Originally posted by Montezuma:
"Doorknob Five Two" by Fredric Arnold.
Memiors of an ace Jewish P-38 pilot who fought over Sicily and North Africa. Not a whole lot of combat but an amazing story.
Very good book. Had my 15 year old son read it too. He then made it his book report for school.
Well, doing research for the report we discovered that the author had a website:
http://www.doorknob52.com At my suggestion, Chris emailed the author and attached the two above photos. To our surprise Mr. Arnold wrote back:
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Hi Chris -
I commend you on the Kohn's War project. Well done! You have artistic talent,
excellent organizational ability, and an obvious love of interest in WW II
aviation. Most of all, I admire that unique strength of character that
allowed you to act on an impulse - to wit, write to the author of a book you
had read. That takes a special kind of personal presence, a confidence and
respect in knowing who you are, and represents a precursor of the many doors
that will open for you in the future. I receive letters and commentary from
readers from the remotest places on earth and from every walk of life: from
professors, scientists, authors, military personnel, teachers, and countless
others who have read my book, but never from a 15 year old.
I would like to have read the printed material posted in your presentation,
but that part of the scan was illegible. Since the project was intended to be
a book report, did you submit a written account detailing what you learned
from the book? If so, please send me a copy. If not, will you will take the
time to do so now? Better yet, consider it another project. Write not less
than three pages, search your innermost feelings, stick to the truth, avoid
praise for the author, concentrate on what you learned or what you missed.
You do this and I will send you something special for your collection of
memorabilia (be sure to include your mailing address).
With kindest best wishes for a lifetime of happy landings.
Fredric Arnold
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and here:
Chris -
In answer to your question, "How many of the Kohn's War did you sign?"
Doorknob Five Two was the original hard cover (1984, published before you
were born) - over 200,000 were sold (out of print now). I probably signed at
least thousand (bookstore personal appearances, air shows, special events,
etc.). You could probably find a used copy at BarnesandNoble.com (priced from
$20 to an astronomical $3,540) or Amazon.com (from $13 to $2,950). Go to "out
of print books."
Kohn's War the paperback reprint you have; only 50,000 were published. Not as
popular as the hard cover. Most people wanted the original with photos and my
drawings. I signed very few of those. Sometimes, when speaking at a
university, a student would come up to the podium with a paperback and asked
me to sign it.
As I used to tell my children, keep focused, don't get distracted. My son
pilots his own jet and he never forgets the motto I used in combat, FFP. Its
the same in daily life. No matter what happens: lost an engine, lost your
job, failed an exam, whatever the distraction, FFP! Translation: Fly the
F...... Plane
Fredric Arnold
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Well, Chris set to writing the requested 3 page report for Mr Arnold. I thought it contained too many questions for the author, figured Mr Arnold didn't want to spend the time on answering them. Boy was I wrong. He sent back a 2 page word doc which within he answered all my son's questions. He also stated he had slipped a little something in the mail to Chris, giving the UPS tracking info. Well the package arrived last week. It's a signed photo of him in his P38, the one on the right side of his homepage. It was personalized "Dear Chris ..." Fantastic! As if that wasn't enough the tube included one of these:
http://www.doorknob52.com/html/artist.html 
Found it here also:
http://www.scripophily.com/doorknob.htm Chris and the rest of us were astounded!
The story behind the print is amazing in itself and I will not ruin the story in case you decide to read the book, which I recommend. We are in the process of having the print framed and matted along with the autographed photo. And to think it all started with a simple email...
sorry so long, just wanted to share the story with you all
Eagler
