My Pilot

Through sickness and in health…

Sarajane Giere offers a uniquely intimate glimpse into the life of a military wife as she tells the story of her fighter pilot husband, Bernie, a Vietnam Veteran who flew 214 combat missions in the Vietnam War and served twenty-five years in the Air National Guard’s world-class 106th Rescue Wing.

With searing love and explicit honesty, she recounts the terror of the Vietnam years and the lifelong sacrifices that affected her pilot’s life and death. In the telling she honors her husband, their family, and their extended military family, the community she holds dear.


AMAZON – BARNES & NOBLE – KOBO

Reviews

“This is a wonderful book, a monument to the authentic courage of a combat pilot who barely escaped the horror of imprisonment in North Vietnam, and his loving wife, who cared for him throughout the horror of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).”

— John G. Hubbell, P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-Of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964-1973

“Sarajane Giere, the author, gives a welcomed and completely different perspective on the Vietnam War in the first part of the book. Detailing her experiences as her husband, an Air Force pilot, flew hundreds of combat missions provided a very different take on the war. Including her husband’s letters sent during the conflict made the story very real for me. After the war, Sarajane’s husband, Bernie, continued his career as a pilot. He flew for several airlines and the Air National Guard but eventually succumbed to ALS. The author made the story of their life together interesting and touching. Her husband, Bernie, was the pilot of their life together. I found My Pilot a pleasure to read. The writing is straight forward and without pretense.”

— Armen (Hank) Mancini
 
“An incredible moving account of the life of Sarajane Giere, a military wife, telling the story of her heroic fighter pilot husband, Bernie Giere, who flew 214 combat missions in Vietnam, served for twenty-five years in the Air National Guard’s world-class 106th Rescue Wing, and flew as a commercial pilot for Pan American World Airways and Delta Airlines. Wonderfully rich in detail, warmth, and insight about the heroism of the pilot and his wife, Sarajane Giere, who shared over 50 years of marriage through good and difficult times until Bernard’s death from ALS in 2013. I found it hard to put down and moved to tears a few times, but mostly I gained a new appreciation for the men and women who protect this country and the sacrifices their families sometimes make while they serve.”
— Catherine Greenfeder

“This is the story of the wife of an aviator who served in the Vietnam war. This author provides us with an inside look at what it’s like to be a military wife and family both during and after a term of service. From the perspective of a military wife, this is an extremely emotional and thought-provoking story. Moreover, it was brilliantly written, with well-captured sentiments and suffering. It’s a quick and easy book that I suggest to anyone interested in learning about the life of a military family.”

— Tim Antonie

“This book is a beautiful, heart felt view into one of the most tumultous times in recent American history. Without going into the politics of the era, it simply tells the story of one military family as they survived the Vietnam war. But it’s more than that! This is the tale of that rarest, most sought after, nearly mythical occurrence: a happy marriage. Mrs. Giere takes the reader inside her long, loving marriage through good times and bad, sickness and health, till death parted them. I loved it!”

— Mary Louise Pivec