Years turned into decades. And stories turned into memories worth sharing. So began their journey, an adventure that transcends time and generations, a story literally brought back to life through the love for a granddaughter.

Richard Leonard tells the story of his father, David Leonard, when the former had gone back from a near-death experience. The Whiskey Bottle Conversation: A Father’s Legacy to His Son tells the reader of a story of a father who has served in World War II, where he served as a B-24 low-altitude bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater. The book tells stories of his experiences. It takes the reader from 1920, when he was born in Georgia, to the end of 1945, when Japan surrendered, which ended the war.

The author, Richard, realized while attending funeral for a friend whose father had passed away, that he wanted to know more about and tell the story of his own father’s life and experiences before it’s all forgotten in time.

This book takes the reader into a long ride of childhood adventures, to military school, to high school, to street wrestling matches, to a “one-way ticket” trip to Florida, then on to pilot training.

Through David’s uncanny skill of recalling dates, names, places, and details, the readers are given a firsthand look at the experiences of a boy growing up in the early part of the twentieth century—those experiences that served as a blueprint for the man that joined the Army Air Corps to defend his country and fight for its freedom.

Just like most men that served in the war, David didn’t speak at great length about his experiences; but when asked in detail, the readers are shown a detailed description of what it was and how it was to be a pilot soldier in World War II.

This book is not only Richard Leonard’s story. This book represents the story of an entire generation—those men and women who believed in the ideals and principles that their country stood for. When time came time for their country to call on them to defend those principles, they stood up willing to fight and die for their beliefs.