Echoes of Eagles: A Son, a Father and America's First Fighter Pilots Hardcover - 2003

by Woolley, Charles; Crawford, Bill

The intrepid fighter pilots of World War I live again in this thrilling true account of the men who risked their lives for our country and who became America's first heroes of the skies.

Published to coincide with the one-hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic first flight and the birth of aviation, Echoes of Eagles is a rousing chronicle of American air combat during the first world war.

In 1917, Charles H. Woolley, the author's father, enlisted in and trained as a pilot with the newly created U.S. Air Service. He and his fellow pilots of the 94th, 95th, and 49th Aero Squadrons flew at 20,000 feet in open-cockpit French biplanes, with no oxygen, no parachutes, and no radios. Death was their constant companion. This extraordinary book takes readers into the cockpits of these fragile fighter aircraft and into the souls of the men who fought for their country in a new environment-the air. The grit of muddy airfields is balanced by the women and champagne of Paris.

From tales of dog-fighting with German aces to strafing enemy trenches, Echoes of Eagles describes the risks and the dangers of flight, feats of incredible heroism and acts of stunning cowardice, and the camaraderie among men dedicated to a common goal. Based on diaries and letters and never-before-published interviews with the heroes themselves, and featuring amazing photographs, this unforgettable account of America's first fighter pilots is also a son's stirring tribute to his father.