Jump into the Sky (32 page)

In 2010, Walter Morris and the 555th veterans were honored in a special ceremony at the Pentagon.

I
am indebted to Walter Morris for so graciously sharing his time with me. I’ll always remember asking him to describe the color of his World War II uniform and how he told me, “Just a minute, I’ll go look at it.” I’m grateful to the other paratroopers who recorded their recollections and left them in the care of our libraries and colleges so that future generations could learn from them. Material used for the novel included recordings by Bradley Biggs, Clifford Allen, and Clarence Beavers in the collection of Howard University (Moorland-Spingarn Research Center) and published interviews of Melvin Lester, Carstell O. Stewart, and Roger S. Walden.

Ted Lowry’s self-published memoir,
God’s in My Corner: A Portrait of an American Boxer
(2006), and Bradley Biggs’s book about the 555th,
The Triple Nickles: America’s First All-Black Paratroop Unit
(Archon Books, 1986), were invaluable resources, along with the Harry S. Truman Library online
collections (
trumanlibrary.org
), the Oregon State Archives online collections, and the Veterans History Project collections of the Library of Congress. The Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the Pendleton Public Library also provided important information for the book.

My journey into World War II history began in another place and time entirely, and I’m grateful to Judith MacPherson Pratt, Kim Pratt, and the Ebel family for being part of my early journey, and to Revere Middle School for introducing me to the Tuskegee Airmen. Thanks to my family—especially Mom, Mike, and Ethan for their spectacular patience. I couldn’t have written this book without the support of my editor, Nancy Siscoe; my agent, Steven Malk; and others: Marcy Lindberg, Jackie Kreiger, Laura Little, Matthew, and the knight. And finally, a big thank-you to the following students who read the first draft of the book: LeAnn Bannister, Sharlene Bannister, Adam Bennett, Sydney Bennett, Kaiya Epps, Amea Jefferson, Moussa Kesselly, Sheyenne McKie-Battle, Lashe Miles, DeSean Smith—and their amazing teacher, Rose Levine.