of one man and his friends, who fought for the United States in World War I as guests of an ally in a strange land.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eElliot White Springs was John MacGavock Grider's best friend and fellow pilot during World War I. After the war he edited Grider's wartime diary, which was first published in 1926.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.69 x 9.06 x 6.14 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 19, 1988\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47469008584882,"sku":"9781585440870","price":25.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/65bfee426076abefd6021fdc32813b23.webp?v=1779062956","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/war-birds-diary-of-an-unknown-aviator-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}