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Black and White Airmen: Their True History
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Black and White Airmen: Their True History Hardcover - 2007

by John Fleischman

John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun became pilots during World War II, but they never met because the army was rigidly segregated--only in the air were black and white American fliers allowed to mix. Fifty years later, they met and discovered their lives had run almost side by side. Photos.


Summary

Here is the true history of a friendship that almost wasn’t.

John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun grew up in the same neighborhood and were in the same third grade class together. They were classmates—not friends—because Herb was white and John was black.

John and Herb were twenty-one when the United States entered WWII. Herb became an Army Air Forces B-17 bomber pilot. John flew P-51 fighters. Both were thrown into the brutal high-altitude bomber war against Nazi Germany, though they never met because the army was rigidly segregated—only in the air were black and white American fliers allowed to mix.

Both came safely home but it took Herb and John another fifty years to meet again and discover that their lives had run almost side by side through war and peace. Old friends at last, Herb and John launched a mission to tell young people why race once made all the difference and why it shouldn’t anymore.

From the publisher

Here is the true history of a friendship that almost wasn't. John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun grew up in the same neighborhood and were in the same third grade class together. They were classmates--not friends--because Herb was white and John was black. John and Herb were twenty-one when the United States entered WWII. Herb became an Army Air Forces B-17 bomber pilot. John flew P-51 fighters. Both were thrown into the brutal high-altitude bomber war against Nazi Germany, though they never met because the army was rigidly segregated--only in the air were black and white American fliers allowed to mix. Both came safely home but it took Herb and John another fifty years to meet again and discover that their lives had run almost side by side through war and peace. Old friends at last, Herb and John launched a mission to tell young people why race once made all the difference and why it shouldn't anymore.

Details

  • Title Black and White Airmen: Their True History
  • Author John Fleischman
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 160
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Clarion Books, Boston
  • Date June 18, 2007
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780618562978 / 0618562974
  • Weight 1.63 lbs (0.74 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.02 x 7.82 x 0.76 in (22.91 x 19.86 x 1.93 cm)
  • Ages 08 to 12 years
  • Grade levels 3 - 7
  • Reading level 1050
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1940's
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Ethnic Orientation: Multicultural
  • Library of Congress subjects United States, African Americans
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2006017059
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

Media reviews

Compellingly written war reminiscences, a stinging indictment of the U.S. Army Air Force's discrimination against blacks, and a sometimes-surprising picture of segregation's local realities before World War II. . . . Often thrilling and consistently absorbing.
Booklist, ALA

Definitely worth remembering. . . . The story of these two friends is enough to keep all readers interested.
VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)

"[The] power of...alternating stories, illustrated with personal photographs and period documents...[t]eens will find reason to ponder just how much difference two decades can make." The Bulletin 9/2007 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Citations

  • Booklist, 02/01/2007, Page 57
  • Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks, 09/01/2007, Page 21
  • Hornbook Guide to Children, 07/01/2007, Page 448
  • Kirkus Review - Children, 06/01/2007, Page 554
  • School Library Journal, 06/01/2007, Page 168
  • Voice of Youth Advocates, 04/01/2007, Page 78
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Black and White Airmen: Their True History
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