Devotion - the story of Ens. Jesse Brown - first black naval aviator, and his squadro
0A16BCE3-2131-4483-B459-FE6C86A232B8.jpgGreat book by Adam Makos, tragic in that it recounts Ensign Brown’s shoot down, which ultimately cost him his life, even though a squadron mate crash landed nearby and attempted his rescue. Realistic portrayal of men going to war and the stresses of carrier operations with the Corsair. It’s not political, it is really a serious military history; hard one to put down. Their carrier was USS Leyte. They had just left Cannes, where they met Elizabeth Taylor, then on to Crete where they flew mock close air support for a USMC amphibious landing exercise. In Lebanon they received word they were headed to Korea, and resultantly brought aboard the same Marine Landing Force also Korea bound. They later flew actual close air for these same Marines at Chosin. This is a good read, he made a couple of concessions to civilians, calling the carrier’s Island the “Tower “ and apparently he thought that Wardroom was too confusing and changed that to “officers’ dining room.” It’s a great book with the groundpounders getting a big share of the story. Highly recommended.
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