A Fighter Pilot's Story: An Inspirational Journey from Failure to Success

By Mark LaVerdiere

Read One Man's Success Story and Let It Inspire You to Create Your Own!

Mark LaVerdiere always had a goal. From his first trip into the air with his father as a young boy, he followed his dream of becoming a Fighter Pilot. Some dream of being a Fighter Pilot; a select few strive to become one. Battling with self-confidence and coming up against unforeseen physical obstacles, Mark continued on, focused on his dream. Along the way he was inspired by a team of amazing people who helped him reach his ultimate goal - and helped him become the great success he is today - of being a successful Fighter Pilot.

A Fighter Pilot's Story: An Inspirational Journey from Failure to Success shares one man's story about hopes, dreams, and challenges and overcoming those challenges in pursuit of fulfilling a dream. Whether health issues, finances, family or even employment, what is important at the end of the day is how you handle the situation. A Fighter Pilot's Story from page one takes you on a truly inspirational journey from one page to the next.

This book will strengthen you to move in the midst of challenges and encourage you to kick your fears to the rear and reach for the stars. Buy the eBook today; be inspired and share your story.

-INCLUDES a Special Offer for a FREE lifetime membership to an eCourse on making iPhone Apps. Details to this offer are found on the eBook's website.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark LaVerdiere
• Release date: Oct 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466039582

Mark LaVerdiere

Mark “Happy” LaVerdiere was born in the small town of Orillia Ontario, and found a love for aviation and writing at a young age. His father owned a Cessna and Happy flew regularly with him. It was at this young age that Happy knew he wanted to be a world-class fighter pilot and a published author.An avid hockey player and natural athlete, the drive to compete and set goals became a part of everyday life since being a teenager. After high school Happy attended Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario and graduated from the Aviation Flight Management Program at the top of his class. During his time at college, Happy was selected to represent Ontario in a national amateur piloting competition (Webster Competition) and placed third in Canada at the age of 19.Following graduation Happy enrolled in the Canadian Forces as a pilot and achieved his jet wings in 1995. After jet wings graduation in 1995 Happy served his first tour as a flight instructor on the Tutor jet, the same jet he later flew as a Snowbird pilot. In 1999 he was selected for fighter pilot training, where through hard work and dedication again graduated among the top in his class, and served as a CF-18 Hornet fighter pilot in Cold Lake, Alberta until he was selected to the Snowbird team in the fall of 2006. During his time as a fighter pilot, Happy served in both Europe and throughout North America following the events of Sept 11th, 2001.Happy had the honor to be a member of the Canadian Snowbirds for 4 years (2007-2010), flying in the number 8 position-opposing and lead solo. While flying with the Snowbirds, Happy took pride in demonstrating the skill, professionalism, and teamwork of the men and women of the Canadian Forces throughout Canada and the United States. The experience that Mark gained in the role as a Canadian ambassador, will serve him well as he pursues his quest to obtain his other life long goals.Most recently a published author, Mark is enjoying his new found hobby of writing non-fiction novels in his spare time as he now lives in Barrie, Ontario, with his wife Carol and their twin children Kaden and Quinlan.

Book preview

A Fighter Pilot's Story

An Inspirational Journey From Failure to Success

by Mark Laverdiere

Copyright 2011 Mark Laverdiere

Smashwords Edition

Version 2011.10.000001

Photos by Mark Laverdiere

License Notes: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or exploited in any form an/or format including photocopies, recordings, or other electronic or mechanical methods, whether now known, or hereafter developed, without the express, prior written permission of the author, except for brief quotations contained in reviews and/or other noncommercial uses permitted under the Canadian and United States copyright laws.

For permission requests, contact the author at http://www.FighterPilotStory.com

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PREFACE

This is the story of my life as a Fighter Pilot, with all the failures and successes I experienced that were required for me to ultimately achieve my dream of flying jets. As I sit down to write this book, I reflect upon the great number of things that occurred along the way, which at the time seemed quite unpleasant, but I now realize were all required to bring me to the point of writing this book. I can honestly say I am thankful for living through each and every one of those unpleasant experiences because everything in my past - the good, the bad, and the ugly - has molded me into the person I am today.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve my country as an Air Force Pilot for 20 years. Better yet, I have had the opportunity to learn from, and train with, some of the best Fighter Pilots in the world. During that time I have come to realize that it is not always what happens in the air that defines a great Fighter Pilot; rather, a majority of our success comes from how we deal with life's challenges on the ground as well. I decided to write this book so I could share this perspective as a man, a husband, a father, and a Fighter Pilot.

This book is also an expression of gratitude for the gift I was given to fly. It is an expression of gratitude to every person who took the time to believe in me and guide me throughout my Air Force career. There have been a number of great leaders who I tried to model myself after, both on the ground and in the air. I realize now that my success story is, in essence, their success story Their belief in me allowed me to believe in myself. Once that happened, only the SKY was the limit!

My ultimate goal in this book is to share with others that it is okay to fail. In fact, it is quite normal to do so. Believe you me I speak from a lot of experience in that department. However, the key to my success has always been how I have responded and arisen after each and every failure. It is my wish that people from all walks of life can take a part of my story and apply it to their own lives. I am certainly not saying that my life's story should be the model for success. Nothing could be further from the truth. To be sure, there are countless success stories out there that do not have the drama that I chose to bring into my life. However, I feel that it is important for me to be transparent in telling my story for one principal reason: Readers will see that ordinary people can do extraordinary things! My goal here is to inspire all. But, even if only one person who reads this book is inspired to take action because of it, I have succeeded in my goal with this book.

This book is not intended to make the reader want to become a Fighter Pilot nor dissuade them from doing so. To me, being a Fighter Pilot was all that I ever wanted to be, but it certainly is not the ideal profession for everyone. It requires years and years of training, hard work, and dedication. And, to that end, most Fighter Pilots develop a mentality to work hard...play harder. It is the motto by which most live by, and, it has a significant effect on the loved ones around you. Know this: being a Fighter Pilot is not all that Hollywood has made it out to be in movies like Top Gun." But, there is one thing for sure—there is no better office space in the world than in the cockpit of a Fighter jet!

This book is actually a story of many stories. Some will make you laugh; some will make you ask yourself What the HELL were you thinking? Collectively, it is a story of my journey from a person who had given up on himself as a young man, to a man who became a world class Fighter Pilot and Aerobatic Formation Pilot.

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ACKOWLEDGEMENTS

There are many dedicated pilots and family members who I will always be grateful to for all they have done for me. Without them I wouldn't have successfully obtained my goals. This list is NOT inclusive of all those that have helped me, or touched my life along the way, but I wanted to acknowledge a few of those that did: Lt. Col (ret'd) Thorney Thorneycroft, Gen Stammer St-Amand, Col Norm Balfe, Lt. Col Hammy Hamilton, Gen. Stitch Foster, Lt. Col (ret'd) Scratch Mitchell, Maj (ret'd) Loaf Hartzell, Maj (ret'd) Barney Reid, Maj (ret'd) Woody Woodfield, Lt. Col (reed) Burner Byrne, Maj Custer Miller, Maj Big Mac McNaughton, Capt. (ret'd) Bender Bend, Lt.Col Deuce Brophy, Capt (ret'd) Krusti Whelan, Maj Squish Umrysh, Maj (ret'd) Noodle Eichel, Maj (ret'd) Hoss McRury, Lt. Col Crack Carter, Capt Sugar Lecaine, Lt Col Fuji Day, Capt .Dilly Dalamore, Capt. Laser Glaeser, Lt.Col Poot McLeod, Lt.Col Frog Greenough, Maj Little Mac MacMillan, Capt. Piggy James, Capt (ret'd) JackAss Miles-Ingram, Maj (ret'd) Marv McCauley, Shane BA Pope, Dave Choke Douglas, Capt Millhouse Selby (deceased), Capt Woodboot Vandenbos (deceased), Capt Nasty Naismith (deceased), Capt Deuce McCaughey (deceased), Capt May Mitchell (deceased), Mike Mic McFayden (deceased), my Mother Gladys Wilson (deceased), my Father and Step Mother Richard and Shirley LaVerdiere who have always given me love and support; and, lastly my beautiful wife Carol and my twin 8 year old children, Kaden and Quinlan, who inspire me on a daily basis to become a better person. There are many others who have inspired me and given me so much over the years and I feel enormous gratitude to each and every one of you. Thank you to all; for without your influence on my life I hesitate to think were I might be today.

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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all past and current serving men and women of the Allied Forces who selflessly give of themselves so that we can live in peace. There is no greater sacrifice than to lie down your life for the greater good of freedom and we all owe so much to those that have departed this world while serving their country In particular, I dedicate this book to the incredible men and women that make up the combined Armed Forces of the United States of America, The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, for whom I have always been impressed with their professionalism and dedication while working and training with them all on numerous occasions over the years. A deep, and heart felt, THANK YOU goes out to those members who made the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good of peace; may they