OKC's own Captain Virgil Kinnison, decorated WW 2 pilot, who will appear at the SHORTGRASS national book release party Thursday, May 25, 5-8 p.m., Full Circle Bookstore, with Lee Matthews and KTOK Radio. Death-defying exploits taking on the Japanese in India, Burma & China.

Captain Virgil Kinnison of OKC, 1943, C-47 and P-51 Mustang pilot, USAAF.

Captain Kinnison’s original flight jacket, which he wore during WW II combat missions. He will be wearing it on May 25 at Full Circle Bookstore, too. :-)

The back of Captain Kinnison’s flight jacket, which he wore on WW II combat missions, with a message written in Chinese to the suffering people of that nation, whom we were fighting to liberate, instructing them to help him in case he is shot down there.

Some of Captain Kinnison’s combat medals, which included THREE Distinguished Flying crosses and fourteen Air Medals.

Virgil Kinnison, age 88, 2013, himself flying the same type of Ford Tri-Motor plane at which he had first marveled more than EIGHTY years before when one landed at the Tulsa airport.

Virgil Kinnison now, humble, friendly, and articulate at 92 years of age, with some of his beloved aircraft models. Only at the very end of our 90-minute interview did we realize that he was a high school classmate of my own mother at Central High in OKC!