The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle : Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot (Hardcover)

A hellraiser with a penchant for buzzing airfields, Bob Morgan fell for a Seattle beauty that would carry him through the war in Europe--a four-engined Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress he named after his Tennessee born wife Margaret--The Memphis Belle. His story takes readers into the heart of the war as seen from 20,000 feet. photos. A hellraiser with a penchant for buzzing airfields, Bob Morgan fell for a Seattle beauty that would carry him through the war in Europe-a four-engined Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress. After falling in love with Margaret Polk of Memphis, Morgan named his new bomber after her-the Memphis Belle. Leader of the first bombing crew to survive twenty-five daylight missions over the flak and fighter-filled skies of Occupied France and Nazi Germany and return to the U.S., Morgan and his plane were made famous by Hollywood film director William Wyler in his 1944 documentary, The Memphis Belle. The only casualty on the Belle was Morgan and Polk's romance-torn apart by the War Department's publicity needs. Cowritten by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle takes readers into the heart of war above 20,000 feet. After the Belle, Morgan commanded his own squadron over the Pacific, leading the first B-29 raid over Tokyo from the Dauntless Dotty and paving the way for the Allied victory. A powerful chronicle of loyalty, love, and heroism under fire, this is an unforgettable memoir of a member of the greatest generation who fought America's greatest battles...and of the war one man fought both in and out of the skies.