Wings of Despair

In Wings of Despair, the memories of World War II are recounted through the eyes of a gifted clairvoyant, Elwood Babbitt. The story, not only pulses with the excitement and turmoil of battle conditions, experienced by he and his platoon, but also delves into what Babbitt perceives through his spiritualist training, a deeper perspective of life he terms "spiritual oneness" which counterpoises the mortality of man, as seen through the eyes of common soldiers. Babbitt mixes the ridiculous with the sublime as we see how hometown boys, while narrowly escaping death one moment, to the next, being serenaded by "Armstrong" and his "mystical guitar", strumming the heartwarming tunes of the day, felt a longing for home and family. Babbitt explains how their senses were honed to a razor sharp alertness for combat readiness, at the same time, experiencing momentary surrendering of societal conditionings and established belief systems while attending the traditional ceremonies in the caves of the Kahunas of Hawaii and in the native villages of the Pacific Islands. Babbitt's war experience is put to use later in the 1960s and the 1970s when many young people, testing their values by living close to the land, come to seek guidance from Babbitt.