Tex Hill: Flying Tiger

By David Lee Hill

2003 new copy, hard bound in dust jacket, 6x9, 318 pages, numerous illustrations & maps, bibliography, index. dust jacket color art work by John Shaw. Born the son of missionary parents in Korea,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1885354150
• ISBN13: 9781885354150
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Honoribus Press, the
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.56 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Exciting Biography of a Legendary Pilot!

Few people become legends in their own time. Tex Hill did. If Claire Chennault was the brains of the Flying Tigers, Tex Hill was its heart. He personified the can-do attitude that kept the AVG and its successors going in the face of countless problems. Hill and his grandson, Reagan Schaupp, chronicle the life of this amazing airman in this 2003 release from Honoribus Press. Hill was born to American missionaries serving in Korea. Later transplanted to the west Texas countryside, he joined the Navy after college but then opted out, choosing to sign up to fight for China. Assigned to the AVG's 2nd PS, Hill scored his first kills in January 1942, therein beginning a combat career that would see him become a flight leader, Squadron CO, Group commander and top-ranking ace. Flying P-40s and later P-51s Hill downed 18.25 Japanese aircraft but, more importantly, made major contributions to the American air war effort in China. Postwar he served in the Texas Air National Guard, finally retiring in 1968. Much honored in his lifetime, Tex Hill died in October 2007. Hill and Schaupp do a rousing job of relating the life and times of this fascinating man. It's hard not to like Hill as you read this book. He comes across as a straight-shooting, principled and unassuming good old boy who was also a ferocious fighter ace, well-respected leader and innovative tactician. As memoirs go, TEX HILL: FLYING TIGER is a great read. Hill and Schaupp paint a vivid picture of missions flown and dogfights waged along with rare, insider glimpses of life under Chennault. I do wish the authors had been able to include information from the Japanese side as to the extent of damages they suffered at the hands of the AVG and its successors. A few errors do crop up - Ki-21s misidentified as "Bettys," Nates and Oscars supposedly armed with 20mm cannons, etc. - but generally the history is sound. I was surprised, in these days of political correctness, that the term "Japs" was used throughout the book. In any case, TEX HILL: FLYING TIGER is a marvelous chronicle of a life well lived. The reader gets to know, understand and admire that lanky, self-effacing Flying Tiger gunfighter and relive those exciting, sometimes desperate times over China so long ago. Recommended. ******* NB. In 2004 I had the opportunity to spend time with Tex Hill at the EAA Convention. I was hawking my MIG KILLERS OF YANKEE STATION book and discovered he was doing the same for his book. We were to share an Author's Booth; I was floored. I can still recall looking up and seeing this slightly stooped yet still tall, grandfatherly figure striding towards the booth, animatedly talking to a striking woman, obviously his wife. I remember thinking: "My God, that's him, that's TEX HILL!" He and Mazie introduced themselves and, for the next hour, we talked of various things while signing books, posing for pictures, etc. He was an amazing man, obviously in love with live and very much in love with his wife. They wer

Tex Hill: A True Hero

When I attended some Flying Tiger Association reunions, I met men who flew with Tex in China. It was obvious that there was a lot of honor, respect and friendship. I had read about Tex in other books and was very excited that I got to meet him in person. His love for his wife and country radiated from his whole being. At that point I was compelled to buy Tex's book and have him sign it. I'm not much for reading but I couldn't put the book down. Tex had a wonderful way of telling stories in person and the book tells these stories well too. Definitely read this one.

The supreme Flying Tiger book.

Here is the wartime biography of a true hero. Well written and thorougly entertaining. Tex has numerous "miraculous" escapes from death. (If one reads between the lines his missionary/pastor father is just as much the hero with his answered prayers for his son.) If there is one aviation adventure/biography you read this year make it this book.