Heroes get a new meaning when you see inside their lives. Gracie is a Navy Pilot; Bruce works Air Force Pararescue. With dangerous jobs―often away from home―they write love letters. When Gracie is shot down behind enemy lines, Bruce has one mission: get her out alive. Uncommon Heroes: Welcome to a world where friendships go deep, loyalties stand strong, and uncommon heroes perform the toughest jobs in the world. Dee Henderson's military romance series provides a detailed passage into the world of the military and homeland heroes, and those they love. True Valor By Dee Henderson Tyndale House Publishers Copyright © 2005 Dee Henderson All right reserved. ISBN: 9781414310633 Chapter One March 4 Norfolk, Virginia He stood out in his flannel shirt and jeans, but so far none ofthe sailors had made the mistake of assuming he was a civilian.Air Force Major Bruce "Striker" Stanton warily watchedthem continue to arrive and crowd into his sister's backyard, andhe wondered how many sailors Jill had invited from the aircraftcarrier USS George Washington to come to the predeploymentparty. It would be like her to invite them all so as not to leaveanyone out. All five thousand plus of them. He felt like he had invaded enemy country. The sailors, theaverage age of which was twenty-one, looked like children. Theygot younger every year. And those for whom this was their firstsix-month sea tour tended to travel together in clusters like penguins.A few of his friends cut from Air Force cloth were here buthad long ago been swallowed up in the sea of white. Striker maneuvered through guests to the chair he had stakedout on the patio, doing his best to ignore the stab of pain fromhis right knee at every step. His dog was curled up asleep underthe chair. Bruce used his left foot to push the dog's tail fartherunder the chair to protect it from being stepped on. A party,food, and many willing hands to offer treats, and what did hisdog do? Sleep. He had yet to figure out this yellow Labrador hehad acquired two months ago from the pound. Bruce nodded a greeting to one of the Navy SEALs he knewas he settled into the chair and prepared to stay put for a while.Sprinkled in the mix among the young sailors there were a fewgrown-ups. The ship's officers, SEALs, and naval aviators stoodout by the self-assured way they staked out their space. As far as parties went this one was living up to past history. Thesoda was cold to the point ice crystals formed when he opened thecan, while the hot dogs were burnt because his sister had insistedon working the grill. People came for the tradition of it, not for thefood. He'd driven up from Pensacola, Florida, where he was based,to Norfolk, center of gravity for military operations in the statewith nine military bases for Air Force, Navy, and Marines clusteredwithin the Hampton Roads area. He'd come for the weekendbecause his sister had invited him. He had news to share thatwas best done in person. And he'd come to see Grace. He didn't have to search to find her; he'd kept track of her inhis peripheral vision throughout the afternoon, anchoring her aspart of his frame of reference. Grace stood out in red. The sweaterover jeans was a simple bold splash of color in a sea of white. Hissister's best friend, the cohost of this party, had been in his sightsfor years. Jill had introduced them. Lieutenant Grace Yates wasone of the self-assured naval aviators. She was going to spend thenext six months hurling off the deck of the USS GeorgeWashington in an F/A-18 Hornet. He watched her mingle and chat with the other squadronpilots; she'd long ago been accepted into their exclusive ranks.Ever since the combat exclusion rules had eased in 1993 to allowwomen to fill combat flight roles, she'd been showing she had theright stuff. Not flashy, not pushy, just one of the best pilots he'dever met. She exemplified grace under pressure. He admired what she'd done and how she'd accomplished it.She loved to fly and she turned that passion into a single-mindedfocus to be the best. She'd picked up Gracie as her call sign. Sherarely commented on the ground she broke in her profession butshe'd done so about the handle. Grace thought it was too soft acall sign. Bruce thought it summed her up in one word. It suitedher. Grace was the deep waters while Jill was the clear shallows.Grace rarely talked about herself. How many layers were there tothe mystery that made her who she was? He was determined tofind out. He was on a mission. Grace was the objective. And hisprofession had taught him well the value of good reconnaissance.He had known her for years, but only in the last few months hadhe decided to do that digging. He liked what he had found. She was loyal to her friends, wasclose to her family. She sang with her church choir, rather badlyhe thought. She liked vanilla ice cream, scary movies, skiing, andanything related to flying. Competitive in sports, tall, slender, faston her feet, she