The Aviator

<strong>Jim McConnell was one of the first Americans to serve with the French during WWI, first as an ambulance driver and then as a pilot.<br/> </strong><br/> On the University of Virginia campus, one can find a winged, 12-foot-tall bronze statue titled <em>The Aviator</em>. Curiously, <em>The Aviator</em> is a memorial to a UVA dropout, James Rogers McConnell.<br/> <br/> McConnell was a fighter pilot in the famous squadron of American volunteers who fought for the French prior to US entry into World War I, the Lafayette Escadrille.<br/> <br/> Prior to joining the escadrille, McConnell served in France as an ambulance driver. He documented the front, both on the ground and in the air in <em>Flying for France</em>, a bestselling book published just before his death. A modest character, Jim included very little information about himself in his book. Even while at the front, McConnell remained in regular correspondence with his family, friends, and girlfriends. A large volume of these original letters are preserved today.<br/> <br/> Author Steven T. Tom has sifted through a mountain of primary source material to go beyond <em>Flying for France</em> and tell the full story of the brief but famous life of Jim McConnell.