Adam Makos has parlayed his long-standing interest in history into something of a cottage industry: interviewing aging warriors and transforming the stories of their youthful valor into well-crafted, popular books.
His third and latest outing is “Devotion” (Ballantine Books, $28), a story about two Navy carrier pilots during the Korean War, one white and one black, and how their lives intertwined with the Marines they fought to defend.
It tells the story of Lt. Tom Hudner, a privileged white New Englander and Naval Academy graduate, and Ensign Jesse Brown, a Mississippi native and sharecropper’s son who became the Navy’s first black carrier pilot.
When one crashed his Corsair fighter-bomber behind enemy lines while providing close air support for Marines in their tactical retreat from the Chosin Reservoir, the other deliberately ditched his plane to save his comrade, .
“Devotion,” which has garnered interest from Hollywood, comes not quite two years after .
“Voices of the Pacific” was an oral history of World War II combatants in the Pacific Theater. “A Higher Call” recounted an act of compassion in the air war over Europe: A German fighter pilot chose not to finish off a crippled American B-17 bomber, instead escorting it to the English Channel and safety. It was a New York Times best-seller.
On a recent leg of an East Coast book tour, Makos, a Pennsylvania native who lives in Denver, fielded a few questions about his new book.
Question: How did this story come to you?
Answer: It’s a legend in military circles, and I’d known of it from my work. One day I had a chance meeting with the hero of the story, Capt. Tom Hudner.
This was a man who did something that had never been attempted before and never attempted since. I introduced myself because I was fascinated with this friendship he had with Jesse Brown. Why would he go to the ends of the Earth for his friend?
Q: What did you take away from researching and writing this book?
A: I think I was so impressed by the unselfishness displayed by Tom throughout his life. That quality was exemplified on that day in 1950.
My generation is an inward-looking generation. We put up Facebook posts, and there is a whole lot of “look at me” going on. But Tom gave up great wealth to fight for his country. And when his friend was stranded on the side of a North Korean mountain, he went in to save him.
Q: How do you hope this story resonates with readers in 2015?
A: I think all of us have a Korean-era veteran in their family tree. The Korean War has been called the “forgotten war.” People say we didn’t win the war because it ended in a stalemate. But today there are more than 50 million South Koreans living free. That’s a victory.
Also, our country has been battling racial divisions, especially recently. It feels like we’re taking a step backward. I think we can look to this story in 1950 and these two men and see how things can be and use that to lead us to better times.
Q: You seem to have an affinity for these stories. What draws you to them?
A: I’m drawn to the qualities possessed by our grandparents’ generation, the greatest generation. I think they had a way of treating one another, their community and their country that is slowly retreating with time.
I think we need heroes to emulate. I think the key to our country’s future lies in the people of our past.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I’m going back to World War II. I’m writing about a true story about two enemies who became friends. This is a story about the ground war involving a German tanker, an American tanker and a German girl. It’s about healing.
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or @williamporterdp
ADAM MAKOS will appear at these area bookstores to talk about “Devotion:”
Nov. 2: 3:30-6 p.m. at The Bookies, 4315 E. Mississippi Ave.
Nov. 3: 7:30 p.m. at Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder
