Rough War: The Combat Story of Lt. Paul J. Eastman, a Burma Banshee P-40 and P-47 Pilot

Battle fatigue...shell shock...PTSD... Terminology changes. The pain remains.Paul Eastman, a small-town Wisconsin boy turned P-40 fighter pilot, lands in the jungles of Assam and Burma in 1943. Lt. Eastman's compelling story, gleaned from his diary and letters home and illustrated with his personal photos, provides unique insights into the realities of combat life and death, punctuated by love and concern for the wife he left behind. Author Walt Shiel skillfully interleaves an informative history of the broader war into Eastman's personal accounts.Eastman evolves from an innocent abroad to a fatalistic combat veteran -- through missions that careen from mundane to adrenalin-fueled in a single heartbeat and through the humor, revelry, camaraderie, fatigue, and death that surround daily life. And through the "soul-numbing terror" of being shot down behind enemy lines. Like warriors before and after him, Eastman's war does not end after his 20 months of combat. After a decade of struggling to adapt, he finally takes his own life in a poignant episode that could be lifted from today's headlines.Paul Eastman's war is, indeed, a Rough War.Read Eastman's story, then give thanks to the veterans, past and present, who fight and die to preserve our freedoms.Rough War: Finalist, 2012 USA Best Book Awards and 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!++++++++++++"In the annals of WWII aerial warfare Rough War is a jewel that has been missing for far too long."--Jim Hooper, Author of A Hundred Feet over Hell"Rough War is an important story that makes an equally important connection to the effects of war on the members of the US military today. A rare achievement that offers a rewarding, creative approach to history that should be a model for more writers."--Ed Rasimus, Author of Palace Cobra and When Thunder Rolled"A story of the war generation, of the forgotten theater, and of the terrible things just being in a war does to people."--Eric Hammel, Author of The Road to Big Week"Rough War presents a unique history of the making of a combat fighter pilot...While aviation technology changed for America's next war in SE Asia, the threats of the jungle, monsoon, and a determined enemy created similar issues during my own fighter-pilot experiences in Vietnam."--William H. Lawson, Brig. Gen, US Air Force, Retired"Rough War presents a highly personal view of air combat and daily life in the WW II jungles of Burma. Walt Shiel skillfully blends a history of that war with young fighter pilot Paul Eastman's personal diary, letters, and photographs. An engaging history of a small part of a global war."--Robert F. Dorr, Author of Mission to Berlin