John Pierson is a decorated US Marine Corps Pilot who flew helicopter MedEvac, resupply, insertions and recovery and Search and Rescue missions in 1965/66 and OV-10 Bronco Tactical Close Air Support missions in 1968/69 in the Vietnam War. He also served non-combat tours in California, Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Japan. While serving as the Aircraft Maintenance Officer of VMO-1 in North Carolina, his department set a Navy and Marine Corps aircraft availability record and he set a personal Aviation World Record for which he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross.John began writing stories about his life at the suggestion of his first AA mentor who advised him to write about the trouble caused by his drinking days, and after sharing the story with his mentor, to wad them up and throw them away or burn them as a symbol of shedding the burden or forgiving others for their part and forgiving himself for his part and forgetting the associated fear, rejection, shame, etc. The suggestion worked and John stayed sober but he didn't throw away the stories. Recently, a few years ago, he began putting the stories in more or less chronological order for a book that he hopes will be fun to read and will help his readers to learn from his mistakes, as well as, his successes.