SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Oct. 2, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The 20th century was a monumental period in human history. In a whirlwind of change, America transformed from a society of farms and factories to an economical superpower of business and technology. Gaelord O'Neal recalls his life during this tumultuous, but magnificent time in A Bucket of Prop Wash: From Poverty to Silver Wings (now available through 1stBooks), which carries readers through poverty, change, love, two wars and death.
O'Neal was born in Indiana in 1899. His book, A Bucket of Prop Wash, is a mix of personal experiences expanded by the imagination into a historical novel of epic proportions. It begins as he escapes the mundane and grueling life on his stepfather's Mississippi cotton plantation. The year is 1917, and World War I is raging in Europe. O'Neal, tired of the backbreaking work, joins the Army and serves in the infantry. War brings many new and horrible realizations about life and humanity to O'Neal's eyes. That scope widens in World War II when he flies for his "beloved" Air Force over the battlefield at Rhineland as deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Carrier Forces, his B-17 loaded only with crew, a news reporter and camera equipment.
O'Neal also details a mostly fictional personal life on his stepfather's Mississippi cotton plantation. He shows his naivety and youth in his first marriage to beautiful Madeleine. His second marriage to the voluptuous Beau is marred by her unfaithful tendencies; however, O'Neal also has his own infidelities. Stricken by the sensual Elenora, he embarks on an affair of both the body and heart, which leads to secrets, lies and, eventually, decisions that threaten to alter his life completely.
Love and war tend to have their own rules, and A Bucket of Prop Wash tells the life of one man who refused to walk the straight and narrow and lived a remarkable life as a result.
O'Neal was a veteran of both World War I and II. After his career in the military, he retired to Texas, where he lived until his death in 1983. His is survived by his children. His youngest daughter, Joela Jenkins, decided to publish his book to perpetuate his legacy and shed light on this period in human history.
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