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by David Vaughan (Author)
Fixed Course is a powerful and meticulously researched story of courage, endurance, and quiet heroism in the final months of World War I.
While fighter aces often captured the public imagination, the pilots and observers of the American 62nd Aero Squadron lived a far less glamorous-and far more perilous-reality. Flying fragile aircraft low over German-held territory, they carried out dangerous observation and reconnaissance missions across the shattered landscapes of northern France. Their task was not to engage the enemy in dramatic dogfights, but to gather the vital intelligence that commanders relied on to fight the war.
Among them are Aaron Small and Thomas Benson, two unlikely recruits who left their college studies behind to serve in the American Air Service. Liberal arts students before the war, they soon find themselves navigating the brutal demands of aerial reconnaissance. As pilot and observer, the pair must learn to rely on skill, discipline, and each other while facing constant threats from enemy aircraft, anti-aircraft fire, and the unpredictable dangers of flying early military aircraft.
Mission after mission, they push forward across the scarred countryside of France, determined to do their duty while hoping simply to survive long enough to see the war end.
Drawing on careful historical research and enriched with thoughtful reflections on courage, duty, and the human cost of war, Fixed Course brings to life a little-known aspect of the First World War. It is a moving tribute to the men whose quiet bravery in the skies helped shape the outcome of the conflict.
