Please Join us in Welcoming Angel
Dr. Angel Pilato at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum
(5-10-2014)
"How Being Part of History Turned into a Memoir"
Angel Pilato, a retired Air Force Lt. Col., discusses the events of the sixties and how they affected her decision to join the Air Force at the height of the Vietnam conflict. She was the first woman officer to manage an officers' club and the first to be assigned to run one on a fighter base in Southeast Asia during the war.
Her recently completed memoir Angel's Truck Stop, A Woman's Love, Laughter, and Loss during the Vietnam War recounts her experiences while stationed at Udorn Air Base in Thailand from 1971 to 1972. There, testosterone-fueled fighter pilots take off on sorties over dangerous targets in North Vietnam-some came back, many do not. Captain Pilato, a starry-eyed idealist, enters into this fog of war to manage the officers' club. The fighter pilots christen the club "Angel's Truck Stop", which becomes the backdrop for the conflicts, challenges, and choices she encounters. It reveals a woman's struggle to fit into a man's world. As the realities of war erode her ideals, the plans she imagined for her future evaporate.
Early reviews for Angel's book:
Angel's Truck Stop is an eye-opening account of an era many Americans did not or do not understand, and that many choose to forget. Angel pulls no punches. Her stories make you laugh and cry, and you are left with a somber appreciation of what is asked of our servicemen and women.
-Barb Randall of Lake Oswego Review, West Linn Tidings
Angel is a very talented storyteller. Those of us at Udorn spent 90% of our time on the flight line, flying, or at "Angel's Truck Stop." It was a great "Stop" because Angel had a Fighter Pilot's attitude and knew what made us tick. Thanks again from all of us for the memories.
-Joe Kittinger, Colonel, USAF, (ret)
There will be a question and answer period after Dr. Pilato's talk. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at $24.95. They can also be purchased via her website www.angels-truckstop.com or at www.amazon.com. E-books also available on Kindle and the iPod.
