On Wings Of The Morning
Page 35
Georgia and her WASP friends, Pam, Donna Lee, and Fanny, are completely fictional, but their stories are representative of the collective stories of the WASP and the adventures, challenges, and dangers they faced. Like Georgia and her friends, the WASP came from a wide range of educational, economic, vocational, and geographic backgrounds. They volunteered to fly for the WASP for different reasons, but they all shared a deep sense of patriotism, adventure, and the longing for flight. The figures I cite regarding the numbers of missions flown, aircraft delivered, and casualties suffered by the WASP are accurate and show how greatly the WASP contributed to the war effort.
However, in order to make the dates of Georgia’s history mesh with the dates of Morgan’s history already set forth in Fields of Gold, I had to compress time a bit. For example, a picture of Shirley Slade (a real life WASP) actually appeared on the cover of Life magazine in July of 1943, but to make the story work, I had to change that date to May of the same year. Likewise, when it came to training dates and locations, I had to take similar liberties with dates but the basic story of what the WASP learned in their training, where they trained, and the conditions under which they trained (there really was a sudden increase in the number of male pilots requesting “emergency” landings at Avenger Field after word got out that the WASP were in residence) should give you a sense of what it took for a young woman to become a WASP.
Morgan Glennon is a completely fictional character as are Eva, Paul, and the other inhabitants of Dillon, Oklahoma, a town that, if it really existed, would be located about ten miles south of Liberal, Kansas, just across the Oklahoma state line. Long before he made his historic flight to Paris, in 1922 and 1923 Charles Lindbergh did barnstorm in Texas and Oklahoma. It is that period of his life, when he was a young, still-unknown pilot barnstorming his way through the Plains and, I imagine, causing the hearts of many a small town girl to beat just a bit faster, that served as the jumping off place for his romance with Eva. However, there is no evidence that he had any relationships with young women at that time. His relationship with Eva Glennon and Morgan’s eventual birth are complete inventions on my part.
However, many of the other facts concerning Charles Lindbergh are true. Though he was vehemently opposed to America’s entry into World War II, Lindbergh did volunteer to serve in the military after war was declared. When he was denied a commission, Lindbergh served as an adviser to companies building military aircraft. In that capacity, he went to the Pacific and flew alongside military pilots, most famously the 475th Fighter Group. Though a civilian, and an aging one at that, during his tour Lindbergh flew combat missions, shot enemy aircraft, and taught pilots the fuel mixing techniques described in the story that allowed them to significantly expand their flight range and gave them a valuable element of surprise when facing the enemy. Though his confrontation with Morgan is entirely fictional the exchange between the two men gives a sense of the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of Lindbergh’s personal life and achievements. Even now, four decades after his death, people are still arguing about Charles Lindbergh and if he was a hero, villain, or something in between. For more information about the real Charles Lindbergh, I recommend the excellent biography, Lindbergh by Scott Berg. Also, if you’d like more information about Lindbergh’s adventures with the 475th Fighter Group, I urge to visit their web site, www.475thfghf.org.
I hope the above has answered any questions you might have about this story. If not, I hope you’ll visit my web site, www.mariebostwick.com and send me an email . Actually, I hope you’ll do that even if you don’t have questions. The web site is full of information about my books, appearance schedule, reader’s contests, and the like. Additionally, there are downloadable copies of discussion questions for each of my books as well as a contact form where you can send questions, comments, or invitations to have me speak at your bookstore or community organization. I love to hear from my reading friends and do my best to answer all inquiries as quickly and thoroughly as time, tide, and deadlines allow.
Besides writing, connecting with readers is one of the things I enjoy doing most. If you have a book group with ten or more people, a speakerphone, and would like me to participate in one of your discussions, please drop by my web site, www.mariebostwick.com, and click on the “Book Club Invitations” tab to make your request. If you invite me, I’ll be there!
Thank you for reading On Wings of the Morning. Time is the most precious, finite commodity that we have, and I am honored that you chose to spend some of yours with Morgan, Georgia, and their friends. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Until we meet again.
Blessings,
Marie Bostwick
If you enjoyed On Wings of the Morning, don’t miss Marie
Bostwick’s delightful and heartwarming holiday story, “A High-
Kicking Christmas,” about a burned-out Rockette who finds herself
in small-town Vermont putting on a Christmas pageant and discovers
that the handsome young pastor she’s working with lights up her life
even more than Broadway ever did!
Comfort and Joy, also features stories by #1 New York Times best-
selling author Fern Michaels, and rising stars Cathy Lamb and
Deborah J. Wolf.
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Copyright © 2007 by Marie Bostwick Skinner
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