Historical Fiction · ThoughtfulForty-eight hours at an Army Air Forces base in Florida, 1943
Guard of Honor
Two days at a wartime Air Forces base, and the officers who run it
The novel takes place over about forty-eight hours in early September 1943 at Ocanara, a fictional Army Air Forces base in central Florida. The staff of the base deals with a planned surprise parade, a protest by newly arrived African-American pilots and visits from Pentagon generals. It examines how the leaders try to handle these problems while doing what they believe is right.
More about this book
Who
Major General Ira Beal, the base commander; Colonel Norman Ross, his Air Inspector; Captain Nathaniel Hicks; Lieutenant Amanda Turck; and a number of other officers.
World
A fictional Army Air Forces base at Ocanara, central Florida, over about forty-eight hours in September 1943.
What makes it different
Cozzens worked in the Army Air Forces Office of Information Services, and he included a fictional version of the real 1945 Freeman Field Mutiny. It won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize and is one of his professional novels.
Feel
Long, detailed and talky, a wartime story with no battles.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Behind the book
Cozzens worked in the USAAF Office of Information Services, and he included a fictional version of the real 1945 Freeman Field Mutiny in the novel.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Guard of HonorWikipedia