Major Charles Carpenter made headlines during the Second World War when
he affixed six bazookas to his tiny Piper L-4 observation plane and
began attacking German tanks. "Bazooka Charlie" and his plane "Rosie the
Rocketer" were profiled in a variety of military and civilian
publications, including the iconic Stars & Stripes. The major was a
high school educator in the civilian world, teaching history and
coaching football. Carpenter was talented, highly intelligent, and
athletically gifted, but the war truly tested him. In 1945, the dashing
pilot was forced out of the cockpit and into a hospital bed by Hodgkin's
lymphoma, which was discovered in his neck. In addition to the enemy and
terminal cancer, Carpenter also battled cynicism and guilt, particularly
in regard to the state of his marriage, which was on the brink of
failure by the time he returned home from Europe. Charles Carpenter died
in 1966, having resumed his career, salvaged his marriage, and long
outlived the timeline afforded him by his doctors in the initial
prognosis. This revealing biography of the famous pilot was made
possible through the collaboration of noted aviation author and magazine
editor Jim Busha, and Carpenter's daughter, Carol Apacki. Along with
memories of her father in his postwar years, Carol provided a treasure
trove of wartime correspondence between Charles and his wife, Elda
Carpenter.
