Letters Descriptive of the Virginia Springs: The Roads Leading Thereto, and the Doings Thereat (1837)

The inscription on the eagle and fledglings monument at the United States Air Force Academy reads: aMANaS FLIGHT THROUGH LIFE IS SUSTAINED BY THE POWER OF HIS KNOWLEDGE.a Charles Turner followed that mantra, but he also believed that life is enriched by the love of family, guided by the power of oneas principles and rewarded by doing things for others. He wanted nothing more from life than the joy that came from flying airplanes and raising a family. But when his only son, Matthew, and his Air Force Academy roommate, JT Templeton, are both shot down over North Vietnam, his life is changed forever. Faced with the reality of a young man killed in action and another a prisoner of war, the Turner and Templeton families are drawn together as new relationships are formed and core values are shaped. In life we learn from the experience of our parents, our teachers, and all those around us. Then, when weare alone in our life-craft, we all become pilots of our own destiny.