Twenty Five Milk Runs (And a Few Others)

Very enjoyable and readable. The writer has had a very interesting life and has written his story with passion. Starting with his childhood and leading to his experiences in WWII the book is engrossing. I recommend reading this if you enjoy autobiographies or a pilot's perspective of WWII - especially coming from a pilot who could fly a 4 engine bomber before he could drive a car.

As a 21 year old B-17 bomber pilot Richard Johnson completed 32 combat missions over Europe as a member of the "Hell's Angels" of the 303rd Bomb Group from RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom. Not bad for a guy who didn't learn to drive a car until he returned to the USA after his combat tour!! What separates this memoir from the many others of similar origin is author Johnson's attention to detail and unfailing, often self deprecating, sense of humor. This is really two books, the first and last thirds of the book devoted to his life before the war as a vagabond itinerant farm laborer's son and after the war as a member of post-war American society and pilot with the Civil Air Patrol. The remainder of the text is some of the most entertaining and detailed reading this reviewer has encountered relative to the daily horrors, triumphs and uncertainties of flying bombers against a capable and determined German enemy. The author chronicles each of his 32 combat missions, plus some others, in sufficient detail about his plane, his Squadron and his Group as to give the reader a great sense of what was happening. His post war friendship with one of the German 88 mm FLAK gunners against which Johnson's unit flew results in some very good explanations of how the anti-aircraft units functioned. He is objective, sometimes brutally honest about events and personalities, and unfailingly interesting. Dick Johnson is not a professional writer, and this may lead to the strength of this book, which is its total readability. He tells the stories just like they happened, no embellishments, just factual narration with humor as the lubricant. While the portions of the narrative about his non-USAAF life may not appeal to all, this reviewer found the author's experiences growing up during the Depression and facing a very uncertain future with only a high school diploma, DFC and Air Medals after the war both interesting and relative to what he learned as a young pilot during war time. This is an excellent book and is recommended for those who like WWII aviation and a good story.