Mustang

A Novel of World War II

by John J. Dwyer

Climb into the cockpit with Dust Bowl farm boy Lance Roark as he arrives in England commanding a B-17 Flying Fortress at the height of World War II. A prologue, 2017’s Will Rogers Medallion Gold Medal winner, Shortgrass, set the stage for young Lance as he made the crucial decision following the bombing of Pearl Harbor to depart from the pacifist doctrine of his Mennonite upbringing and go to war. Now, still cheerful and pious, he and his best friend, famed Oklahoma Sooner Waddy Young, tackle a new opponent—history’s most fearsome air armada, the German Luftwaffe, which has bested every other force that has dared confront them.

Audacious, cool under fire, and a born aviator, Lance piles up the missions and decorations and somehow survives to complete his tour of duty—barely. Even as he gains renown as a relentless air warrior, though, his lifelong faith is shaken as the body count of those around him mounts. Driven by a desire for vengeance against his enemies, he turns down service back Stateside to return to battle in one of America’s sensational new P-51 Mustang fighter planes.

As the greatest aerial war in history rages in the skies over bleeding Europe, Lance hits a low-point in his life just as a terrifying new adversary appears to challenge him. Pushed to the breaking point, he will need every bit of skill and experience he can muster in an unforgettable showdown over Dresden in the war’s most legendary air raid. (312 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Tiree
Genres:
Historical

Tags:
World War II novels, WWII novels

Excerpt:

About the Author

John J. Dwyer is longtime Adjunct Professor of History and Ethics at Southern Nazarene University. He is former History Chair at a classical college preparatory school, newspaper publisher, and radio host. His books include the non-fiction historical narrative The War Between the States: America’s Uncivil War and the novel When the Bluebonnets Come, both from Bluebonnet Press; the historical novels Stonewall and Robert E. Lee from Broadman & Holman Publishers; the two-book historical narrative The Oklahomans: The Story of Oklahoma and Its People from Red River Press, and the upcoming Shortgrass sequel, Mustang from Galway Press. John is a native Texan who grew up in Oklahoma. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma, did post-graduate studies in history at OU, and earned his masters degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He lives with Grace, his wife of 29 years. They have one daughter, Katie, and one grandson, Luke.


Andre Guirard