From being raised in rural Louisiana and Texas to graduating from an eight-room high school in a class of 12 seniors to fulfilling his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, Roy Edwards, call sign “Howdy,” shares his experiences in this memoir of his life “back then.”

He writes candidly about his growing-up years, his military training, learning to fly, and his life in the US Marine Corps for 28 years. He became a Naval Aviator, flew many kinds of aircraft, his favorite being single seat fighter jets, and served his country well.

The accounts in this book chronicle the path he took to achieve his goal of being a jet pilot and the day-to-day realities of his journey, some amusing, some frustrating, and some plain scary. From flying nearly 300 Close Air Support missions during his service in Vietnam to training other flyers to serving as a Weapons Test Pilot at the Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California, Roy’s down-to-earth remembrances record growing up in the forties and serving his country in an unpopular war and beyond.

Readers will get a look at what this entailed, get familiar with some military terms, and get a glimpse behind the scenes of what life was like back then. More than 40 photos and images, both color and black and white, are included in this book.