Bordner writes book on husband’s Tuskegee airman days

CATAWBA ISLAND - The intricacies of language, the spinning of tales and the perfect-pitch sound of a well-crafted phrase — those are the passions of Marsha Bordner. Her love of stories drove her to obtain a Ph.D. in English and, more recently, it inspired her to write a book — to tell the tale of her husband, Tuskegee airman Harold H. Brown.

Bordner signed a publishing contract with University of Alabama Press on July 15 for her book, tentatively titled, “Keep Your Air Speed Up, the Story of Tuskegee Airman Harold H. Brown.” It will be at least a year until the book’s release.

The book is the result of Bordner’s love of language and her love for her husband. Those two passions aroused an idea and birthed a book.

“People find their passion, and my passion has always been language and stories. So when he started telling me the stories of his life, it seemed to me it was a story that needed to be told,” Bordner said.

It was an unlikely match when the two met about 30 years ago. Differences in both age and race could have been obstacles in that time when vestiges still hung on of a belief in the separation of race in relationships. But she fell in love with Brown as she fell in love with his stories.

“We met at a college. He wasn’t famous then. He was an administrator, and he started telling me stories,” Bordner said.

Eventually, Bordner developed a desire to preserve those tales. She went from passive listener to active seeker.

“I started collecting things about Harold’s life, maybe 20 years ago,” she said.

During a trip to Mexico, Bordner persuaded stories out of Brown and his brother, Bubba, who also had served in World War II, but with a greatly different experience. While Brown was part of the distinguished World War II African-American pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen, Bubba served just as faithfully, but with little respect or recognition.

“He was in South Africa, and they were called the donkey troops. So many of them were illiterate,” Bordner said. “Bubba is an integral part of the narrative. I think it’s interesting to see the contrasts when a war happens — who gets placed where and how that transpires.”

Contrast is an underlying theme in Bordner’s book, which touches on the distinction between black and white airmen in World War II and the disparity between the assignments given to African-American soldiers in the war — like Brown and his brother.

Although the book showcases the historical significance of the Tuskegee Airmen, it is also a narrative that tells of Brown’s personal experiences as a pilot.

“I had to decide — is the book history or personal narrative? It’s both, so I think that’s unique,” Bordner said. “There’s a lot about Harold in the plane and how he felt. I tried to pull it all together and retain his voice.”

After Bordner retired as president of Terra State Community College in 2012, she dove fervently into the research and writing of the book. Although she had heard all of Brown’s stories, she listened to them again and again, as he told them to local service clubs, school children and other pilots. The story’s audience, she found, brought out different details and encouraged a unique retelling.

“I listened to all the versions and picked out the best language,” she said.

Once she had gathered the stories chronologically, she befriended a historian at Maxwell Air Force Base who verified historical facts, and she spent hours listening to Brown explain the technical parts of flying until she was able to write them accurately in laymen’s terms.

“I learned so much. Part of the difficulty for me was, I’m not a scholar of World War II, and I’m not a pilot. I know nothing about airplanes, and I know nothing about being a black man in a segregated society,” she said.

She does, however, know what it is like to be a white woman in love with a black man in an intolerant society, although she found friendship and acceptance in Fremont. During a meet-and-greet reception introducing her as the new president of Terra, Bordner was worried about the community’s response to her relationship with Brown.

“What I found is that the people in Fremont and the surrounding areas are very patriotic. The whole idea of him being a veteran was very important to them, and then they found out he was a Tuskegee airmen after that. They welcomed us,” she said.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty atsheri.trusty@gmail.com or 419-639-0662.