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Fly Navy

Alvin Townley, a 1997 graduate of Washington and Lee, has traveled the world once before to produce books on the Boy Scouts, scouting and leadership. This month, Alvin’s newest book is out, and he has focused on the world of U.S. naval aviation as it celebrates its 100th year.

To write it, Alvin again went around the world, boarding five aircraft carriers in three oceans and on most major bases in the U.S. He met present-day Blue Angels, young crew chiefs and admirals, along with POWs and heroes from conflicts past. His vignettes illustrate what a former Top Gun instructor and Blue Angels commanding officer called “the colorful characters who share the common bond of gold wings and the excitement of aerial adventures from the sea. Fly Navy opens a window to this romantic, dedicated, and occasionally irreverent spirit.”

Tomorrow (April 28), Alvin will launch the book at the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Pensacola, Fla., where Jimmy Buffett will perform a private benefit concert for the National Museum of Naval Aviation. Buffett’s concert, along with Alvin’s book, are part of a larger year-long celebration taking place across the country.

Alvin will return to NAS Pensacola on May 5 to give the keynote address at a lunch at the Museum’s Centennial Symposium.

For more information, see Alvin’s own website, where you can also get copies of his two previous books, Spirit of Adventure  and Legacy of Honor.

Alvin will be in Lexington for reunion weekend and will signing books both Friday and Saturday around the lunch hour on Canaan Green.