Fleet Angels Wins Silver in the Stars and Flag Military Book Awards

Fleet Angels author Barbara Marriott with her award-winning book
 — and check out the giant award hanging from the back!

We at Loose Leaves have plenty of reason to celebrate at the end of 2013. Our first book, The Fleet Angels of Lakehurst by Barbara Marriott, has been awarded the silver medal in nonfiction in the Stars and Flag Military Book Contest.

JK: Welcome to the blog, Barbara! Can you tell us a little more about the organization and the award?

BM: The Stars and Flag Military Book contest is one of the few national book contests strictly for military books. I heard about it from the Military Writers of American Society, an organization for military authors, publishers, and those interested in military books, of which I'm a member.

The Fleet Angels of Lakehurst won the silver medal in the nonfiction subject category. There are only two winners in each category, a gold and a silver. All other winners are designated Honorable Mention. The winners receive a gold or silver medal, a tee shirt, book stickers, and a publicity release, plus a write-up on amazon.com. Winners are announced nationally. 

JK: Congratulations! That's quite an achievement. What first inspired you to write about the Fleet Angels?

BM: My husband was a navy helicopter pilot, and while I was a young bride and mother, it was his first tour of duty. He was gone, deployed on naval ships, about 75% of the time. Since the squadron deployed detachments of one or two aircraft and crews there was a constant changeover in the men who were home at any given time. The squadron was always there to help wives whose husbands were deployed, and the wives, with husbands away, and in charge of homes and families, were very close. It was a family. We were there for each other through births, and, yes, death, fun, and happiness. 

Years later, as a Commander, my husband was ordered back to the Fleet Angels as the executive, then commanding officer, so I got to see the other side. Now it was up to me to be the one there for the wives as they faced deployments, family duties, and managing their households. Being the CO's wife I could cut through red tape, had the CO's ear, and had years of experience. 

There really is nothing new when it comes to hardships. Naval Air Station Lakehurst was in the boonies, a long runway, some buildings all surrounded by thick pine barrows, yet all of us young wives made our life-time friends there. The book was written not only to honor the men (and there were just men at the time) whose primary military mission was to SAVE LIVES, but in honor of the wives who took on life's challenges with determination and sometimes innovativeness. After 80+ years of life, I still believe the toughest job in the world is that of a Navy Wife. Not all succeed and there certainly isn't a lot of money or fame in doing the job.

When I attended a reunion at Lakehurst, put together by some of the younger officers who had retired, I decided to write the book. Their camaraderie was, as always, something to see, and it was still strong after years of not seeing each other. Stories flew. 

JK: How did you do the research for the book? Was it as much fun as it seems in the book?

BM: With the help of Dale Sokal, the organizer, we contacted the list of former Fleet Angels he had and I started gathering their stories. It was done mostly via email and I became part of the communications process. I was included in the comments flying back and forth between former shipmates, and their humor popped to the front immediately when they argued over issues like who really did fly Bob Hope and who delivered the most cookies in Vietnam. They gave each other a hard time, they relived the problems they faced, and they mourned dead shipmates. The contacts were with officers and enlisted sailors. Men who had not heard from each other got reconnected, and through it all, the sad and happy stories there was a sense of pride, in the squadron, in each other, within themselves. 

JK: Did you have a specific goal in getting these amazing stories to readers?

BM: Until The Fleet Angels of Lakehurst was published, Lakehurst was known only because the Hindenburg crashed there. I would like to think that now some people know that Lakehurst is the birthplace of two of the navy's finest historical squadrons... one of which, The Fleet Angels, is still saving lives at sea, at home, and around the world. The squadron is no longer at Lakehurst, NJ, its birth place. It is now based in Norfolk, VA.

The well-reviewed (seven five-stars on Amazon), award-winning Fleet Angels is available in softcover direct from Loose Leaves or from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite bookstore. It's also available for very little money in the most popular ebook venues: Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.