Vail has written an inspiring firsthand account of his relationship with his World War I aviator father — shaped by early 20th century and Vietnam War geopolitics — in parallel to my own and others of our time, each one unique and instructive today, and for future generations. This is a must read.

Craig McNamara

Author of Because Our Fathers Lied: A Memoir of Truth and Family, from Vietnam to Today

This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in World War I aviation and the 1918 United States Air Service. But what makes The Soft Mud of France unique is that more than 100 years later, the only son of protagonist William Vail has written a firsthand account of his aviator father’s story and their decades-long life together. Vail deftly combines family, social, geographic, and political history spanning centuries. This combination is the compelling story behind this book, not the glorification of yet another air ace.

Martin Schütz

Its title notwithstanding, this book is as clear and refreshing as spring water — a delight to behold and savor from page to page. Vail has produced a richly illustrated treasure befitting those early airborne heroes. His research is combined with an engaging style and unique personal perspective that brings the aviators to life — a soaring experience for lovers of history, aviation, and adventure. It’s the best book to combine all three since my father published Colonel Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis seventy years ago. Ad astra!

Charles Scribner III

Author and publisher

First Lt. William Vail’s story is one of unlimited devotion and incredible courage. He was among the select few chosen as the first American fighter pilots in 1918. His riveting story is told very well in this book, a book written by an admiring son.

James Wilberg

MD, FACOG

Greg Vail was my “Old Boy” at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. When I arrived, I was an impoverished, oblivious Black kid from the rough environs of Harlem Park in West Baltimore, Maryland. Greg seemed hellbent on supporting my adjustment to a new boarding school world. I was suspicious of him, yet he persisted with me, and I survived that first year and beyond. After reading his father’s riveting story in The Soft Mud of France, I began to understand Greg’s motivations back then a lot better. His father, 1st Lt. William Vail, was an impressive man of great character. Greg Vail is truly his father’s son. I am forever indebted to both the World War I fighter pilot and his offspring, a most decent white boy.

Larry Woody

Author of In Black and White and screenplay A Better Chance

The year 2023 finds only four surviving sons of those intrepid flyers of World War I’s U. S. Air Service 95th Aero Squadron: Gregory Vail, Alexander “Mike” McLanahan, Nicholas Sewall, and Charles Woolley. Remarkable, but more so by Greg’s superbly written history of the travails of his heroic father, 95th Aero member Bill Vail. The Soft Mud of France, a research monument, coupled with Greg’s inspired wordsmithing, makes his book a must-read for any serious student of American and World War I aviation history.

Charles Woolley

Author of First to the Front and Echoes of Eagles: A Son’s Search for His Father and the Legacy of America’s First Fighter Pilots