Janey: A Little Plane in a Big War

Rating:
Summary: A delightful read for Piper Cub buffs
Review: "Dawn's first light crested the eastern hills and gave the earth a rosy glow. Flying on such a day was pure joy. Smooth, dense, misty morning air slowly released its grip as light emerged from the countryside, fulfilling the promise of another day. Our fears vanished as we soared above the sleeping ground. We were immortal. From our perch above the commotion, we watched the world come to life to begin another day of killing."

Normally I'm turned off by the High Literary Style, but the way that passage ends with the knife-twist--"another day of killing"--redeems it with room to spare. Time and again in Schultz's book, he and his collaborator pull off that neat trick: loving memories entangled with the ordinariness of war.

(Like the time Schultz lands Janey in a vineyard that turns out to be a German minefield. He's full of morning coffee, and one of his great hopes on landing was to empty his bladder. There's nothing for it! He just has to piss his pants.)

Schultz and Janey fly and fight with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division through North Africa, Sicily, the Anzio beachhead and the advance to Rome, and finally the invasion of southern France. They both survive--quite an accomplishment, not only for the pilot but especially for the Piper Cub. Among other tricks, they take off from an LST "aircraft carrier" whose tiny plywood deck is greatly supplemented by 24 knots of wind over the bow:

Of course I am sappy about Piper Cubs. But I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful read for Piper Cub buffs
Review: "Dawn's first light crested the eastern hills and gave the earth a rosy glow. Flying on such a day was pure joy. Smooth, dense, misty morning air slowly released its grip as light emerged from the countryside, fulfilling the promise of another day. Our fears vanished as we soared above the sleeping ground. We were immortal. From our perch above the commotion, we watched the world come to life to begin another day of killing."

Normally I'm turned off by the High Literary Style, but the way that passage ends with the knife-twist--"another day of killing"--redeems it with room to spare. Time and again in Schultz's book, he and his collaborator pull off that neat trick: loving memories entangled with the ordinariness of war.

(Like the time Schultz lands Janey in a vineyard that turns out to be a German minefield. He's full of morning coffee, and one of his great hopes on landing was to empty his bladder. There's nothing for it! He just has to piss his pants.)

Schultz and Janey fly and fight with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division through North Africa, Sicily, the Anzio beachhead and the advance to Rome, and finally the invasion of southern France. They both survive--quite an accomplishment, not only for the pilot but especially for the Piper Cub. Among other tricks, they take off from an LST "aircraft carrier" whose tiny plywood deck is greatly supplemented by 24 knots of wind over the bow:

Of course I am sappy about Piper Cubs. But I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: New 1999 review declares Janey "splendid"
Review: "Janey: A Little Plane in a Big War is a splendid addition to the collections of scholars of WWII aviation...and a reminder that old-fashioned seat-of-the-pants flying was still relevant amid the technological advances of that conflict." --Jon Guttman, WORLD WAR II magazine, July 1999 issue, page 66

Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: General Walter T. Kerwin, Jr. (Retired) says the following about Janey: "Flying in his Piper Cub, Janey, Schultz saw more of World War II than anybody in the Third Infantry Division. He enjoyed badgering the Germans and Janey became a legend."

Rating:
Summary: Fast paced story of uncommon bravery.
Review: Little did I realize that the plane "Janey" was featured in an exciting book. Imagine my delight when I put a picture of my Dad, Combat Photographer, S/Sgt. Bill Heller, standing beside the Piper Cub "Janey" on my website [World War II Memoirs-3rd Infantry Division]. The bravery described in the book is understated but richly deserved. I recently saw a replica of the plane "Janey" which was built by Harold Miller and his son at Leland, Illinois. One doesn't realize the fraility and size of the plane until standing next to it. "Dutch" Schultz weaves a spellbinding and fantastic story!

Rating:
Summary: Fast paced story of uncommon bravery.
Review: Little did I realize that the plane "Janey" was featured in an exciting book. Imagine my delight when I put a picture of my Dad, Combat Photographer, S/Sgt. Bill Heller, standing beside the Piper Cub "Janey" on my website [World War II Memoirs-3rd Infantry Division]. The bravery described in the book is understated but richly deserved. I recently saw a replica of the plane "Janey" which was built by Harold Miller and his son at Leland, Illinois. One doesn't realize the fraility and size of the plane until standing next to it. "Dutch" Schultz weaves a spellbinding and fantastic story!

Rating:
Summary: A must read for children of WW2 veterans.
Review: My father was an infantry man in WW2, and never had the war seemed so real to me as when I read this book. The characters are young and sometimes cocky, brave, funny and touching. Schultz makes you see battles from a whole different perpective--the skies above the action. He takes you from beautiful contrysides to the stench of battle. All the time you realize how vulnerable he was in a plane made of wood and canvas. As he says, "You never see the one that gets you." I laughed many times and cried more, but I couldn't put it down. It woke up all my senses!

Rating:
Summary: Exciting WW II stories of a Artillery pilot in a Piper Cub.
Review: Schultz has written of his escapades in WWII with a sense of humor and leaves the reader eager for the next chapter. A variety of experiences; flight behind enemy lines, duel with an ME 109, rescue of Italian boy with land mine wounds, and spinning with General Patton kept me awake.

Rating:
Summary: ALA Booklist 5/1/98 Review of Janey
Review: The following is Booklist's review of Janey. It appeared in the 5/1/98 issue: "From early 1943 to the end of the war, in Piper Cubs, especially one named Janey after his fiancee, Schultz flew missions in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, the Vosges Mountains, and southern Germany as an artillery observer attached to the formidable Third Infantry Division. He vividly chronicles a wide range of experiences --scrounging supplies from the army and friendly civilians, operating from cow pastures (sometimes sown with mines) within mortar range of the front lines, flying generals (including Patton), and the other duties that came to the unsung and unpopular (at least with their exalted brethren of the Army Air Force) little puddle jumpers. Observation pilots faced unimproved fields, enemy fighters and antiaircraft fire, accidents, weather, contaminated fuel, and enough other hazards to make their casualty rate quite formidable. Little of this has received much attention in the World War II literature, so Schultz and Neff's effort deserves a big catch-up readership." (Review by Roland Green)