The Warbirds Stories Library
Col. Bruce Porter's ACE! book reviewed by other Marine fighter aces
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After reading Ace! I made a point to meet Bruce Porter at one of our American Fighter aces conventions. I felt this guy had written a diary of my life as a wartime pilot. It is the story of a pilot experiencing the realities of air-to-air combat, becoming an ace, returning home a hero and then returning to help develop a new and challenging method of fighting in the air... becoming a night fighter pilot. Even more, it is a story about World War II... the shortages and the sacrifices, the thrills and sadness, the successes and failures and the camraderie. It's a story about a country at war and Bruce tells it very well. I know; I was there, too.
Bruce paints the life story of a combat pilot in a way that makes you feel it with every emotion in your body. You are in the cockpit, the glory and the sadness, he shares it all with you. Of course, he reminds us that for every Bruce Porter that eventually succeded as a fighter pilot, there are hundreds that failed. Bruce won, and so did I, but so many others did not. His book tells it like it was.
To fly at night, in weather and under extremely adverse conditions, was considered an impossible task even as the war progressed to its final stages. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the involvement of a pilot from simply "flying by the seat of your pants", to becoming an experienced night-fighter pilot. Even after we gained air supremacy in the Pacific, we initially didn't enjoy it at night. The story of our difficult climb to victory at night is very little realized and, perhaps, little appreciated. It was monumental. But it was accomplished and Bruce tells us how.
When I finally met Bruce, we popped the cork on a bottle of wine and swapped some sea "stories". I found that he was about six months ahead of me in flight training, and we had crossed paths very briefly in the South Pacific, even flew one combat mission together. We have a common bound -- we are both fighter pilots, night-fighter pilots and aces. We both agreed that God must have liked fighter pilots because He made them so damned good. And if a fighter pilot doesn't think he's damned good, then he ain't a damned good fighter pilot. But most of them are. Maybe that's the reason I never met a fighter pilot I didn't like.
Thanks, Bruce, for the memories.
Col. Roger Conant USMC Fighter Ace
"(In his book), Bruce relives the challenges, frustrations, and triumphs of training, on to his victories in the Corsair in the Solomons, and then on to attain ace status with a flourish at Okinawa. Read and enjoy a fabulous Marine aviation combat story."
- BriGen Joe Foss, Marine Medal of Honour recipient.
"Bruce Porter's book is great! It shows the many details and answers the many questions about operating from an aircraft carrier... It explains why, even without enemy action, steady operations under poor conditions will cost us pilots and aircraft... I highly recommend Ace!"
- BriGen Bob Galer, Marine Medal of Honour recipient.
"This book is a must for anyone interested in combat aviation history"
- Col. Jeff De Blanc, Marine Medal of Honour recipient.