MAY YOUR LIVES BE BEAUTIFUL Staff Sergeant Richard Fisco stood in the open doorway of the C-47 military aircraft and secured his parachute. He looked beyond the tops of the clouds for land, but waiting beneath him was the hostile Mediterranean Sea. Head down, arms folded he jumped. Steering his chute through the clouds, Richard panicked, realizing he was over water, and screamed out for God s help. Immediately, the warm Sirocco wind guided him over the sea for a safe landing on the steps of a French villa one of the countless phenomena that would save his life. Recounting his daring childhood during the Depression, his exhilarating war adventures in the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, shoot-outs at the Battle of the Bulge and his training with the New York City Fire Department, Richard Fisco s autobiography is a true American tale of courage, triumph and many miracles. Life is not devoid of struggle, but if you allow it to, it can be beautiful. Richard D. Fisco was the best Army Scout by General Mark W. Clark, World War II.