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Major Charles Carpenter made headlines during the Second World War
when he affixed six bazookas to his tiny Piper L-4 observation
plane and began attacking German tanks. "Bazooka Charlie" and his
plane "Rosie the Rocketer" were profiled in a variety of military
and civilian publications, including the iconic Stars &
Stripes. The major was a high school educator in the civilian
world, teaching history and coaching football. Carpenter was
talented, highly intelligent, and athletically gifted, but the war
truly tested him. In 1945, the dashing pilot was forced out of the
cockpit and into a hospital bed by Hodgkin's lymphoma, which was
discovered in his neck. In addition to the enemy and terminal
cancer, Carpenter also battled cynicism and guilt, particularly in
regard to the state of his marriage, which was on the brink of
failure by the time he returned home from Europe. Charles Carpenter
died in 1966, having resumed his career, salvaged his marriage, and
long outlived the timeline afforded him by his doctors in the
initial prognosis. This revealing biography of the famous pilot was
made possible through the collaboration of noted aviation author
and magazine editor Jim Busha, and Carpenter's daughter Carol
Apacki. Along with memories of her father in his post-war years,
Carol provided a treasure trove of wartime correspondence between
Charles and his wife, Elda Carpenter.
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