The Trash Hauler

The Trash Hauler is the story of Forrest Carter, a Tennessee farm boy with a commercial pilot's license who enlists in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and finds himself flying combat missions as an A-20 gunner in New Guinea. When a sudden need develops for transport pilots, his maintenance officer, the legendary Pappy Gunn, puts him in the right seat of a C-53. The pilot, Lt. Tex Williamson, recommends that the young corporal be commissioned as a pilot based on his civilian flying...
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The Trash Hauler is the story of Forrest Carter, a Tennessee farm boy with a commercial pilot's license who enlists in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and finds himself flying combat missions as an A-20 gunner in New Guinea. When a sudden need develops for transport pilots, his maintenance officer, the legendary Pappy Gunn, puts him in the right seat of a C-53. The pilot, Lt. Tex Williamson, recommends that the young corporal be commissioned as a pilot based on his civilian flying experience. Forrest spends two years flying transports throughout the Southwest Pacific and rises to the rank of major. When he returns home, he finds that the girl who has been telling him she'll be waiting really is, and that in his absence has changed from a gawky teenager into a beautiful young woman. Carol Ann suggests he remain in the Army after the war and he agrees. They then embark on a career with the new Air Force in which Forrest is mentored by his former pilot, who chooses him to be the impetus behind the design of a revolutionary new military transport. This is the story of the Air Force tactical airlift mission as seen through the eyes of one man, his wife and family