Overview

"""Slayden piloted the Army's flying tank from the Battle of the Bulge into the heart of Germany, telling us what it was like to fly by the seat of his pants against the Nazis-engrossing and unforgettable."" -James Jay Carafano, Washington, DC, author of After D-Day The late Van Slayden trained on the PT-3 kite-like biplane in 1937, but he learned fighter pilot operations flying ""by the seat of his pants,"" walking away from five crashes. Shortly after the invasion of Normandy, he landed on Utah Beach to help establish a US Army Air Forces' (AAF's) presence in Europe. He flew the P-47 Thunderbolt, a fighter-bomber, in combat over Northern France and commanded the 36th Fighter Group-the ""Fightin' 36th-at Batogne, St. Vith, the Bridgehead at Remagen, Operations Grenade, Clarion, Varsity and other missions. His 22nd Fighter Squadron was the first in the AAF to land voluntarily on German soil. He was deep into Germany when the Nazis surrendered on May 8, 1945, which was remarkably anticlimactic. Van Slayden, a country boy from rural Tennessee, like so many of his contemporaries, stepped up to the challenge as part of the Greatest Generation."

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9781684336234

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"2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards Finalist - Military & Front Line Narrative Non-Fiction 2021 American Book Fest Best Book Awards Finalist - History: Military ""I wish I'd had access to this book as a cadet at the Air Force Academy in the mid-60's. It was an honor and privilege to review this book."" -COL Ed Petersen, Lawton, OK, USAF Retired, B-52 Pilot in Vietnam ""He crashed and flew again, and he was shot at and pushed on. As a historian and farm boy-turned-fighter-pilot, his story hit me right between the eyes!"" -LTC Todd Lang, USAF Retired, Tulsa, OK, F-16 Fighter Pilot ""Slayden piloted the Army's flying tank from the Battle of the Bulge into the heart of Germany, telling us what it was like to fly by the seat of his pants against the Nazis--engrossing and unforgettable."" -James Jay Carafano, Washington, DC, author of After D-Day ""Colonel Van Slayden was a genuine World War II hero and his memoir deserves to be widely read."" -Readers' Favorite (5-Star Review) Co-author Patrecia Slayden Hollis- the award-winning former Editor of ""Field Artillery,"" a professional journal for Army and Marine Field Artillerymen stationed around the world-was inducted into the US Field Artillery Hall of Fame, Fort Sill, OK, in 2022, the first woman to be inducted."

I wish I'd had access to this book as a cadet at the Air Force Academy in the mid-60's. It was an honor and privilege to review this book. -COL Ed Petersen, Lawton, OK, USAF Retired, B-52 Pilot in Vietnam He crashed and flew again, and he was shot at and pushed on. As a historian and farm boy-turned-fighter-pilot, his story hit me right between the eyes! -LTC Todd Lang, USAF Retired, Tulsa, OK, F-16 Fighter Pilot Slayden piloted the Army's flying tank from the Battle of the Bulge into the heart of Germany, telling us what it was like to fly by the seat of his pants against the Nazis--engrossing and unforgettable. -James Jay Carafano, Washington, DC, author of After D-Day

2022 Chanticleer International Book Awards Finalist - Military & Front Line Narrative Non-Fiction 2021 American Book Fest Best Book Awards Finalist - History: Military I wish I'd had access to this book as a cadet at the Air Force Academy in the mid-60's. It was an honor and privilege to review this book. -COL Ed Petersen, Lawton, OK, USAF Retired, B-52 Pilot in Vietnam He crashed and flew again, and he was shot at and pushed on. As a historian and farm boy-turned-fighter-pilot, his story hit me right between the eyes! -LTC Todd Lang, USAF Retired, Tulsa, OK, F-16 Fighter Pilot Slayden piloted the Army's flying tank from the Battle of the Bulge into the heart of Germany, telling us what it was like to fly by the seat of his pants against the Nazis--engrossing and unforgettable. -James Jay Carafano, Washington, DC, author of After D-Day Colonel Van Slayden was a genuine World War II hero and his memoir deserves to be widely read. -Readers' Favorite (5-Star Review)

Author Information

"Colonel Phillip Van H. Slayden (1913 - 1996), US Air Force Retired, taught Military History at West Point, served as US Chief Advisor to rehabilitate the Republic of Korea Air Force after the war, and commanded the 4504th Missile Wing at Orlando AFB, Florida, among other assignments. From flying bi-wing aircraft in 1937 to standing up America's first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) School in 1959, Van Slayden advanced the most powerful Air Force in history. Patrecia Slayden Hollis collaborated with her father on this book. She was Editor of the Army and Marine Corps journal, Field Artillery, for 20 years at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, interviewing for publication 80-plus combat veterans, including division and corps commanders returning from the Middle East. She received the Dallas Press Club's 2006 Katie Award and Statue for Best Interview with Marine Lieutenant General John F. Sattler, ""The Second Battle of Fallujah-Urban Operations in a New Kind of War."""

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