num_pages: 265
description: The true story of the B-25 pilot who fought a personal aerial war to retrieve his family from Japanese captivity in the Philippines . . . stirring (Barrett Tillman author of The Air War Against Japan 19421945 ).Born in the Philippines to an American father and a Filipina mother George Cooper was one of the few surviving veteran pilots who saw action over such fearsome targets as Rabaul and Wewak. Not just another flag-waving story of air combat Jayhawk describes the war as it really wasa conflict with far-reaching tentacles that gripped and tore at not only the combatants but also their families their friends and the way they lived their lives.Jay Stout examines the story of Coopers growing up in gentle and idyllic pre-war Manila and how he grew to be the man he was. Stout reviews Coopers journey to the United States and his unlikely entry into the United States Army Air Forces. Trained as a B-25 pilot Cooper was assigned to the iconic 345th Bomb Group and flew strafing missions that shredded the enemy but likewise put himself and his comrades in grave danger. A husband and father Cooper was pulled two ways by the call of duty and his obligation to his wife and daughter. And always on his mind was the family he left behind in the Philippines who were in thrall to the Japanese.A story of love honor service sacrifice and endurance captured in page-turning prose that honors a decorated aviator who was truly a giant among the many from Americas greatest generation. Stephen L. Moore author of Rain of Mitschers Task Force 58 Ugakis Thunder Gods and the Kamikaze War off Okinawa
language: English
title: Jayhawk: Love, Loss, Liberation and Terror Over the Pacific
publisher: Casemate