Hump Drivers

Arthur La Vove was born in Manhattan in 1909, the son of a French military attaché. Arthur flew commercial airliners for Century Airways and United in 1930s. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, he volunteered for the Army Air Force. Any enthusiasm that Arthur had for the conflict quickly eroded once he arrived in the CBI, the China-Burma-India theater of operations, for service with Air Transport Command. La Vove was a “Hump Pilot,” conducting the hazardous duty of ferrying men and material over the Himalayan Mountains, propping up American, Commonwealth, and Chinese Nationalist forces in their struggle against the Japanese in South Asia. The aircraft of the day were not well suited to handle the extreme environment, and the Himalayas remain littered with the remnants of aircraft and their crew who did not make it over the Hump. Arthur survived the war and studied journalism at Columbia University. He lived a long and prosperous life, excelling in various pursuits including writing, flying, and car racing. As to be expected from a professional journalist, Arthur’s account of the Second World War is exceptionally articulate in its prose. More unusual is the dark tone of the narrative, ranging from visceral descriptions of violence to biting irony and bitter humor. Like most WWII combat veterans, Arthur and his friends suffered multitude depredations during their time in theater, and some never returned home. What is exceptional about La Vove’s writing, particularly for an American, is that he clearly felt these sacrifices were made in vain.