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Commander Dusty Rhodes |
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From POW to Blue Angel |
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"When Dusty was a young navy ensign, I saw him as a level-headed, aggressive fighter pilot. With unending purpose, he survived the degrading depths of prison life. It was now his turn to ascend to the heights of leadership of the world's top military flight demonstration team. From POW to Blue Angel sets a living example of personal strength and resiliency in a young naval officer, a mantle he proudly and justly wears to this date. Jim Armstrong tells Dusty's story with great clarity and feeling." - Roy M. "Butch" Voris (Captain, U.S. Navy) |
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As only the third fighter pilot to become leader of the Blue Angels, Raleigh E. "Dusty" Rhodes helped develop the most famous aerobatics team ever formed. From POW to Blue Angel tells his story-a fast-paced drama teeming with action and human interest and capturing the initiative and tenacity of a true American hero. Jim Armstrong has drawn on extensive interviews and Dusty's scrapbooks and flight logs to produce a rare account of the Blue Angels in the late 1940s. Readers will experience the stress of practice and the exhilaration of air shows as Armstrong takes them inside Dusty's cockpit during the era when the Blues first found fame, perfecting their trademark formations and maneuvers. This book is also a moving account of the degradation that Rhodes suffered for three years as a prisoner of war, and includes his rare, ground observer's view of the firebombings of Tokyo and Yokohama. Armstrong poignantly captures Dusty's return to a changed postwar America, and also recounts his tour as a fighter pilot in Korea. |
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From POW to Blue Angel is an intimate story of service and survival that will carve a place in naval aviation history-and inspire all who keep their eyes skyward.Jim Armstrong is Professor Emeritus of English at Fullerton College, Fullerton, California. He lives in Placentia, California. The late Roy M. "Butch" Voris (Captain, U.S. Navy) formed the Blue Angels in 1946 and served twice as their leader |
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Extracts from the book to find out how to get the Book click on the link below. |
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ISBN: 0-8061-3764-9 $29.95 Published: 2006 |
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To order contact University of Oklahoma Press there web-site is |
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