One was a distant cousin who lived in Boise. His name was Duane Beeson. Before the US entered WW-II Duane went north to Canada and joined the RCAF. Then went to England into the Eagle Squadron of the RAF as a fighter pilot flying a Spitfire.
I followed his exploits closely as did most residents of Boise -- he was the "Boise Bee".
Duane had three younger sisters who I've kept in touch with (more or less) over the years.
Louise, his middle sister, the one nearest my age and who I have been closest to recently told me about two web sites. The first gives a brief biography of Duane.
http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/beeson.html
The second tells about the Eagle Squadron, its exploits and role in WW-II.
http://www.fourthfightergroup.com
Recently Duane was honored by having the air terminal building at Boise named for him. On the ground floor there is a display case of memorabilia contributed mainly by his sisters.
Another was Bill Woods who was my flying instructor. He owned the Floating Feather Air Field west of Boise. Bill was a true old time "bush pilot" who flew into the back country of Idaho.
There were a group of student pilots learning to fly out at Floating Feather. Most were Seniors from Boise High, a few Juniors and three or four of us under sixteen, the minimum age to fly solo.
My flying lessons were partially paid for with money I earned working after school at a drug store and by doing odd jobs at the airport. These included refueling and washing planes, cleaning the hangers, and other minor work. It gave me a chance to listen to the fascinating flying stories told by Bill.
I finally soloed -- on my sixteenth birthday!
Afterward when I confided to Bill that I didn't know how to drive a car, he was shocked. Immediately, on the spot he ordered one of the older student pilots to take me in his car to the unused back cross runway and teach me to drive -- said he wasn't going to have it on his record that he'd soloed someone who couldn't drive a car.
So I also learned to drive on my sixteenth birthday.
Just recently I learned that Bill Woods was made a member of the Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame.