Historic aviation's book of the month

The memoirs of a World War Two bomber pilot.

Robert Morgan's love affair with Margaret Polk was one of the most publicized USAAF romances of World War Two. He was a Flying Fortress pilot in the 8th Air Force's 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group. She was his muse and the namesake of his aircraft -- the Memphis Belle. War-time newspaper accounts told the tale of Morgan and his crew's legendary 25 combat missions. The Memphis Belle's adventures have also been recounted in a 1944 documentary by William Wyler and fictionalized in a 1991 Hollywood major motion picture. Now, in The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle (Dutton, New York, $25.95) Col. Morgan finally tells his story - from his youth in the high society of North Carolina through the Depression and onto his glory days as commander of the celebrated bomber named for his sweetheart. Written with Ron Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, the book is a chronicle of loyalty, love, and heroism under fire.

Bob Morgan's early years in the Blue Ridge Mountains were storybook perfect. His father owned a successful furniture manufacturing business; his mother befriended the Vanderbilts. Young Morgan played baseball in the open fields near his home and rode bikes into down-- town Asheville at breakneck speed. He had a warm and loving relationship with his family. As a teenager, he attended dances at the country club and wooed numerous young women - the beginning of a lifetime of playboy ways.

The Great Depression stole Morgan's innocence. His family lost their business, their house, the servants and ultimately much more: His mother, diagnosed with cancer, committed suicide. Bob would spend the rest of his life searching for someone to replace his loving mother, never fully recovering from this tragic loss.

In November 1940, Morgan signed up for the Army Air Corps. It was there, behind the controls of an airplane, that he found true love. Through several marriages, engagements and rocky relationships with women, flying remained the one constant in his life. During WWII, his love for flying ultimately merged with his love of one woman, the beautiful belle from Memphis, Margaret Polk. Throughout the war, Morgan flew the Memphis Belle with her photo taped to the instrument panel.

After the 25th mission, with only one superficial wound sustained by a crewman, and over 60 decorations awarded collectively to the crew, the Memphis Belle flew one final mission - a 31 -- city public relations tour across the United States, to bolster support for the USAAF. The publicity and the accompanying parties - including Hollywood blowouts with Veronica Lake and Dinah Shore - destroyed the storybook romance between pilot and muse. The marriage plans were put off; the engagement broken.

Neither the tale of Bob Morgan, nor that of Memphis Belle, ended with those 25 missions and the shattered romance. Though Morgan and his plane parted ways, each encountered many more adventures. Morgan went on to fly 26 more missions in the Pacific aboard Dauntless Dotty, a B-29 named for his new wife Dorothy Johnson, including piloting the lead plane on the first B-29 raid on Tokyo and taking part in the devastating Tokyo fire bombing. And the Memphis Belle went from abandonment to near destruction to its current resting place, Mud Island in Memphis where it is visited and admired daily by locals and tourists.

Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. Jul 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved