About the Book
Steve Barton always knew he was adopted. His parents never kept it a secret from him. So when his 83-year-old father, retired aviator Capt. Raymond Schmidt, sat him down to tell him the full story behind his adoption, he was thoroughly blown away.
Not only did the author Steve Barton not know who his real father was, but he was completely caught off guard when his true father was revealed. Captain Schmidt continued to tell him the unbelievable story that began with a gallant, secret group of aviators, the Quiet Birdmen.
Now after sixty-seven years of secrecy, Steve Barton shares with the world the interesting beginnings of this brotherhood, a special breed of aviators dedicated to their sense of honor; their families, friends, and fellow pilots; and their insistence on taking care of their own and keeping it all out of the public eye.
A group whose membership extends the world over, the Quiet Birdmen was formed just a short while after the demise of the American Flying Club in 1921—a phoenix would arise from the ashes and still continues to burn with a fiery passion for aviation, family, and a sense of brotherhood in the most encompassing way.
In a revelation of sorts that blends the best of both fact and fiction, Steve Barton enters the secret world of the QB. Through stories of combat, these glorious flying tales have been repeatedly handed down from one combat pilot to the next as far back as World War I—and were often fueled by bravado, embellishment, and substantial quantities of alcohol—the truly larger-than-life story can now finally be told. These pilots would have it no other way.