They are a rapidly vanishing national treasure, those valiant young men, those members of the Greatest Generation who were willing to sacrifice everything in order to, truly, save the world. At the rate of nearly 500 a day, every day, they leave us, and with them their memories, their unique perspectives, their eyewitness accounts of history in the making are lost forever. That's why this collaborative project between Lorraine Hart and her father, Jim McCorkle, and other projects like it, are so vitally important.

In the introduction to her 2015 book, Time Just Flew, Hart writes, "Jim McCorkle treated every fixed-wing and helicopter he flew like it was a living creature, and each machine responded to his skill as if it were true. During WWII he earned the nickname "Lucky" and a few badges for always making it back, when so many didn't. He never spoke much about his wartime experiences but preferred to tell stories about all the places he had seen, and the many cultures he had experienced. This book is a tribute to the sacrifices and wonderful abilities of a notable man. We are forever indebted to his generation for the harrowing work they performed so heroically."

McCorkle's autobiography, co-written by his daughter, relates the eyewitness stories of this World War II pilot who flew bombing raids over Berlin as a member of the Royal Air Force (RAF) after he earned his wings at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in 1942.

But McCorkle's service to his country and his fellow man didn't end with VE Day. As a civilian helicopter pilot, he traveled the world, logging more than 50,000 miles while capturing terrorists in Cyprus, flying humanitarian missions in Malaysia, and taking part in a host of other adventures.

As a father, he would often regale his children with stories of his many exploits. These were the stories his daughter Lorraine helped him compile into a book, Time Just Flew. During the course of more than a year, she took his stories and carefully shaped and edited them into this account of one man who was, she said, "larger than life." She is quick to add, however, "they are my father's stories."

They are his poems, too. Turns out, McCorkle was a real poet warrior, and his original poems appear unchanged throughout the book.

At 93, McCorkle currently lives in an assisted living facility just outside of Toronto, Canada. He and his daughter, who hails from the Key Peninsula, speak often by phone. As a volunteer with "The Memory Project," he still manages to visit schools now and then, talking to the next generation about sacrifice, loyalty and the love of flying.  

The book is a gift of love from a daughter to her father, and from a hero to a grateful Nation. It is currently available in paperback from Amazon.com. You can also download the e-book for free at www.mysoonerspace.com/book/9781508501367/time-just-flew.