Scrappy: A Memoir of U.S. Fighter Pilot in Korea and Vietnam

From World War II to high above the Earth to Vietnam, this memoir tells the story of fighter pilot Howard C. "Scrappy" Johnson. Beginning with his early years in Knoxville, Tennessee, the book follows Johnson through his career at the University of Louisville and his enlistment as an Air Force cadet at the onset of World War II. After World War II, Johnson served a tour of duty in the skies over Korea and in 1958 broke the world's altitude record by over 14,000 feet, soaring at 91,249 feet in his F-104A Starfighter. For this remarkable feat he was awarded the Collier Trophy, aviation's highest honor. In Vietnam, he was director of operations for the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing and was instrumental in founding the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots, a group dedicated to the remembrance of fallen and captured airmen. Written with panache, this work records the bigger-than-life adventures of one of America's finest.

Colonel Howard C. "Scrappy" Johnson is a retired command pilot who has flown over 7,000 hours in fifteen fighter planes. He is an inductee in the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame and lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Writer Ian A. O'Connor is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and lives in South Florida.