Air Corps Days

From what began as the author's research quest to bring closure to a mysterious family tragedy from World War II, comes the now-uncovered account of bomber pilot 2nd Lt. Arthur "Bud" Pierson in Air Corps Days: The Journey of a WWII Flyboy. Using Lt. Pierson’s own letters and journal entries as a framework, Air Corps Days reconstructs his journey and discovers just how much was being asked of the young and inexperienced airmen. Much more than simply a cog in the wheel of war, Pierson's story exemplifies how World War II became profoundly personal for the families who sent sons and daughters to serve, and recognizes that trauma and heartbreak can permeate multiple generations.

In the far-flung reaches of the Central Pacific during World War II, the odds were slim for the young and brazen American flyboys battling Japan. Among them was Renovo, Pennsylvania native Lt. Arthur "Bud" Pierson, a 21-year-old co-pilot and member of a B-24 Liberator bomber crew with the Seventh Air Force. In the spring of 1943, Pierson entered a desperate and dangerous struggle where distance, the elements, and blind chance were as deadly as the enemy.

Pulling from his personal journal and letters home, Air Corps Days chronicles Pierson's transformation from fledgling air cadet to combat pilot. A narrative blending his first-hand accounts with meticulous research, Air Corps Days is a comprehensive telling that takes readers inside the action as Pierson endures the doubts and trials of training before being thrust into enemy skies rife with fear, excitement, confusion and violence. All of this came at a time when a bomber boy's chance of survival stood at fifty percent.

Heath White is a native of Renovo, Pennsylvania, who holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. He has worked in the public relations field for over a decade. An avid aficionado of all things history, Air Corps Days began as a research project to bring closure to a family tragedy from World War II that evolved into his first book. Heath resides near Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, daughter and Chiweenie.