Dramatic chronicle of the glory days of the propeller planes, when the young, ambitious domestic airlines met up with military olive drab. This is the story of airline pioneers and pilots, mechanics and engineers, who all became key players in the momentous military engagements from the European Theater to the Pacific in World War II. By the time America went to war, the big five domestic airlines and small carriers had given up half their fleets and the best and brightest of their personnel to the U.S. military. Book takes reader through harrowing secret missions, and into the top-level meetings between the airline owners and the White House that led to the development of the ATC & NATS.