Jim McConnell was one of the first Americans to serve with the French during WWI, first as an ambulance driver and then as a pilot. On the University of Virginia campus, one can find a winged, twelve-foot-tall bronze statue titled The Aviator. Curiously, The Aviator is a memorial to UVA dropout, James Rogers McConnell. McConnell was a fighter pilot in the famous squadron of American volunteers who fought for the French prior to US entry into World War I, the Lafayette Escadrille. Prior to joining the escadrille, McConnell served in France as an ambulance driver. He documented the front, both on the ground and in the air in Flying for France, a bestselling book published just before his death. A modest character, Jim included very little information about himself in his book. Even while at the front, McConnell remained in regular correspondence with his family, friends, and girlfriends. A large volume of these original letters are preserved today. Author Steven T. Tom has sifted through a mountain of primary source material to go beyond Flying for France and tell the full story of the brief but famous life of Jim McConnell. AUTHOR: Steven T. Tom is an US Air Force veteran and PhD in mechanical engineering. He is a member of the League of World War I Aviation Historians and the World War I Historical Association. This is his second book on the pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille. He lives in Georgia. SELLING POINTS: . More than Flying Jim McConnell served both as an ambulance driver and as pilot in France. In both cases, long before US entry into the war. . Lafayette Escadrille Through Jim's letters, readers will gain great insight into the real personalities of and dynamics between the pilots of the Lafayette Flying Corps . Famous Father Includes new details about Jim's family and early life. His father was the powerful judge and controversial business executive, Samuel McConnell. . The First Complete Biography Jim submitted his manuscript in December 1916, in the three month interim before his death, he was engaged in heavy combat over Verdun; these engagements were not covered in Flying For France. 60 b/w photographs
