I Always Wanted to Fly; America's Cold War Airmen

Jackson Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2001. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. very good/Very good. xix, [1], 363, [1] pages. Illustrations. Maps. Includes Foreword (by Ken Hechler), Preface, and Acknowledgments. Also includes The Magic of Flying: Concluding Thoughts; Glossary; Bibliography; Interviews, Letters, and Tapes; and Index. Topics covered include The Berlin Airlift, 1948; Korea, 1950; Strategic Reconnaissance; Vietnam, 1965; and The Magic of Flying: Concluding Thoughts. Inscribed on the title page. Inscription reads: For Suclew Zaveclarack with best wishes, Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, 6/2006. The author uses personal experiences to underscore American airpower's formidable role in winning the Cold War. Wolfgang W.E. Samuel (born February 2, 1935) is a German-born American author and a veteran of the United States Air Force. Born in Germany, ten-year-old Samuel, along with his mother and sister, ran from his home town of Sagan (now aga in Poland) in 1945 as the Red Army approached. As a Flüchtling (refugee), he underwent privation and resettlement in the post-war years. His mother was raped repeatedly, and his grandfather was killed by German communists. He describes how he and his mother eventually settled near a U.S. airbase in western Germany, where his mother met and married an American serviceman. After the family emigrated to the United States, Samuel attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business in 1960, and subsequently the National War College. He flew combat during the Vietnam War and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross three times and multiple Air Medals. He served in the United States Air Force for 30 years, retiring with the rank of colonel in 1985. As of 2015, Samuel has published eight books. The first, German Boy: A Child in War, is a memoir detailing the war years and his post-war life as a refugee, and features a foreword by historian Stephen Ambrose. His second book, I Always Wanted to Fly: America's Cold War Airmen, is a compilation of oral histories of American aviators of the Cold War era. The War of Our Childhood: Memories of World War II, another oral history compilation, tells of twenty-seven Germans who experienced the war as children. American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets, is an account of the efforts made by the United States military to acquire German military technology. Glory Days: The Untold Story of the Men Who Flew the B-66 Destroyer into the Face of Fear recounts some of the adventures of the often unsung crews of the B-66, RB-66 and EB-66 aircraft. Watson's Whizzer's: Operation Lusty and the Race for Nazi Aviation Technology documents the United States' efforts to obtain German aeronautical breakthroughs at the end of World War II. His most recent work is In Defense of Freedom that describes the sacrifices of America's World War II Army Air Force flyers and their contributions to the Allied victory.

Kenneth William Hechler (September 20, 1914 - December 10, 2016) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented West Virginia's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1959 to 1977 and was West Virginia Secretary of State from 1985 to 2001. He was also the author of The Bridge at Ramagen.

Until now, no book has covered all of Cold War air combat in the words of the men who waged it. In I Always Wanted to Fly, retired United States Air Force Colonel Wolfgang W. E. Samuel has gathered first-person memories from heroes of the cockpits and airstrips.

Battling in dogfights when jets were novelties, saving lives in grueling airlifts, or flying dangerous reconnaissance missions deep into Soviet and Chinese airspace, these flyers waged America's longest and most secretively conducted air war.

Many of the pilots Samuel interviewed invoke the same sentiment when asked why they risked their lives in the air--"I always wanted to fly." While young, they were inspired by barnstormers, by World War I fighter legends, by the legendary Charles Lindbergh, and often just by seeing airplanes flying overhead. With the advent of World War II, many of these dreamers found themselves in cockpits soon after high school. Of those who survived World War II, many chose to continue following their dream, flying the Berlin Airlift, stopping the North Korean army during the "forgotten war" in Korea, and fighting in the Vietnam War.

Told in personal narratives and reminiscences, I Always Wanted to Fly renders views from pilots' seats and flight decks during every air combat flashpoint from 1945--1968. Drawn from long exposure to the immense stress of warfare, the stories these warriors share are both heroic and historic.

The author, a veteran of many secret reconnaissance missions, evokes individuals and scenes with authority and grace. He provides clear, concise historical context for each airman's memories. In I Always Wanted to Fly he has produced both a thrilling and inspirational acknowledgment of personal heroism and a valuable addition to our documentation of the Cold War.