‘A Pilot’s Story’

Daughter completes massive memoir

Although she eschews the cliche “labor of love,” Barbara Evans Kinnear admits it’s the best way to describe the 10 years she spent finishing the newly released book, “ ‘Richard Eager’: A Pilot’s Story — From Tennessee Eagle Scout to General Montgomery’s ‘Flying Fortress’ ” (Kieran Publishing Company, $49.99 and $25).

“The original 21 chapters were written by my father, Col. Richard Ernest Evans, before he died in 2006,” Mrs. Kinnear said. “He was born in 1919 in Knoxville, Tenn. My father worked so hard on his stories. They were personal, historic and fascinating. Family members were helpful, excited and delighted for him. The book had to be finished. The stories had to become known,” said Mrs. Kinnear, who has lived in Santa Barbara with her husband John since 1973. They have one daughter, Katie.

A graduate of Texas Christian University in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, she is the former director of nursing at the Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic.

 “When my father died, I vowed that someday I would finish and publish his book for him. The background research to complement the chapters took years to complete, and that is why it took more than 10 years to publish, once I was able to begin the work,” Mrs. Kinnear told the News-Press.

“Our WWII veterans are passing away. We have a responsibility to keep their stories alive and encourage other veterans to tell their stories. I hope this book will set an example and encourage other veterans and their families to write their own narratives.” 

By the time she finished the mini coffee table book, it was 508 pages filled with a chronology of Col. Evans’ life milestones and World War II details, his own glossary of war terms defined with humor, an appendix filled with original family letters, historic V-Mail, award commendations and primary source documents that shed light on his personal and professional relationships, joys and fears.

Included are iconic, restored photographs of Tennessee boyhood years and World War II military planes and service and original maps illustrating the countries over which Col. Evans flew add to the book’s historical content. An epilogue summarizing Col. Evans’ Strategic Air Command service after WWII is also included. 

“My family calls it ‘The Tome.’ A friend of mine posted on Facebook that ‘The book just arrived. I need help to lift it,’ ‘ she said with a chuckle.

The timing of its publication is especially relevant because 2022 is the 75th anniversary of the Air Force. The official Air Force birthday is recognized as Sept. 18, 1947, which is the date of the passage of the National Security Act of 1947. 

Mrs. Kinnear said she learned a great deal about that period in history.

“There is little known about the WWII North African campaign, where many of the chapters take place. This was a most important part of the war. Not many people understand that it was Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, commander of the British 8th Army, who chased the German and Italian armies out of North Africa and protected the vital Suez Canal. He then worked with the Americans to free Sicily and Italy from Hitler’s cruel regime.” (Field marshal is the British equivalent of “general.”)

“The  book also covers a period of extreme innovation in military aviation from the 1930s to the 1960s. My father flew the simplest lightweight design propeller plane like the Piper Cub to one of the most extremely complex jets, the B-58 Bomber that could fly Mach 2, which is twice the speed of sound. 

“It is not just a WWII history book. It is a coming-of-age story that weaves together milestones in my father’s early life and how they influenced his actions during WWII and later.” 

Explaining the name “Richard Eager” in the book’s title, Mrs. Kinnear said, “My father’s nickname was Richard Eager. He was given that name when he was a student pilot by one of his close friends. He was always ready to go, gung-ho and an Eagle Scout to his core. He was such a skilled student pilot that as soon as he graduated, he was asked to teach new student pilots flight and navigation skills.”

The title also touches on two core themes of the book: her father’s childhood and the lessons and values he carried into the war.

“One of his most unique pilot experiences was flying Gen. Montgomery throughout North Africa and Italy. He was able to observe more than most, including Gen. Montgomery’s infamous and interesting personality. Though the general and the pilot didn’t always see eye to eye, the pilot honored the general with deep respect, and when they parted on the last day of 1943, they were friends,” said Mrs. Kinnear.

“There is a wonderful story about a notorious bet between Gen. Eisenhower and Gen. Montgomery. Monty won the bet, which was that he would have the use of an American plane with an American crew to fly him wherever he wanted to go. This was not just any plane, but the best, newest bomber — the B-17 Flying Fortress. This bet was very controversial, and the complete story is within the book’s chapters.”

An unexpected challenge she found during her research was that Gen. Montgomery had another pilot named Evans — Lt. Frank B. Evans — whose photographs she discovered in the Imperial War Museum in London.

“I thought that was just a mistake. It was not. I had to prove that there were two pilots who flew the B-17 ‘Theresa Leta’ with Gen. Montgomery. After much research, I found the first pilot, Lt. Frank B. Evans’ son. He sent me his father’s unpublished memoirs with dates and more historical information to support the book. This information made clear the exact dates that each pilot flew Monty, which was very important to my father’s book,” she said

It was at the same museum that she had one of the lighter moments in her project. 

“Special hours in the IMW Museum photographic archives are not easy to reserve to search the archives when you are not a known war historian. My husband and I were able to secure one of those appointments. When we arrived, those around us were very quiet within a small room, each studying pages upon pages of photos and notes,” recalled Mrs. Kinnear.

“While quietly checking the archives, we found a folder of photos from North Africa during WWII. Within it were pictures of Gen. Montgomery and the B-17 that my father flew. When I saw these photos, I responded in a very jubilant way, and I guess several octaves above the silent noise level that this group was used to. All heads popped up … and mine popped down.”

email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

FYI

 “ ‘Richard Eager’: A Pilot’s Story — From Tennessee Eagle Scout to General Montgomery’s ‘Flying Fortress’ ” is available in softcover for $25 at Chaucer’s Books, 3321 State St. in Loreto Plaza, Santa Barbara, and in hardcover for $49.99 at Tecolote Book Shop, 1470 East Valley Road, Montecito. 

It is also available at www.amazon.com. All proceeds are donated to the Colonel Richard Ernest Evans Memorial Fund, which provides essential education grants for Air Force families. For more information, visit www.richardeagerbook.com.