A Flight Through Life - An Aviator's Memoir

Book excerpt: "A Flight Through Life" begins with a boy growing up during World War II, and records his youthful fascination with aviation. It follows his career in aviation from becoming a private pilot through his eventful life as an Aviation Cadet and his careers in both the Air Force and commercial aviation. Al DeGroote's captivating descriptions of his experiences give both pilots and non-pilots a feel for the excitement and wonder of flying while sharing with them the experience of being part of aviation's transition from the piston to the jet age. While aviation is the central theme of the narrative, Al's wide ranging experience in command and staff positions brings the non-flying reader into his life as a war planner, accident investigator and international affairs specialist. As the U.S. Air Attaché at the embassy in Laos he and his family experienced the tragedy of the fall of Southeast Asia first hand and he provides a ringside seat for the reader to observe the many blunders and few triumphs of that debacle.