The Unlikely Airman: Memories of an Air Force Pilot

By Bill Heitzig

This is certainly not a typical story about some famous, dashing, swash-buckling knight of the air, an incredible hero like Eddie Rickenbacker or Robin Olds or a famous astronaut, like John Glenn though I seriously wish that it was. And, this is definitely not a "tell-all." If it were, it would most likely be a lot more interesting and probably an overnight NY Times best seller. Unfortunately, for "reality" types who revel in such drama, there are some stories that must definitely go to my grave. I am quite certain that many of my former wild and crazy TDY service buddies and wingmen would probably appreciate this also. Rather, this is simply an account of an aspiring young grocery clerk who had absolutely no idea growing up that he would end up becoming an Air Force fighter pilot. As you may or may not imagine, that would be me, guilty as charged. Never achieving any real fame or notoriety in the Air Force, there was definitely no dashing, swash-buckling, courageous activity on my part. Barely able to scrape together a handful of combat related flying activity and lacking any real natural talent or ability when it came to aviating, navigating and communicating, I just always showed up with a heightened passion and curiosity for everything I did. Additionally, as Vince Lombardi implied, I worked very hard and did the very best I could with the cards I was dealt, regardless of the task or duty and never ever, ever quit or gave up. Are there other military aviators out there like me? You bet there are. I would argue that there is a fairly large number of highly disciplined, some incredibly gifted, professional military pilots who have braved the wild blue yonder numerous times and through no fault of their own, never achieved any real fame or notoriety. There are literally thousands upon thousands of dedicated patriots who simply served and continue to serve their country, sacrificing and doing the job they were told to do, day in and day out. Be that as it may, I would also argue that many of their stories might be very relevant and fairly interesting. Perhaps, it is time to tell one of those stories. By the way, some have told me over the years that I should give this accounting of the events surrounding my experiences as a pilot in the Air Force. Well, maybe that time has come. Easy for them to say, but some of those same folks also claim that my stories are unusual, funny and interesting. Well, YGBSM! I am not very sure that I agree with any of that, but as always, due to some minor embellishment and all-purpose BS on my part, maybe they are correct. I promise only this. In an attempt to make this product readable for my grandchildren, I will attempt to keep this story PG-13. And as always, I will strive to do my very best with what I have, trying to represent thousands of military aviators to the best of my ability and hopefully make this illustrative story interesting, funny, relevant and mostly true. If nothing else, maybe, this will inspire all Airmen past and present to reflect proudly upon their service and sacrifice during their military careers. I hope you enjoy A Most Unlikely Airman.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1094780472
• ISBN13: 9781094780474
• Release Date: January 2020
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 475 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.2" x 6.0"