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go READ A BALLOONING LIFE: BY JOSEPH CARVALHO III THE NINE LIVES OF J. MICHAEL WALLACE

TELL US WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT?

It’s a biography of J. Michael Wallace who grew up in the Springfield mill village of Indian Orchard and his many death-defying moments that led him to become one of America’s most successful competitive gas balloon racers. The book tells the story of his early life as a weapons design engineer as the Springfield Armory, his near death helicopter crash in Vietnam, and his courage to return to the air with the sport of ballooning. The majority of the book chronicles his most dramatic adventures in Ballooning among the over 750 flights he has piloted over his lifetime.

WHAT WAS THE MOST DRAMATIC BALLOON FLIGHT?

There were many, but certainly his flight in the famed international Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race in 1995 was the most dramatic. Although the Race organizer had received permission to fly into Belarusian air space, that message apparently didn’t get to the Belarusian military authorities. Belarusian helicopter(s) shot down one of the competitors, Wallace’s good friend Alan Fraenckel and his co-pilot John Stuart-Jervis, and forced Mike Wallace and his co-pilot Kevin Brielmann in their Balloon down into a live-fire artillery range in a Belarusian swamp the size of Rhode Island. Held by the Belarusian authorities for several days, it took the good efforts of Congressman Richard E. Neal and the U.S. State Department to get him and his co-pilot…and their balloon….. released back to the U.S.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?

I have known and worked with Mike Wallace for almost 30 years. We worked together to create the Aquarium at the Springfield Science Museum; The Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden; the Museum’s Welcome Center; the renovations and upgrades to all of the city’s library branches, and the creation of the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. He approached me in 2014 to help him record his life story so he could leave it for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren who might someday wonder who their grandparent was and his many life lessons overcoming adversities and life mistakes. To tell his story completely, I proceeded to interview 25 family members, friends, business associates, and ballooning co-pilots at my Watershops Recording Studio to complete his story and verify his accounts. After completing over 50 hours of interviews, I convinced Mike to let me tell his story in book form. He finally agreed and A Ballooning Life is the result of this seven-year effort.

HOW HAVE READERS RESPONDED TO THE BOOK SO FAR?

tures, and easy to read. I like the way you were able to extract all of the information from many many sources and make a readable story out of it.” – Tom Osborne (one of Mike Wallace's co-pilots and long-time Chase Team leaders)

“ I loved it and I still remember that balloon flight I took with Mike so many years ago. The book accurately captured that adventure.” - Sister Mary Caritas

“Walking among us in our communities are a few brave people who instinctively push the envelope of life, living it to the fullest. Mike Wallace is among them, and Joe Carvalho captures not only the thrill and excitement of Wallace’s life but also the hard knocks life can bring. Carvalho weaves together using diligent digging, solid writing and sensational photos the essence of the life of one of America’s great adventurers and community spirits.” - Larry McDermott (retired farmer/journalist, and retired publisher of the Springfield newspapers)

“This book captures the truly extraordinary life my very good friend Mike Wallace has lived. From the combat of Vietnam to death defying feats of bravery and insanity flying over the Austrian Alps and Communist Belarus. As Mike’s co-pilot I will forever remember our near-death experience over the Alps and the sheer beauty of it. It reminded me of combat in that every sense of your body is alive and your adrenaline is pushed to the max. Joe Carvalho has captured the very essence of this lifelong risk- taker and one-of-a kind individual.” – Col. Ronald Senez (retired commander of the 104th Infantry National Guard, and one of Mike Wallace’s first Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race co-pilots)

HOW CAN PEOPLE PURCHASE THIS BOOK?

As part of the Heritage Book series published by The Republican, it is available on Amazon at: Repubbooks.com

The Springfield Museums shop will also carry this title along with our other Heritage Book series titles.