Look through the eyes of a sensitive storyteller at a time when America and the world held firmly to values that today seem much changed. The time was 1950 to 1953.

Thousands of our fighting men and women were dying in a far off land called Korea while our country was trying desperately to forget the horrors of World War II and begin a new life. The result was a war that has remained almost buried in the minds of our nation.

Tex Atkinson takes us back to those days and to the Depression years that led to them. His often gut-wrenching accounts of Navy combat flying, interspersed with tales of growing up in the small town of Hillsboro, Texas, ring true with every word. From the laughter of young friends in the cotton-blossom air of Hillsboro, to the frantic “Mayday! Mayday!” call of a carrier pilot about to meet sudden death, Tex reveals his life as a Korean War veteran with pathos and humor.

The Korean War has been largely ignored. The histories that have been written usually focus on land battles that were fought in freezing weather over rugged mountain terrain. Other books have told of fighter aces dogfighting with enemy MiGs, but few books or movies portray the actions of Navy carrier pilots in the Korean War. These pilots laid waste to North Korean supply routes by bombing bridges, tunnels, dams, and storage depots. Some carrier pilots did engage MiGs, but the air war in Korea was mostly a war of close air support. Knocking out supply routes and destroying enemy troops just a short distance from our fighting men were the most pressing jobs. Often flying just feet off the ground, they suffered heavy losses from anti-aircraft fire. Returning in a damaged aircraft to their carrier, hoping that they would not have to ditch in freezing water, was just an added hazard.

This is much more than just another pilot story. It is a story of life, war, and family. The reader who enjoys history, aviation, or just a good book is invited to join Tex Atkinson in his view From the Cockpit.