Beneath the Wild Blue: The Story of an Airforce Family

Description

In the aftermath of World War II, Francine “Fritzi” Fontaine longs to escape the stifling heat and segregated society in her home town. When she falls for Second Lieutenant Joe Stoddard, a cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps, she also finds her ticket to see the world.

Fritzi and Joe get married and fly off into the wild blue yonder, where he becomes a test pilot and Fritzi the quintessential Air Force Wife. Along the way, Fritzi gives birth to four children – two girls and two boys – while Joe moves up in rank and pays his dues as a pilot and officer. For a few short years, the Stoddards are a shiny, adventurous American Air Force family, living wherever Joe’s career takes them and blooming wherever they are planted. When they are transferred to a base in Italy, the Stoddards revel in the opportunity to explore Europe together. During the fireworks of an Italian festival, tragedy strikes, plunging the family into a free-fall of denial and grief. How will they navigate a future none of them ever imagined?

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