{"product_id":"9781612775784","title":"Above The Thunder: Reminiscences of a Field Artillery Pilot in World War II","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn extraordinary memoir of an aviator’s service in the Pacific Theater\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“If you’re looking for macho, fighting-man talk, you’ve picked up the wrong book. . . . This is just an honest narration of some of my experiences . . . during my service in the U.S. Army between 1940 and 1945.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e—Raymond C. Kerns\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe son of a Kentucky tobacco farmer, Raymond Kerns dropped out of high school after the eighth grade to help on the farm. He enlisted in the Army in 1940 and, after training as a radio operator in the artillery, was assigned to Schofield Barracks (Oahu) where he witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and participated in the ensuing battle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the months before Pearl Harbor, Kerns had passed the Army’s flight training admission exam with flying colors. But because he lacked a high school diploma, the Army refused to give him flying lessons. Undaunted, Private Kerns took lessons with a civilian flying school and was actually scheduled for his first solo flight on the afternoon of December 7, 1941.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotwithstanding his lack of diploma, Kerns graduated from Officer Candidate School and then completed flight training in the L-4 Piper Cub in late 1942. He was assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division in New Guinea and saw extensive combat service there and in the Philippines. In a simple but riveting style, Kerns recalls flying multiple patrols over enemy-held territory in his light unarmored plane, calling and coordinating artillery strikes. While his most effective defense was the remarkable maneuverability and nimbleness of the L-4, he was often required to defend himself with pistols and rifles, hand grenades, and even a machine gun that he welded to his landing gear and once used to blow up an ammunition dump.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProud of his service and convinced of the effectiveness and cost efficiency of the L-4 pilots in the Pacific and Europe, Kerns earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Silver Star.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAbove the Thunder,\u003c\/em\u003e arguably one of the best memoirs of combat action during World War II, will appeal to military historians as well as general readers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kent State University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47134330257648,"sku":"9781612775784","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781612775784_p0.jpg?v=1769904099","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781612775784","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}