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Pinky: the Story of North Dakota's First Aerial Combat Ace on Guadalcanal
American history is full of heroes: individuals who went above and beyond to ensure the safety and freedom of others. In some cases, they paid the ultimate price.
This is the story of one such forgotten warrior, a World War II US Navy fighter pilot charged with defending Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, and other lands against Japanese air attacks with the Cactus Air Force.
He was Lieutenant Francis Register, also known as “Pinky”—and while he did not survive to speak of his actions during the war, this navy ace fought for his country to the point of exhaustion and beyond. His bravery earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross, two Air Medals, and a Purple Heart, the latter three awarded posthumously.
Fortunately for readers, Lt. Register went against wartime regulations and kept a diary, documenting his daily life, fears, and frustrations while serving in the war. Along with interviews and surviving family members, this diary was used as one of the primary sources for this valuable look at a real American hero, affectionately penned by triple e-Lit award winning author William Franklin Hook, MD, author of Never Subdued and Desert Storm Diary.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 11, 2014
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September 2, 2023
He was known to his grade school classmates in Bismarck, North Dakota as “Pinky.” With a last name like Register, the only other logical nickname for Lieutenant Francis Roland as far as his fellow World War II pilots were concerned was “Cash.” This 2014 war memoir, penned by retired physician and radiologist, Dr. William Franklin Cook, is a celebration of the life and times of “Pinky-Cash” Register, “North Dakota’s first aerial combat ace on Guadalcanal.
As author Cook explains in his introduction, “Pinky” “is a true narrative history describing participants and some of the individual movements and actions in aerial battles over the Solomon Islands and Attu Island of the Aleutians during World War II.” Cook notes that Francis Roland’s “story is not intended to glamorize war. It is intended to honor the memory of those gallant service men and women who placed themselves in harm’s way so that the rest of us can enjoy the liberties for which they sacrificed lives and/or limbs.”
Cook succeeded in un-glamorizing World War II in this 228-page bio. His primary sources appeared to be Register’s 93 year-old brother Bill’s memory of verbal exchanges, Register’s own “personal war diary, after action reports and reconstructions of radio chatter during combat.” Cook relies very heavily on Register’s war diary. (Keeping a diary, as the author notes, was “against wartime regulations.”) In addition to photos of Register’s family, friends, fellow pilots and aircraft, Cook also leans heavily on actual, original, (and very hard to read), newspaper columns reproduced verbatim, to keep the narrative moving forward. That, plus Register’s diary entries give this entire publication the look of a scrapbook on steroids.
While author Gregory Fletcher maintains that “Pinky” “takes us inside the mind of a naval aviator,” I for one didn’t learn much. There’s a lot of material here that just looks thrown in. For example, Cook reprints a radio drama reportedly broadcast by NBC that “was a reenactment of a dogfight between Japanese and American fighter planes in which Francis Register had participated.” Cook admitted that “according to today’s standards of radio drama it might sound corny.” You think?
For me, the highlight was Cook’s epilogue in which he documents the fate of several of the main characters in Pinky Register’s life story. Unfortunately, we still don’t really know what happened to Register on that fatal strafing mission over Attu Island. Was his plane shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire? We will probably never know. One thing’s for sure, I can’t imagine even “a few of the next generation” sitting through this cobbled-together biography long enough to “gain the wisdom and perspective necessary to appreciate the sacrifices others have given for this nation.” And that’s a shame. Cook’s intentions were noble and good. It was all in the execution.
As author Cook explains in his introduction, “Pinky” “is a true narrative history describing participants and some of the individual movements and actions in aerial battles over the Solomon Islands and Attu Island of the Aleutians during World War II.” Cook notes that Francis Roland’s “story is not intended to glamorize war. It is intended to honor the memory of those gallant service men and women who placed themselves in harm’s way so that the rest of us can enjoy the liberties for which they sacrificed lives and/or limbs.”
Cook succeeded in un-glamorizing World War II in this 228-page bio. His primary sources appeared to be Register’s 93 year-old brother Bill’s memory of verbal exchanges, Register’s own “personal war diary, after action reports and reconstructions of radio chatter during combat.” Cook relies very heavily on Register’s war diary. (Keeping a diary, as the author notes, was “against wartime regulations.”) In addition to photos of Register’s family, friends, fellow pilots and aircraft, Cook also leans heavily on actual, original, (and very hard to read), newspaper columns reproduced verbatim, to keep the narrative moving forward. That, plus Register’s diary entries give this entire publication the look of a scrapbook on steroids.
While author Gregory Fletcher maintains that “Pinky” “takes us inside the mind of a naval aviator,” I for one didn’t learn much. There’s a lot of material here that just looks thrown in. For example, Cook reprints a radio drama reportedly broadcast by NBC that “was a reenactment of a dogfight between Japanese and American fighter planes in which Francis Register had participated.” Cook admitted that “according to today’s standards of radio drama it might sound corny.” You think?
For me, the highlight was Cook’s epilogue in which he documents the fate of several of the main characters in Pinky Register’s life story. Unfortunately, we still don’t really know what happened to Register on that fatal strafing mission over Attu Island. Was his plane shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire? We will probably never know. One thing’s for sure, I can’t imagine even “a few of the next generation” sitting through this cobbled-together biography long enough to “gain the wisdom and perspective necessary to appreciate the sacrifices others have given for this nation.” And that’s a shame. Cook’s intentions were noble and good. It was all in the execution.
Displaying 1 of 1 review