Bill Norris

Dagger Four is Ok: Brigadier General Norman C. Gaddis Pow Memoir Bill Norris

Publisher Marketing: At the age of eighteen, armed with a dream of flying and the desire to serve his country, Norman Gaddis enlists in the Army Air Corps in the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After twenty-four years of service and seventy-two combat missions, he is shot down while in flight in an F-4 Phantom over Hanoi. He spends the next 2,124 days as a prisoner of war in the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, better known as the Hanoi Hilton. This true story follows Retired Brigadier General Norman C. Gaddis through his journey as he endures a thousand and four days of solitary confinement, physical and mental torture and nearly six years held captive as a POW. Relying on skills gained through his years of training and his love of and faith in both family and country he not only survives, but maintains his sanity and his honor. This is a story of strength, integrity and patriotism; a tale of a truly great American. General Gaddis' military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster & "V" Device for Valor, Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Ribbon and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm. Contributor Bio:  Norris, Bill Bill Norris lives in Florida with his wife, Sheila, and four cats. He is an entrepreneur who has created businesses with operations in most states in the US, across Canada, and in Mexico. Bill is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. After serving in Vietnam, he received an early out discharge from the Army in 1969 and returned to Lenoir Rhyne College (now University) in his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. He paid his way through college using the G. I. Bill and working for the post office at night. Upon graduation he was promoted into a management fast track program when the U. S. Postal Service was formed in 1971. In 1978, he left the Postal Service and started the first mail presorting service bureau as a service company he expanded into seventeen cities coast to coast. In 2002, Bill and Sheila created Go Mini's (gominis.com) and through a system of dealerships expanded that portable storage business into 160 cities. That business converted to a franchise by majority sale to its dealers in 2012. Businessman, inventor, poet and author, Bill attributes much of his success to his experiences serving in the military. Although not a pilot in the war, he developed a love for flight from dozens of helicopter combat assault missions. He later earned his wings as a private pilot owning airplanes he flew primarily to expand his business interests. Flying Into The Storm is Bill's first novel.