Maurice “Vic” Duvic, 90, Author of “Forty Missions & Home” and I spoke about his book and long life. Vic, a war hero and member of the greatest generation shared with me what it was like flying 40 war time missions as part of the North African Allied forces, surviving, coming home and becoming the father of 8 children. He was called back to active duty and served 21 months in the Korean War.

He was 22 year old enlisted man stationed in Florida enjoying a fun day at the beach with his buddies when they heard the words that would change their lives, “Pearl Harbor”. A trained pilot he flew 40 wartime missions before it was all over. I inquired if he got butterflies in his stomach before leaving to drop bombs? He said he just hoped he’d come back each time. He also mentioned the pilots used to tease each other before each mission. It was their way of alleviating the stress at hand. The book is written primarily from the diary he kept during those years. It is also full of interesting pictures, comics, newspaper clippings and musings. I found out something new- less than 25% of all enlisted soldiers’ ever saw combat in WWII.

Vic was awarded the Silver Star for his service. On November 6th, he was one of the honorees at the unveiling of a major expansion of the National WWII museum in New Orleans, his home town. In attendance included Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks. Of course, I had to ask him about the day. His reply, “It was mostly political types congratulating each other. It was hot and I got sunburned”. This made me laugh. He also added he appreciated the great lengths the organizers went to in order to create the event. Brad & Tom didn’t seem to impress this old timer very much!

When I asked him about his life he told me he graduated high school at the height of the great depression. I asked how this impacted him? He said he got a job as a stenographer making $90 a month. He figured out if he worked for the government he could make $120 month so he began working in the immigration office. He noticed lots of people coming through. Most people were unaware of the brutality and hardships they had been endured.

We discussed his 59 year long marriage and raising 8 children. He said it was fortunate they both had the same ideas on how to raise children and this saved a lot of trouble. They lived in Mississippi during the height of segregation. They felt they had to do their part and pulled them out of Catholic school to attend various public schools. He noted he traveled a lot and that his wife had to work really hard coordinating carpool for the various schools his children attended.

Vic mentioned his generation having gone through the struggles of the great depression over compensated as parents trying to make sure their children didn’t go through similar hardships. He said the end result was “the 60’s”. The children of the 60’s were indulged and the results were clear to everyone. He didn’t think it did them any favors.

I inquired what was the toughest part of getting older? He said in the past ten years he’s slowed down and can’t do everything he used to enjoy doing. His biggest disappointment is the fact he can’t get out and put up his bird houses up anymore. He was an avid bird watcher. Other than that, he had no complaints.

In closing I asked him for his pearls of wisdom from an adventurous and well lived life. He chuckled and said, “I’m not a philosopher”. I wasn’t going to be deterred that easily as I really wanted to know what a 90 year old war hero who raised eight great kids valued? He ended with the quote found in his book, “It’s not about the destination but the journey.” Well said.

To learn more or order a copy of Vic’s book visit http://www.fortymissionsandhome.com.