Richard Eager - a Pilot's Story from Tennessee Eagle Scout to General Montgomery's Flying Fortress

The romanticized movies and books about World War II never quite seem to match up with the stories our parents and grandparents told of their own experience. Here is a memoir that is authentic. We can taste the grit of the North African desert in our teeth and also savor the gritty desert sunsets. The B-17 is at the same time a bucket of bolts and as an example of American engineering might. Richard Eager and his men are real, with real fears and determination, fulfilling their duty one day at a time, totally dependent on each other.The author's matter-of-fact portrayal of the life of an Army flier makes it easy to identify with him. He is the boy next door, perhaps a bit of an overachiever, who loved his family, chewed gum, rode his bike, served when called, and made us all proud. A generation later, the spin on military service became very different, but this was the "good war". Given the confidence demonstrated daily, the outcome was never in doubt.Riding along as Richard Eager's co-pilot is a most enjoyable gift of unvarnished validation of our forebears' experience. I wish I had known him.

I loved the honesty and heartfelt writing style. This story captures heartland America during the depression, WWII and post WWII. It is about a boy growing up and becoming a bomber pilot, surviving the war and being involved in the start of the US Air Force. It is fascinating and at times all encompassing as we read about an eager beavers WWII exploits.

This biography is loaded with a deep and lively canvas of life in Tennessee just before WWII and then in 1943 flies into the very epicenter of the action for an up-close look at how the Allied forces ran Hitler’s troops out of North Africa and the Mediterranean and more. I loved reading each and every first-hand story, and especially appreciated the chronology from this American Army pilot who actually flew the legendary British General Bernard Law Montgomery around in a B-17, as the brutal campaign ensued. Great read for anyone of any age or anywhere, who wants a true story that is riveting, enlightening, adventurous, fun and worth sharing.

My favorite parts of this wonderful reconstucted autobiography by Richard Evans and saved from obscurity by his daughter Barbara Evans Kinnear was the story about a pilot and a B-17. Theresa Leta was a "hangar queen" that General Dwight Eisenhower loaned to British General Bernard Montgomery after he won several decisive battles against Rommel. Rommel was trying to seize the Suez Canal and " Monty" stopped him and caused the Axis powers to withdraw from North Africa. Eisenhower also loaned the American crew, commanded by Col. Richard Evans. There are nail-biting moments as Evans shepherds the ship as it lands on too-short landing fields or loses it's brakes landing with the Commander of the British Eighth Army on board. The writing in these segments and more like them is astounding. I couldn't put the book down. It inspired me to hunt down a B-17, and there is one, on Bomber Row, at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

I loved reading the book, "Richard Eager, a Pilot's Story" for many reasons. The book gives so many insights into why we refer to that generation as “The Greatest Generation”.Our country and its people were so innocent at that time yet had the character to be ready and willing to partake in a war that no one could have imagined. Colonel Evans and his entire family offer a real life glimpse into the effort, dedication, and sacrifice that was made by so many Americans. It is a beautifullywritten life story beginning from Richard Evan’s childhood up until the end of his life. The reader can easily relate to all the episodes of the author’s life; the child, the adult, the war hero, husband and father. When one reads the book and is swept into all its adventures, it also tugs at the heart strings for those “boys” who were so similar to Colonel Evans but who never made it back home.I am so happy Colonel Evans survived the war and kept his journals. The effort his daughter (Barbara Evans Kinnear) made in this compilation of materials is extraordinary. This is a very important book for any American to read.

“Richard Eager”, A Pilot’s Story, is the story of Colonel Richard Ernest Evans (Eager being his nickname), a highly accomplished US Air Force pilot during World War II and thereafter. It is not a biography in the usual sense, nor is it a wartime history. Rather, it is a highly personal account that weaves together detailed reminiscences of experiences in the military with stories of growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee. Evans joined the Air Force out of high school, flew 55 combat missions in a B-17 Flying Fortress and became Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery’s personal pilot of the B-17 that “Monty” had been given by General Eisenhower in recognition of his great accomplishments in North Africa. After the war, the highly decorated Evans held a number of high responsibility positions in pilot training and testing of new aircraft. The stories of Evans’ Air Force service take us from Texas to North Africa, Italy, the Pacific, Japan, and back to the US. While not a military history, Evans’ stories are richly detailed and provide not only insights into the human context of at least some parts of the great conflict, but they also introduce us to some of the famous characters of the war, including both military and civilian, including even King George VI. The interspersed chapters of growing up in Tennessee in a close-knot family of strong values reminded me, in the detail and warmth with which they are told, of paintings by Norman Rockwell. The book is unusually richly illustrated with dozens of historic photographs that, in themselves, are a treasure. Bobbie Kinnear, Richard Evans’ daughter who edited and completed the manuscript after her father’s death, further enhanced the value of the volume by adding to it a detailed timeline, an extensive glossary of terms, and a large appendix of letters reproduced in facsimile. These archival additions give the book special value as a historical source. Whether you are interested in the history of WWII or just love reading good stories, this book is for you.

THIS book, written by Colonel Evans in 1993 but not published in his lifetime, is co-authored by his daughter.Spanning World War II, the Korean War and the Cold War, it is a valuable source reference for the casual enthusiast, the student of history and the military student alike.As ‘Century 20’ - to use the author’s phrase - slips further into the past, Hollywood too easily steps in to inform us “how it really was”. I speak of the crews of the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator.With over fifty combat missions flying the B-17 Flying Fortress over Germany and North Africa, then the B-29 Superfortress over Japan, the author brings to the fore the expertise and skills of every crew member.Here is a team of ten men whose lives depend upon their pilot, but who also, each in their own nine stations, must be the eyes and ears of each other and their pilot. In battle, from their positions, they will see things that the pilot cannot see but can hear.The extraordinary hexagon that one naturally draws between pilot - bombardier - navigator - ball-turret-gunner - tail gunner; the entire crew’s reliance upon strict intercom protocol that sweeps aside the Hollywood-type-show notion of endless quips and banter, makes this a very important work.This hexagon draws in the gun stations at waist point and below the nose of the B-17.I like to read books that give me evidence of reality.This book gives me that in double measure, because the author penned a full glossary of terms that are highlighted in the text and easily found in the glossary at the book’s end.Here is a description of the pressure and skill of the American system of flying battle operations in boxed formations. These boxes meant that the aircraft must all fly within meters at most - and often feet only - of each other in order to give themselves maximum protection, as well as maximum defensive, and offensive, firepower to the attacking enemy squadrons.With the end of the war, Colonel Richards was transferred to the Reserve only to be then called back to active service flying combat operations in the Korean War and then operations during the Cold War, and eventual command of the B-58 Test Squadron, United States Air Force.Whilst this is a military record, the author writes from the angle of family life too. It also gives us a good outline of two controversial Generals - Montgomery and Patton - who did not see eye to eye; and the fact that the author was Monty’s pilot flying Theresa Leta gives us a fascinating insight into some of the characters that made up Allied high command, including Eisenhower, Doolittle, Bedell-Smith, LeMay and even George VI.For me, as a retired Royal Air Force (Volunteer Reserve) officer, the book is an eye-opener. With two uncles - also RAF VR - flying, and going down, in Halifaxes and Lancasters, I’ve long wanted to look at the B-17 and B-24. Thus, for me, this has been an emotive read. There are times when I felt I really was inside the aircraft. In short, this book has opened up a whole new perspective of the price paid to secure the freedom that I enjoy today.Colonel Richard 'Eager' Ernest Evans USAF sums the whole thing up well as regards flight and ground crews.“We clearly understood and appreciated our dependency upon one another.”Now that, is this book’s hallmark.

I really enjoyed the book , and the insights into Captain Evans' handling of the B17 were a real eye opener. I had to re-read sections of his personal story to see how his upbringing produced a young man who was able to cope with the what he encountered during the war . A very absorbing account indeed.