When I was working on my first book, Everything’s Rosy! The John N. McCain Story, about my Dad, I learned a lot that I did not previously know, and also learned a lot about my Grandfather, Joseph P. McCain, who I had not known at all. In fact, I learned enough to inspire me to continue researching his life with the goal of being able to record his life’s history for future generations. I could see a lot of my Dad’s character, work ethics, and principles that he had gotten from his father, even though he had passed away when his only son, John, was just 15. Dad is now 101, and these principles have been a part of his life for all these years, and I was hoping to uncover some of the sources.

That also got me started working on several other books about people who had inspired me and been an influence on my life. The one person who I recalled influencing me most outside my immediate family was my uncle, Col. William C. Brewer. He was my Hero and also the one who sparked the flying bug in me.

I just felt that this was a story that needed to be told and remembered, not just for our family, but for the many who can also be inspired by a real American Hero of the Greatest Generation.

–Gene McCain, Proud Nephew