Flight and the Ups and Downs of Military Service

C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed Ol’ Shakey, was one of the heavy-lifting transport planes during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It could airlift as many as two hundred fully-armed troops and heavy-duty equipment such as field guns, tanks, bulldozers, and trucks to and from the mainland.

In this same aircraft, retired flight engineer Gene Fish recounted his memories that inspired him to write his book, entitled Ol’ Shakey: Memories of a Flight Engineer. The memoir is based on the actual events that were part of the road to being a flight engineer: from the job application and decision-making to job acceptance and dangerous flights. Through his book, Gene Fish passes down valuable knowledge that reveals the merits and risks of flying Ol’ Shakey.

“Wonderful insight to a little understood aspect of aviation. I really enjoyed the author’s writing style. Again, good read,” says Jean Hummel, a Goodreads reviewer.

Ol’ Shakey: Memories of a Flight Engineer was featured at LitFire Publishing’s booth during the yearly AJC Decatur Book Festival, held at downtown Decatur from September 1 to 3 of this year.
 
 
Ol’ Shakey: Memories of a Flight Engineer
Written by Gene Fish
E-book | $2.99
Paperback | $19.99
 
Book copies are available at LitFire Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online book retailers.
 
 
About the Author

Gene Fish was enlisted as a performance flight engineer of the Douglas C-124 aircraft named Ol’ Shakey. After many years of military service, he retired and worked as a performance instructor and later as a manager of Flight Operations Performance Engineering at Saudi Arabian Airlines. He came back to the USA and worked at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

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