Local photograph from nearly 60 years ago inspires global novel

Details

Written by: Kelly Jo Ross - Breese Journal Reporter

Pilot kneeling on the left is First Lt. Dennis L. Peek, along with two other servicemen. Pictured on right is Miss Universe 1967 Sylvia Hitchcock.    A single photograph displayed at the Standin’ Proud Veterans Museum in Bartelso, showing a Carlyle Marine beside a newly crowned Miss Universe in 1967, will soon reach readers around the world.
    The Van of Valor project, dedicated to preserving the stories of Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families, has announced the release of the official book trailer for “A Wingman for Miss Universe: Explore the Homefront of the Vietnam War Through the Eyes of Miss Universe.”
    The novel, written by cultural anthropologist and Van of Valor co-founder L. Wright Wallace of North Port, Florida, will be published globally on April 21.
    It traces the remarkable true story of Marine First Lieutenant Dennis Peek, a Carlyle native, and Miss USA Sylvia Hitchcock.
    In the summer of 1967, Peek was assigned as Hitchcock’s escort at the Miss Universe pageant in Miami, Florida. Before deploying to Vietnam, he gifted her his aviator wings — a promise to remember. Months later, Peek was killed in action.
    The novel follows Hitchcock’s 50-year journey to honor that promise, a path that ultimately led her to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Pictured above is the photograph that inspired the novel about First Lt. Dennis Peek of Carlyle and Miss Universe 1967 Sylvia Hitchcock, "A Wingman for Miss Universe," which will be released April 21 on Amazon.    “The story emerged from a single photograph and the trust of the Peek family,” Wallace said.
    That photograph — now preserved inside a shadowbox memorial at the Standin’ Proud Veterans Tribute in Bartelso — shows Hitchcock, wearing her Miss Universe crown, standing beside Peek on a staircase during the official winning photos.
    A description of the photo is placed beside the image:
    “While Denny was stationed in Pensacola, FL for pilot training in 1967 his Marine troop was assigned to be the escorts for the 1967 Miss Universe pageant contestants. He was originally assigned to Miss Spain but since he could speak no Spanish and she no English he was re-assigned to be escort for Miss USA. As it turns out Miss USA won the Miss Universe contest that night.”
    “Beyond its striking resemblance to a scene from Disney’s Cinderella, I was struck by an observation: Why was his uniform white?” L. Wright Wallace said.
    Her question launched a deeper research effort.
    Marine officers, she discovered, were issued white dress uniforms for hot weather and ceremonial occasions — fitting for a pageant held in Miami. The uniform later fell out of use in the 1980s and was fully phased out by 2000.
    The inspiration for “A Wingman for Miss Universe” came during a visit to the Standin’ Proud museum, where L. Wright Wallace and her husband, Dr. Kevin P. Wallace, were interviewing local families as part of their national storytelling project.

Read more …