War Birds depicts diary of WWI hero

John McGavock Grider, the only son of William H. Grider and Sue Grider, was born on May 18, 1892, at the Sans Souci Plantation. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Grider traveled to Chicago, Illinois, and enlisted as a cadet in the Aviation Section of the United States Army Signal Corps. At this point in history, the U.S. did not have an air service, therefore, Grider was sent to join the No. 85 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, near Oxford, England.

On May 22, 1918, Grider was flying a mission over the front lines in France when he downed four enemy aircraft. On June 18, 1918, he shot down another enemy plane near Armentiers, France. However, as he returned to base, his plane disappeared.

Grider’s body was never recovered, but it was confirmed by a German pilot.

The Osceola Times published on Friday, July 12, 1918 an excerpt from a letter mailed to W.H. Grider from Capt. G.H. Baker with the Royal Aviation Corps., France. It read, “Your son did not return yesterday after a flight over the enemy lines, and having no news of him we are forced to give him up as missing. He with another pilot was chasing an enemy machine far over the lines. Together they brought the enemy down and started to return to our lines. A strong wind was blowing from the west and the other pilot saw McGavock follow in the direction of our lines. On looking a moment later he was not to be seen and the best that could have befallen hims is that he might be a prisoner. It is usually a month or six weeks before we hear from prisoners captured and will notify you at once on receiving any further information.”

The Osceola Times reported on Friday, August 23, 1918 that John McGavock Grider, who had been missing in action, was confirmed dead. A huge memorial service was held at the Methodist Church in Osceola. Judge J.T. Coston and Mayor S.L. Gladish along with many others spoke at the service. Taps were played by the Osceola Boy Scouts. Every business in the city closed their doors during the time of the service.

His name appears on the Tablets of the Missing at Flanders Field American Cemetery at Waregem, Belgium.

His friend and fellow pilot Elliott Springs would later in 1926 publish War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator. The book was based on Grider’s private diary. In fact, Josephine sued Springs and much later in 1988 a new edition of War Birds was published naming John McGavock Grider as the author.

The playwright and novelist William Faulkner whom had won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 based his screenplay “A Ghost Story/War Birds” which he wrote from November 1931-May 1933, on Grider's diary.

Howard Hawks of MGM was planning to adapt the diary of Grider and asked Faulkner to write the screenplay. This was his second full-length film script. It was however, not published until 1982 when Bruce Kawin published it along with other screenplays of Faulkner during his first period at MGM.

The story of a young aviator, shot down in WWI, had the heroic destiny Faulkner dreamed of. The diary also inspired Ad Astra and All the Dead Pilots.

Much of Grider's war history and family history resembled Faulkner's own.