Marcus looks at the planes and feels pride in America. His dad is Mark Fox, the Navy pilot whose career has blown his family across the plains of America. With blond hair and a relaxed, easy-going attitude, Mason seems suited for some California beach town, a surfboard under his arm, his eyes turned to the roiling ocean. Instead, he quarterbacks Lemoore High's freshman football on the flat Valley floor. He's a mature young man who learned at an early age what citizens of Lemoore have known since the 1960s.
Pilots sometimes fly off to war.
They did from Lemoore during Vietnam. They did again before the Gulf War. The squadrons always leave behind the golden hopes and unspeakable fears of their loved ones. Mason Fox knows that first hand. In March 1991, his dad came home after flying 22 missions during the Gulf War.