Meet John
When it comes to the storytelling skills of John W. Peace II… is it nature or nurture? His Papaw, Jimmie Galloway, was as good at telling stories as he was at piloting B-17 bombers, so it could be argued it’s just in his DNA. John also spent extensive time listening to WWII veterans swapping tales of war as well as hearing the amusing lore told by the characters that live in his small coal and farming town in Appalachia. It could be said John has an outstanding memory, with the ability to share the stories just as he heard them, taking you right there with the veterans and hillbillies he writes about. Whether nature or nurture, a great memory, or the captivating ability to compose stories, there is one certainty…
John W. Peace’s books are highly entertaining and hard to put down!
Books
Foreword by Bestselling Author Adriana Trigiani
“…In true Appalachian tradition, John recounts the stories
his grandfather shared with him, as he looked back on his
experiences as one of The Greatest Generation. Stories of
danger, daring, and, sometimes, even hilarity are
described in detail.”
Visit the website of Bestselling Author
coming soon
Air TALKS
A live YouTube show preserving the history and stories of life and aviation during World War II hosted by John W. Peace.
testimonials
A Boy From Crackers Neck is full of wonderful reminiscences of a time and
place very special in American history and culture. It reminds me of THE
WALTONS, except set in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern
Virginia. Peace captures the distinctive society and values of rural Virginia,
from agriculture to coal mining; church, family, and community, and traditional
values. It is informative, moving, and humorous. The personal depictions of
World War II are very illuminating and valuable. I highly recommend this
book!
From a dairy farm in Big Stone Gap to B-17 missions over war-torn Europe,
A Boy From Crackers Neck is filled with lessons from a true American
hero whose story is riveting and important. Jimmie Galloway represents the
courage, morals, and love of country that we should all emulate. It is
because of men like Jimmie that we enjoy the freedoms and comforts we do
today. His grandson, John Peace, has done an exceptional job weaving
family history into the major events of the last century. John tells the story
with so much detail, including the personalities and humor of the many
characters in the life of his Papaw, Jimmie, that this book is hard to put
down and you never want to end. It is among the best writing and
storytelling of WWII-era history you will find anywhere.
The heart and soul of A Boy From Crackers Neck are the stages of
overcoming life’s frustrations and unfairness. The story describes
simple, good, and humble people, born into poverty, who led astonishing
lives, then become admired heroic figures. This is the American Dream
that young, present-day Americans struggle to fully appreciate. Several
figures in this story illustrate this point. For example, Jimmie Galloway,
the B-17 bomber pilot on whom the book is based, comes from a family
that all became legends in Crackers Neck and in the state.
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The cigarsmoking Staff Sargent, Slew Stallard, from back home that Jimmy ran
into in Southampton became a well-known coach. Even the nice
German engineer, a former 109 Messerschmidt pilot who adds a
glimpse of the horrifying lives the German soldiers had to endure,
became a true friend to an American bomber pilot.
This book has a warm and touching conclusion with a theme. The author, John Peace, is an
unusually good storyteller with descriptions that are visual and thought-compelling. I love how John
Peace begins with a picture on the cover of several young military trainees and ends with a
description of the same picture. It is a human story of the troops in tragic situations and the “Lucky
Bastards” who beat astounding odds. Both represent the greatest generation. Their stories are so
uplifting, this book will deeply touch its readers and leave you so attached to the characters, you
won’t want it to end. That’s the mark of a great book!
John Peace’s biography of his grandpa in A Boy from Crackers Neck is an exhilarating and often
tense adventure from beginning to end. The main character, among the many colorful people you
meet, is United States Army Air Force Captain Jimmie Galloway whose life story is a rare first-hand
collection of memories of pre-, contemporaneous, and post WWlI
history. These stories were recited to John by his grandfather (whom he
refers to as Papaw) much later in life. Readers will be motivated to keep
reading until the book is suddenly finished in just one sitting.
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A
Hollywood movie could never do true justice to this spectacular realworld ride. Through A Boy from Crackers Neck, Peace has
contributed to American history in a fashion few authors have
achieved. It is a must-read, especially for younger generations who will
benefit from an empathetic, compassionate, and heroic character from
the past whose spirit and example are truly timeless.
The character of Jimmie “Papaw” Galloway was forged in rural
Southwest Virginia where young men and women matured early of
necessity. The responsibilities laid on Jimmie and his generation’s shoulders are probably
incomprehensible for younger readers today as they are unaccustomed to such periods of scarcity. It
was a time when shirkers and hooligans were rare, as the U.S. lacked social safety nets. Families
would simply go hungry if each able-bodied member did not work from dawn until dusk, all while
looking after neighbors and their communities. The Depression Era forged exceptional American
characters like Jimmie Galloway from the steel of a rural community that lacked any concepts of
abundance or leisure. But the American spirit of these men, women, and their children never
complained of the hardships and sacrifices defining them.
In his youth, Jimmie Galloway had already confronted the overwhelming tragedy of death as part of
the coal mining industry. During WWII, it was exceeded by his experience as pilot in command of a B17 executing near suicidal bombing missions over Europe, the scene of heretofore unimaginable
industrial scale carnage. Captain Galloway and his duty-conscious crew faced those dangers day
after day, voluntarily and without complaint, a level of disciplined patriotic commitment born of selfless
service rarely found in our general population today. Jimmie Galloway is the epitome of America’s
greatest generation. The grit and idealistic positivism that these soldiers carried back with them is
reflected in the spectacular society they built in the post-war peace.
