The Aviator
In 1914 Jim McConnell was a college dropout, stuck in a dead-end job in Carthage North Carolina. World War 1 had just broken out in Europe. The US would not enter the war for three years, but an organization called the American Ambulance Field Service was recruiting American volunteers to drive ambulances in France. Jim saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime – an opportunity not just to see the war but to be of some real service. He sailed to France and drove a Model T Ford ambulance to within a hundred yards of the front lines. He drove through shellfire and small arms fire to rescue wounded French soldiers. He won the Croix de Guerre [War Cross] driving through a heavy bombardment to rescue French civilians in a town just behind the front lines. He still did not feel he was doing enough. The more he saw of the war, and how the French were desperately fighting to repel the German invaders, the more he felt he needed to become a combatant. When his volunteer tour as an ambulance driver was up, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion, learned to fly, and became a fighter pilot in the famed Lafayette Escadrille.
As a pilot, Jim flew fragile open-cockpit biplanes in subzero temperatures three miles above the infernos of Verdun, the Somme, and other WW1 battles. He also flew low-level missions through rain and snow, a few hundred feet above no-man’s land. He flew without a parachute, because parachutes that would fit in an airplane hadn’t been developed yet. A single bullet through a fuel tank could turn a plane into a flaming inferno. Three miles is a long way to fall in a burning airplane. Jim wrote a best-selling book, Flying for France, about his adventures. He suffered battle injuries that should have grounded him, but he insisted on returning to the front. He would not abandon France in her hour of need.
The Aviator is the story of Jim McConnell. It describes his adventures, his troubles, and his romantic escapades. His letters and writings let the reader see the world through his eyes, with all his dedication and sense of humor. You don’t have to be an expert on World War 1 to appreciate the book. It is the story of an ordinary man, with virtues and faults, having an extraordinary adventure. The book will be released in November 2025 and will be available in hardback and eBook format through all major booksellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.
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| Jim McConnell strikes a heroic pose for a photographer in front of his Model T Ford ambulance. The French began issuing steel helmets to their troops in late 1915, and Jim has just received his. He thought it made him look like a fireman. (Phot courtesy of Steve Ruffin) | Jim poses in front of his Nieuport 11 fighter. The plane is armed with a drum fed machine gun mounted on the top wing to fire over the propeller. Each drum holds 47 rounds, not quite enough for a five second burst before reloading. (Photo courtesy of the University of Virginia) |