Alan C. Carey
Alan C. Carey | |
|---|---|
| Born | California |
| Occupation | author/historian |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Period | 1999-present |
| Genre | Military History |
| Notable works | The Reluctant Raiders Twin Mustang: The North American F-82 at War |
Alan C. Carey is an American author and historian who specializes in military aviation topics.
Biography
Carey was born in Orange County, California to Robert Watson Carey and Joyce Kathleen Haynes. He is the seventh of nine children born to a career military man and a British mother. Carey was first published in 1999 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in History and Political Science in 1987 and a master's degree in public administration from Southwest Texas State University in 1992 (now Texas State University).
Early life
Carey was born while his father was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. His father served as an aviation radioman, air gunner, and navigator serving from World War II to the Vietnam War. Carey's childhood as a military dependent consisted of living in three states and three foreign countries before the age of five. His father's retirement and subsequent second career in the construction industry resulted in the family moving to several more states before settling in Texas in 1975. His writing career began as an intern with the Texas State Historical Commission in 1992 where he co-authored Historic Preservation Easements in Texas.
Military Service
Like his father, a veteran of the Navy and Marine Corps, Carey enlisted in the military serving in the U.S. Marine Corps as a machinegunner/team leader and in the U.S. Army Reserve as a nuclear, biological, and chemical defense specialist and weapons instructor.
Career
Carey's early interest in military aviation history stems from his father's career as an aviation radioman and air gunner with Navy Bombing Squadron 109 (VB-109) and reading the works of such military historians as Edwin P. Hoyt, Steve Birdsall, Barrett Tillman, and Samuel Eliot Morison.
In 1995, after researching VB-109's history, he was able to obtain the Distinguished Flying Cross and several additional Air Medals to his father's surviving crew members with the help of Congressman Lamar Smith (R). He is also noted for aiding veterans and families in a variety of issues related to military service. He began writing his first book, The Reluctant Raiders, after conducting research regarding his father's military service. Carey's early works traced relatively unknown aspects of military aviation primarily related to the Navy's use of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and North American B-25 Mitchell.
Published Works
- The Reluctant Raiders (1999) ISBN 0-7643-0757-6
- We Flew Alone (2000) ISBN 0-7643-1170-0
- Above an Angry Sea (2001) ISBN 0-7643-1286-3
- Leatherneck Bombers: Marine Corps B-25/PBJ Mitchell Squadrons in World War II (2002) ISBN 0-764-31501-3 OCLC 50951647
- PV Ventura and Harpoon Units of WWII (Osprey, 2002) ISBN 1-841-76383-7 OCLC 49784977
- U.S. Navy PB4Y-1 (B-24) Squadrons in Great Britain (2003) ISBN 0-7643-1775-X
- Galloping Ghosts of the Brazilian Coast (2004)
- Consolidated-Vultee PB4Y-2 Privateer (2005) ISBN 0-7643-2166-8
- The Douglas F3D Skyknight (2012) ISBN 0-89747-685-9
- Twin Mustang: The North American F-82 at War (2014) ISBN 978-1783462216
- Night Cats and Corsairs: The Operational History of Grumman and Vought Night Fighter Aircraft (1943-1953) (2014) ISBN 978-0764343735
Co-author non-fiction work
- Guerra, Vicky and Alan Carey. Historic Preservation Easements in Texas Texas Historical Commission, National Register Programs, Certified Local Government Program (1992)
Chapters in a non-fiction work
- J.K. Kelley, ed., Westside Publishing, ed. Armchair Reader World War II (2007)
Television Appearances
Dogfights: Season 2, episode 17. Secret Weapons (3/14/08): Secret weapons of World War II: Appeared in the segment on American remote controlled airplanes of Operation Aphrodite.
Hunters In the Sky (2002): Appeared in infomercial for the documentary series on World War II aviation.