Airman Mortensen

Summary

It is 1966 and eighteen-year-old Airman Mortensen has gotten into trouble on a U.S. Air Force base in the southwest. He has disobeyed an officer's order and his punishment begins with permanent latrine duty. He spends day after uncertain day cleaning bathrooms while the paperwork for a court martial makes its way slowly through channels. But at the point his life seems darkest the young airman meets Claire Brill, the base commander's daughter. They fall in love with each other, surrendering completely to the intensity and beauty of first love. Their union triggers a key drama in Airman Mortensen's life, all of it set against the backdrop of Saturday night dances, surprise inspections, and the constant search for places to be alone. At its core Airman Mortensen is about the time in life when purity of heart and rebellion are inextricably mixed. Luminous and precise, Blake's voice captures the restless and indomitable sprit of youth which inhabits us all.