Under the Shadow of Wings: Diary of a WWII P-51 Mustang Fighter Pilot

Under the Shadow of Wings: Diary of a WWII P-51 Mustang Fighter Pilot

The untold story of a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot’s experience on Iwo Jima during World War II. Under the Shadow of Wings tells the story of William “Bill” Savidge, a Pennsylvania boy with a dream of becoming a fighter pilot and whose First Lieutenant Commission brought him to the swampy airfield in Naples, FL, where he met his wife, Olivia, before being assigned to Iwo Jima in 1945. Bill and Olivia’s memoir, told through firsthand accounts documented with the help of their daughter years later, is a realistic look into the hardships of World War II fighter pilots and an earnest depiction of the importance of faith, family, and love during those times. “In the months [Bill] served there, 133 more pilots were lost, many of them on long range missions over Honshu (Japan), and most of these in what was called the greatest fighter plane ever made, the P-51D Mustang.” The history of the Iwo Jima pilots is based on declassified military records, aviation archaeology records, and fatality documents in John Lambert’s “Pineapple Air Force: Pearl Harbor to Tokyo.” Accompanied by photos from both USAF archives and the Savidge family collection, including those personally taken by Bill and his fellow pilots on the island, Under the Shadow of Wings “is a testament to the brutality of war, the loyalty of men and women who served their country with pride and conviction, and the impact it has on families everywhere.” Praise for UNDER THE SHADOW OF WINGS “I have read several accounts like this over the years… I think yours is one of the best, because it is so rich and full of details and facts… this memoir to me is what it was ‘really like.’” – Howard Troxler, former St. Petersburg Times columnist