Mary Grindstaff
Mary Grindstaff (a.k.a. Blaze)
In late 1944, a curious 17-year-old Mary Grindstaff on a family hike found a Japanese “fire balloon,” and its explosion simultaneously bestowed her with superhuman powers and robbed her of any semblance of a normal life. Hastily drafted into the Victory Squadron as “Blaze,” Mary was firsthand witness to the brutal final months of World War II, as Axis agents grew increasingly desperate and ruthless in their efforts to disrupt the American home front. Just as hard on her, she watched the Squadron’s gradual postwar disintegration, as the teammates who had trained her and confided in her succumbed to cruel fate and their own inner demons.
Alone and feeling purposeless at 22, Mary embarked on two decades of highly publicized bad relationships and alcohol choices, but ultimately weathered them all by raising a terrific daughter and achieving peace with her past. She accomplished the latter by publishing Blaze of Glory, a candid, tell-all best-selling book about her Victory Squadron days and subsequent life experiences. With her book royalties, she bought a modest house on the Shore, there to revel in her gardening, grand-kids, and newfound obscurity.
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