LOST
BLACK SHEEP: The Search for WWII Ace Chris Magee, by Robert T. Reed.
246 pages, illustrated. Hellgate, $24.95
“Lost
Black Sheep” is a most unusual example of “greatest generation”
memoir. The subject, Chris Magee, scored nine victories in the South
Pacific with the Black Sheep, second only to squadron commander Pappy
Boyington. Then he joined the Israeli air force in 1948, one of the
few goyim to help defend the Jews from attacks by Egyptian bombers.
The
not-so-great part of his life included smuggling, some mysterious
flying for unspecified troublemakers in Latin America and eight years
in Leavenworth for bank robbery.
It
is sometimes suggested that young adventurers have a hard time coming
down from the early high of combat, but the other Black Sheep, with
the exception of Boyington, came back to civil life and uniformly did
well. (I did not notice until starting this review that my
second-hand copy of “Lost Black Sheep” has a label indicating
that it was formerly owned by Ned Corman, a Black Sheep fighter pilot
who later was a captain for PanAm and did well enough to retire to
Wailea before his death in 2008.)
Robert
Reed does not suggest that it was a thirst for action that got Magee
into trouble, although he was a restless man with little regard for
rules even as a youngster.
Later,
though, he settled down and led a quiet life. Besides quick
reflexes,he had a powerful mind, but lacked direction. He spent
decades studying crackpot theories like anthroposophy.
He
also had an unformed talent for writing. His letters are consistently
interesting but as undisciplined as the early part of his life.
After
entering prison, Magee was lost to family and friends for decades.
The second half of the book describes how Reed tracked him down and
how the Black Sheep veterans reintegrated Magee into their
fraternity.
There
is a startling revelation in this part of the story, which I am not
going to give away.
No comments:
Post a Comment