Barefoot Pilot

About the Book

World War I air warfare as told by a 20th century paraplegic pilot and the two guardian angels that protect him in flight. One angel is German and the other American.

About the Author

Clark Harrison was a lifelong resident of DeKalb County, Georgia. In spite of an injury from a enemy sniper’s bullet in World War II that left him paralyzed from the waist down he lived a full and productive life. After he finished college he battled physical problems and misunderstandings about the physically challenged. Surviving these problems made him stronger and more determined to do something worthwhile. He opened his own real estate business, made a successful run for Chairman of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, was founder of Fidelity National Bank and along with James Shepherd was founder of Shepherd Spinal Center. Along with these business ventures, he wanted to prove that a paraplegic could accomplish physical activities also. All he ever had to hear was ‘You can’t do that, you’re in a wheelchair’. He began to prove them wrong starting by swimming a mile a day. Then he began whitewater canoeing, hot air ballooning, scuba diving, hunting and fishing, horseback riding, and finally learned to fly his own plane. He was and is a hero to many. After completing his autobiography Long Way Home he began work on his second book Barefoot Pilot. He tells the tale of Barefoot and his guardian angels and their adventures in the air and on the ground. The book was completed just days before his death in 1989. The story has been revived as a tribute to his memory.