Hollywwood, CA

Friday, February 17, 2012

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Stan Weisleder, author of A Killer of Lions, the only novel ever written about the Tuskegee Airmen, was interviewed on the popular Greg Mantel TV Show about the book, his motivation in taking on the project and the men behind a fascinating story in American military history. Greg Mantell has had hundreds of different authors, experts and celebrities on is well-known for conducting highly informative and entertaining interviews. His conversation with Stan Weisleder was no different as Mantell found the topic extremely engaging. A Killer of Lions is pblished by Chaucer Press BooksBooks / Richard Altschuler & Associates, Inc. and distributed by University Press of New England.



Weisleder, who took ten years in creating A Killer of Lions, unknowingly met one of their best pilots when Lt. Colonel Lee "Buddy" Archer was his ROTC instructor in 1952.

"No one knew anything about Tuskegee back then or what Lt. Col. Archer went through and had to put up with during the war. For the ROTC students, he was just an Air Force officer with a chest full of decorations and Command Pilot's Wings," Weisleder commented in an ironic tone. "Then, in 1974, I read an item in the paper about someone attempting to make a documentary about the 'colored' World War II pilots, and boom it hit me, Lee Archer was part of that group. I contacted him at General Foods in White Plains, New York, where he working as an executive, and we had lunch and I learned first-hand about his story," says Weisleder.

Weisleder's other recently eleased novel, The Trees, is a novel spanning a fifty year period recalling how a handful of guys made it out of the slums of Brooklyn after World War II. It features Lawrence "Mongoose" Cohen and his boyhood friends:"Ringo," "Solly," "Mo," "Charlie the man" and "Scumbag" and how they eventually succeed beyond their wildest dreams in Las Vegas. The Trees alludes to a group of trees near a ballpark in the schoolyard of P.S.184 in Brownsville that all the guys tried to reach with a home run during a game. No one ever made it to the trees but they were a symbolic goal.

About the Tuskgee Airmen:

Racism was common during World War II and many people did not want blacks to become pilots. They trained in overcrowded classrooms and airstrips, and suffered from the racist attitude of some military officials. The Tuskegee Airman suffered many hardships, but they proved themselves to be world class pilots.

Even though the Tuskegee Airmen proved their worth as military pilots they were still forced to operate in segregated units and did not fight alongside their white countrymen.

The men earned the nickname "Red Tail Angels" since the bombers considered their escorts "angels" and the red paint on the propeller and tail of their planes.

In March of 1942 George Roberts, Benjamin Davis Jr., Charles BeBow Jr., Mac Ross and Lemuel Custis received silver wings of Army Air Force pilots. These men completed the standard Army flight classroom instruction and many hours of flight time. Receiving their silver wings marked a milestone in being the first African Americans to qualify as military pilots in any branch of the armed forces.

By the end of the war, 992 men had graduated from Negro Air Corps pilot training at Tuskegee; 450 were sent overseas for combat assignment. During the same period, about 150 lost their lives while in training or on combat flights. These black Airmen manage to destroy or damage over 409 German airplanes, 950 ground units, and sank a battleship destroyer. They ran more than 200 bomber escort missions during World War II.

On Nov. 6, 1998, President Clinton approved Public Law 105-355, which established the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Ala., to commemorate and interpret the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

When the site opened Oct. 10, 2008, at Moton Field, Ala., National Park Officials designated part of Interstate 85, which passes near the city of Tuskegee, as the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway.

Tuskegee Army Air Field, located at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, was the training center for all black fighter pilots during World War II.

Facts About the Tuskegee Airmen:

Almost 1,000 pilots were trained, along with bombardiers, and navigators.

More than 14,000 black men and women served as their vital support personnel.450 served in combat overseas in the European Theater of Operations, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.

66 of the Tuskegee aviators died in combat.

12 Tuskegee Airmen became prisoners of war. None of the bombers they escorted was lost to enemy fighters.They flew 15,533 sorties between May, 1943 and June 9, 1945.

They destroyed over 400 enemy aircraft.They sank a German destroyer using only their machine guns. They disabled more than 600 box cars, locomotives and rolling stock.

They won more than 850 medals, including 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, eight Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars, 744 Air Medals and clusters, and three distinguished unit citations.

For every pilot, there were at least 15 black men and women on the ground in support roles including mechanics, medical technicians, administrative support and cooks.

They were trained at various segregated facilities around the country. White American pilots were not allowed to fly more than 52 missions, but black American pilots often flew up to 100 missions due to lack of replacements.

The all-black 477th bomber group was activated and scheduled to fight in the Pacific, but the war ended before their deployment. Planes flown by black aviators in WWII: the P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-39, and the PT-13D Trainer.

For media interviews or to request a review copy of A Killer of Lions contact Promotion in Motion at 323-461-3921 or go to www.AKillerofLions.com

Brad Butler

Promotion in Motion

Hollywwood, CA

323-461-3921

First Url: A Killer of Lions by Stan Weisleder

Second Url: Order A Killer of Lions from Amazon.com