This is a photo of best friends Kirby (L) and Jay "JayBird" Riedel at an 80th Fighter Squadron reunion in 2002. Kirby used to tell "war stories" to all that would listen of his and his WWII buddies exploits in the Big War. When email became popular, Kirby expanded his story telling to his new friends on the Internet. One of these close friends, Dr. Larry Simpson, took on the task of gathering these first-hand accounts and publishing them in a book for all to enjoy. “Kirby” is this book. Many thanks to Dr. Simpson for putting this important work together. Our best friend Kirby passed away on 10 July 2011 just 4 days shy of his 92nd birthday. But his stories live on in this book!