Customer Reviews

Piloto: Migrant Worker to Jet Pilot

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Piloto: Migrant Worker To Jet Pilot by Henry Cervantes is his personal story of being a Mexican-American pilot who proudly served the United States Air Force. An engaging and candid memoir of what it was like to be a Latino in a life-or-death field dominated by Caucasians, Piloto offers the reader a firsthand witness of one man's transformation in while serving in the Air Force both during and after World War II. Piloto is a unique and welcome contribution to American Military and Aviation History collections.

I heard Hank Cervantes speak at a reunion of the famed "Bloody 100th" Bomb Group and was so impressed I went out and got this book. It was just as impressive. What an incredible story! A child of migrant workers, growing up in the harshest condiditons imaginable, dreams of something beyond the farm fields. He stays in school, works hard and eventually is accepted into pilot training during WWII. He has to put up with bigotry and racism at every turn, yet something in him won't let him give in or up. Eventually he achieves ranking and position few Hispanics in the military have. Besides being a great story teller, Cervantes is also a great role model for youth--minority and otherwise. Then to top it all off, the book is filled with details about B-17s, B-47s and the B-58 Hustler--a perfect read for an ol' aviation buff like me. This one should be in every school library in the country. Read it!

I once worked for Hank Cervantes when he was at the Defense Contract Administration Services Region Headquarters in Los Angeles. I remember seeing the photo of his damaged B-17 on the wall in his office and asking him about it. I was amazed even more when he told me the story behind the photo.

He was a delight to work with and his book revealed things about him that I never knew. After reading his very personal account of the struggles and odds he overcame to become a success, it made me admire him all the more.

I highly commend this book to anyone who is faced with seemingly unsolvable challenges. It will inspire you to keep plugging no matter what the odds.

Thanks Hank and Congratulations on a Great Book!

Chuck Robuck
Newcastle, CA

I read about twenty to thirty books a year. This one is in the top five. A great American story and a man who chose to live the dream that is America! And he signed my book! Thanks Colonel

I had a chance to meet Hank Cervantez last week in Chicago. A very graceful person, he was very humble and shared his story with those at our luncheon table. I started to read the book and he was very open and honest about the hardship he faced while becoming a Air Force pilot.