I'm a very big WWII buff. I can't seem to get enough information on the history of the war. The individual accounts of ground and aerial combat are very riveting. This book is no exception. Awesome! I couldn't put it down.

I'm a very big WWII buff. I can't seem to get enough information on the history of the war. The individual accounts of ground and aerial combat are very riveting. This book is no exception. Awesome! I couldn't put it down.

George Loving's memoir of his time as a fighter pilot in the Mediterranean Theater, first in Spitfires and then in the famed P-51 Mustang, ring true. He seems to have kept a meticulous diary during his time in Italy and one gets a good feel for the long periods of dull routine broken up by occasional hot combat. You see how long it could take for a pilot to achieve the status of ace, i.e., the weeks or months needed to shoot down five enemy planes. And you also see how many pilots fell to mechanical problems and bad weather, rather than enemy fire. Unfortunately, while that probably makes for good history, it's not the most compelling reading. Still, one can't help but be amazed at the courage of these pilots, and especially of the bomber pilots they escorted.

The thing that intrigued me most in reading this book was the mindset of these brave men. From their days as cadets till their discharge, the pilots who succeeded had a lust for victory. The matter of fact style of writing conveys this mindset, this "failure is not an option" mentality that made pilots pray nothing would keep them from participating in the next mission. It would be incorrect to say that fear is not addressed here, but it would be totally accurate to say that, in their pursuit of victory, these men were fearless. I could not help thinking, while reading the day-to-day story of becoming a pilot, that I would have wanted to be a cadet too. Mr. Loving doesn't make it sound easy, but he does show that it was an age of heroes, where the workingman could have the chance of becoming a fighter ace. In the end though, it is evident that, just like today, it takes a special breed of men to rise to this level, and many, then as now, washed out. On the lighter side, it was also very refreshing to hear tales of quick pleasure trips to exotic cities and nights out on the town to take the edge off the pressures of combat. All in all, the book gave me a much more realistic impression of what America's fighter pilots went through, alone but together, one plane, but a member of an indomitable force. The drive and adherence to honor and truth are values that stick with you long after the book has been read. A patriotic Thumbs Up!

December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day, occurred as George Loving,Jr. and I were hitch-hiking to see our lady friends at Farmville State Teacher's College. We were students at E.C.Glass High School in Lynchburg. That was the first day of the war for us.

As I read his book of experiences in the air over Italy, I felt as though I was right at his side reliving the events and feeling the goose bumps as things became sticky from time to time. I cleaned my plate by reading this saga from cover to cover in a short time, wanting it to go on and on.

WOODBINE RED LEADER
- AN EXCITING AND WELL TOLD STORY, BY GEORGE LOVING,
OF HIS COMBAT TOUR AS A FIGHTER PILOT DURING WORLD WAR II< IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATRE.
HIS WRITING ENABLES HIS READERS TO FEEL WE ARE IN THE COCKPIT
OF THAT FIGHTER AND TO EXPERIENCE LIFE IN A FIGHTER SQUADROM
THAT IS FLYING DAILY COMBAT MISSIONS.
I KNOW GEORGE LOVING WELL. HE IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT< AND THE FINEST AIR FORCE OFFICER AND PILOT, WITH WHOM IT WAS MY PRIVILEGE TO SERVE DURING MY SIX YEARS AS AN AIR FORCE FIGHTER PILOT.
THIS BOOK PROVES THAT HE IS ALSO A GREAT STORY TELLER, AND A SUPERB WRITER. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! WOODBINE RED LEADER IS A GREAT READ!!

----MAURICE M. BENITEZ