OLD MEN, PREGNANT WOMEN, LITTLE CHILDREN AND BEAUTIFUL WHITE HORSES
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Each day I checked the sky for yellow tails and four-man formation. If one man was missing from their formation, I usually went to bed and covered my head until I got the "I'm home” call. If someone didn't make it, we would wait for the inevitable “Death Parade": Three blue Air Force sedans, the Base Commander, The Squadron Leader, The Base Chaplain and the wife's best friend. We would slowly peek out the window and hold our breaths and pray, “Dear God, don't stop here," over and over. Soon the phones would ring, “They are on ‘A’ street, ‘C’ street, turning on 5th street.” Finally, I could breathe. It was terrible; I felt such relief and thankfulness that it wasn't my time and yet devastated for my friend who was hurting. If I wasn't needed, I would just sit and hold my baby.
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About the Book
This is the story of a year in the life of an eighteen-year-old wife and mother suddenly living in a war zone. She and her husband, a jet fighter pilot, were based at Itazuke Air Force base, Fukuoka, Japan, when in the night the North Koreans invaded South Korea; the pilots of the 5th Air Force were at war. The wives based at Itazuke remained on base, facing the tragedy of lost and wounded friends and the ever-present fear of what became known as the "Death Parade." Included are letters written home by a frightened, homsick little girl, determined nevertheless to stay with her husband, yet fearful for their new baby. These letters are poignant in their simplicity. Also included are songs the pilots sang after a day of combat, songs of death and dying. This true story is unlike any other tale of the Korean War. It records a side of war little seen and seldom remembered. Whether there daily in the war zone or sitting thousands of miles away, the pilot's wife just waits.
About the Author
Married forty years to a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Corinne Rico’t shares a year of living on the edge of war. Now retired from a career as art dealer and appraiser, she resides in San Antonio, Texas, at Air Force Village, a retirement community for military officers and spouses.