March Field Air Museum to Welcome Author of WWII Book “No Man’s Sky” at Aviation Roundtable on September 20
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Speaker and writer R.C. Cline, author of the book “No Man’s Sky,” will be a guest presenter at the next Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable hosted by the March Field Air Museum on Wednesday evening, September 20, 2017, beginning at 7 p.m. The subject of the book and Roundtable discussion is the Allied Strategic Bombing Campaign over Europe, Part One: U.S. Daytime Bombing Operations. Free and open to the public, the Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable is proudly sponsored by the March Field Air Museum.
“No Man’s Sky” is a true story about Staff Sergeant J. Emerson “Emy” Krieger, an otherwise ordinary man who found himself in extraordinary circumstances as a WWII combat flier. The book chronicles the life of Emy, a small town boy from Ohio who, shortly after graduating from high school, found himself in a B-17 bomber serving as a Waist Gunner during WWII. He was the youngest person of the 10-man Crew 136 of the 849th Bomb Group, which flew 29 times over the Reich while dropping bombs all over Europe. Emy’s dangerous missions were part of the U.S. daytime bombing operations undertaken during the British and American Combined Bomber Offensive. Through diaries, letters and photos, the book follows the crew from basic training through gunnery school and deployment, to the final bombing of Germany at the end of WWII. Eventually, the entire crew returned safely to their homes in America.
Author R.C. Cline is an accomplished Inland Empire historian who writes both poetry and prose. Now retired, he counseled students at a comprehensive high school in Riverside for many years. In addition to the compelling presentation by Cline, Roundtable event attendees will also have the opportunity to see a vintage B-17G Flying Fortress along with a heavy bomber gunner station, both on permanent exhibit at the March Field Air Museum.
September’s Roundtable presentation is Part One in a two-part series about the Allied Strategic Bombing Campaign over Europe in WWII. In October, Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Wright, RAF (retired) will present Part Two, with a focus on British night bombing operations.
The March Field Air Museum is located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. For more information about the Roundtable or the Museum in general, please call 951-902-5949 or visit www.marchfield.org.
About March Field Air Museum
The March Field Air Museum is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to promoting an understanding of humanity’s reach for the skies and March Field’s pivotal role in the development of flight. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and rated the #1 Attraction in Riverside by TripAdvisor, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. More than 70 aircraft are on display, ranging from the world’s fastest manned air-breathing aircraft (the SR-71 Blackbird) and a modern-day MQ-1 Predator (remotely piloted aircraft), to early examples of military aircraft, to some of America’s most iconic military planes including World War II bombers. For more information about the museum, visit www.marchfield.org or call (951) 902-5949.
