James Allan Matte

THE WAR YEARS - PART II, The Next Generation James Allan Matte

This sequel to The War Years - When We Were Young, begins with the wedding of James Longbow to Louise Sontag, and David Siegel to Susan Hershey, their childhood sweethearts. Not expecting another war, the two aviators joined the USAF Reserves for its benefits. Their unit is soon activated with the advent of the Korea War, resulting in a tour of duty in Okinawa, conducting bomb raids over North Korea. Upon return to the US, they maintained their Reserve status with only the Cold War to contend with. Unexpectedly, they were ordered to fly a B-36 Bomber, converted to a high altitude Reconnaissance aircraft, allegedly not reachable by enemy fighter aircraft or missiles, to take photographs of the Strategic Defense System defending Moscow. However, their aircraft was shot down by improved missiles, resulting in their imprisonment for external espionage. Eventually, through political and stealth means, our two aviators returned to their families in the US. The anxiety suffered by their wives was also witnessed by their two sons, who matured into young men modeling themselves after their father with a deep interest in aviation. Drafted into the US Army as helicopter pilots in the Vietnam War, they were captured and imprisoned in a North Vietnamese prison camp. Facing horrible conditions, torture and death, with little chance of rescue, James Longbow and David Siegel agonized over their sons' fate, and decided to execute a plan of action to liberate them, with a remote chance of success without their son's ingenuity, and divine help.