“Combat pilot turned airline captain. 9 war zones, 3 kids, 50-year marriage and the story of how a rough NYC childhood became a life aloft”
I grew up in a rough stretch of New York, shaped early by my parents' divorce and an abusive stepfather the kind of childhood that either breaks you or forges you. It forged me. I found direction in the U.S. Air Force, where I flew combat missions across nine war zones and discovered that the cockpit could feel like a surrogate home. After the military, I transitioned to a career as an airline captain, later advising internationally through the State Department and writing on aircraft safety for Warbird Digest. Alongside all of it, I've been married for fifty years and raised three children. My memoir, High Flight, and my co-authored novel, Night of the Bear, both grew out of that arc from a hard childhood, through decades in the air, to the quieter victories of family and faith. I love talking about combat aviation, the psychology of high-stakes decision-making, the transition from military to civilian flying, and what five decades of marriage actually takes.
