China Pilot « Life&Ink

The continuation of the story of James B. McGovern, Jr. better known as Earthquake McGoon. Pilot, war hero and perhaps best remembered as a wonderful contribution to the human race.

Part One

Content is from Check-Six.com

Years of Silence…

Earthquake McGoon. Photo courtesy google images

After a French officer learned from Ban Sot villagers in 1959 about three graves in the area, CIA officials stifled his report. “They indicated in a vague way that they feared a lawsuit if they gave the relatives false information. Therefore, no one notified McGovern’s or Buford’s relatives,” according to Felix Smith, a retired CAT pilot.

Smith recalled McGovern as being “a real big-hearted guy,” but not the “wild man” as the press widely reported. “He was a bon vivant, happy-go-lucky. He loved kids, and he was the guy who in a tense situation would come out with some joke.” Continue reading →

Earthquake McGoon, my China Pilot friend. Photo courtesy of AirAmerica.org

I’m not too good at remembering details. I guess you could say I am more of a big picture person. With every good book I read rather than the facts, I am left with impressions. If I took a test on the facts I would probably fail but ask me about an emotional interaction with the book and my answer would earn a high score.

In China Pilot I learned about a chapter in history previously unknown to me. I appreciate feeling a little less dense about the world but when I put China Pilot back on the shelf, my heart was with Earthquake McGoon, a larger-than-life figure to whom I grew attached. When he died I cried because the world lost such a humor-filled, light-hearted man. It just seems there should be more Earthquake McGoons. I don’t say that about very many people. Continue reading →

Life&Ink

the many moods of charlotte

Tag Archives: China Pilot

Earthquake McGoon, Part Two

Part One

Earthquake McGoon: A Friend I Met in Felix Smith’s Memoir, China Pilot