The old Hawaiian Air Force met the attack of the Japanese on 7 December 1941. Redesignated the Seventh Air Force, its bomber units moved on to combat in the Pacific almost immediately. The Seventh Fighter Command, however, has held back to defend Oahu against air attacks that never came. The pilots of the fighter units frustrated at their static role, said that they were left guarding the pineapples. From the cadre of the original Hawaiian units they spawned two new fighter groups. Eventually, those fighter squadrons, a close-knit fraternity, began to garrison outlying island bases, and eventually saw combat in the Marshals-Gilberts, the Marianas. Finally toward war's end, they were flying long-range missions against Japan from Ie Shima and Iwo Jima. The lieutenants of 1941 were the colonels of 1945, and some survivors served until the Japanese surrender

From its beginnings during the Great Depression, the North Carolina Symphony has touched the lives of countless Tar Heels. One of the state's premier cultural organizations and the oldest continuously state-supported orchestra in the nation, the "Suitcase Symphony" grew from a small group of volunteer players to the world-class orchestra it is today. This book details the contributions of founder Lamar Stringfield, longtime conductor Benjamin Swalin and his wife, Maxine, current music director Grant Llewellyn, and other leaders of this iconic institution. The authors place the symphony's story for the first time in the context of North Carolina's cultural history and, in the process, reveal much about the musical traditions of the "Sahara of the Bozart" and about the trials and triumphs of maintaining a state symphony orchestra.

These are pictorial studies of the Allied air offensive that defeated Japanese air forces in the vast Pacific Ocean region, destroyed Japan's navy and its supply lines, and finally devastated the war making potential of the Japanese homeland. The photos come from official archives as well as from the private collections of veterans. The captions reflect painstaking research to supply date, place, and units engaged.

These are pictorial studies of the Allied air offensive that defeated Japanese air forces in the vast Pacific Ocean region, destroyed Japan's navy and its supply lines, and finally devastated the war making potential of the Japanese homeland. The photos come from official archives as well as from the private collections of veterans. The captions reflect painstaking research to supply date, place, and units engaged.

The 15th Fighter Group was activated in December 1940 as part of the old Hawaiian Air Force. It served its baptism of fire a year later when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Oahu's airfields. Utilizing personal interviews with veterans as well as official records, the author creates a wartime chronicle of combat operations across the Central Pacific. The 15th fought on the first day of the war and was still in combat on the last day, flying seven- to eight-hour missions from Iwo Jima to Honshu. This history won an award from the Aviation Writers Association.

These are pictorial studies of the Allied air offensive that defeated Japanese air forces in the vast Pacific Ocean region, destroyed Japan's navy and its supply lines, and finally devastated the war making potential of the Japanese homeland. The photos come from official archives as well as from the private collections of veterans. The captions reflect painstaking research to supply date, place, and units engaged.

The Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942 included the USAAFs Lockheed P-38 equipped 14th Fighter Group. Flying long-range, high-altitude escort missions as well as low level ground support sorties, the 14th engaged in three months of grinding attrition. Another squadron arrived from the U.S. along with new P-38s and the revitalized 14th returned to the Mediterranean air war in May 1943 where they flew combat for another two years battling the German, Hungarian, Rumanian, and even the Russian air forces.

The defeat of Germany was the first priority of the Allies in World War II. Japan would come later. The destruction of Germany 's vast military-industrial base was the mission assigned to the RAF and the U.S. Eighth Air Force. Starting from scratch in July 1942 and operating from bases in England, the Eighth Air Force assumed the task of daylight precision bombing of Occupied Europe. In a three-year struggle against fortifiable German air defenses and the legions of the Luftwaffe, the Eighth paid a terrible price. It suffered 55,000 casualties (killed, wounded and Prisoners of war), more than any other numbered U.S. military unit. This volume seeks to provide an historical perspective of the air campaign over Western Europe, utilizing 270 representative photos and detailed captions to depict the deadly nature of that aerial combat some six decades ago.