rapidfire Granting Last Wishes T

he Dream Foundation, the national dream-granting organization for terminally ill adults, has launched a new nationwide

sub-program Dreams for Veterans to give back to terminally ill veterans and their families through the fulfillment of a final dream. Dream Foundation Executive Director Kisa Heyer

says, “Dreams for Veterans provides the invalu- able opportunity to honor veterans’ service while engaging, honoring, and appreciating their families and communities.” Dreams for Veterans recipients are U.S. military

veterans 18 years or older with a life expectancy of 12 months or less. Final dream requests range from basic needs items such as mobility scooters, lift chairs, working appliances, or laptop computers to bedside reunions, final vacations with family, meeting personal heroes, or reconnecting with aspects of for- mer military service. “Captain Bob” (pictured below), an Army veteran from California, recently joined his granddaughter and family on a sailboat outing, fulfill- ing his dream to get back out on the ocean. According to We Honor Veterans, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the VA, one out of every four dying Americans is a veteran. Dreams for Veterans partners with hospice professionals, the VA, and other groups. For more information, visit www.dreamfoundation .org or call (888) 4DREAMS (437-3267).

In Review

The First Eagles: The Fear- less American Aces Who Flew With the RAF in World War I. By Gavin Mortimer. Zenith Press, 2014. $30. ISBN 978-0-7603-4639-6.

During World War I, hun- dreds of American pilots fl ew for Brit-

ain’s Royal Flying Corps (RFC) over the Western Front, with 28 Americans becoming aces with fi ve or more aerial kills. Award- winning historian Gavin Mortimer dramatically tells how these young men were recruited, trained, and thrown into air combat just when the RFC, known by 1916 as the “suicide club,” desperately needed fl iers after suff ering high losses against superior German aircraft and pilots. This masterful history of early military aviation focuses on Americans eager to fl y, joining the RFC (later known as the Royal Air Force), seeking glory and adventure, and pursuing the coveted title of ace in a ruthless air war they initially viewed as gallant and heroic. “It’s a lovely war” and “an inter- esting diversion with its enjoyable points,” boasted novice fl iers.

26 MILITARY OFFICER FEBRUARY 2015

Mortimer brilliantly de- scribes the sudden lethal- ity of aerial combat, the swirling dogfi ghts, danger- ous low-level bombing and strafi ng, fl aming crashes, and quick death in the air.

Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse. By Robin Hutton. Regnery History, 2014. $27.99. ISBN 978-1-62157-263-3.

Among the many forgotten heroes of the Korean War is a racehorse,

a Mongolian mare whose battlefi eld exploits made her “the greatest war horse in American his- tory,” according to author Robin Hutton. The horse, nicknamed

Sergeant Reckless, carried 75 mm shells and trans- ported wounded Marines from the Recoilless Rifl e Platoon of the 1st Marine Division’s Anti-tank Com- pany in the bitter fi ghting of 1952-53. Reckless responded to

voice and hand commands and took cover during mortar barrages. She ate large amounts

of scrambled eggs and pan- cakes and drank beer like a Marine. After the war, she was promoted, decorated (two Purple Hearts), and comfortably retired. — William D. Bushnell

PHOTO: COURTESY DREAMS FOR VETERANS