From time to time, Bill Requarth's friends have heard stories about his remarkable life.

The full story is now told in a book, "The Flying Doctor," by Bill's son, Tim.

Tim combed Bill Requarth's diaries, 1939 to 1948, for information, then rewrote the items in story form, adding explanations when needed. "My main point was to put all of my father's stories in one place," Tim said. "My father was unable to edit the diaries himself because of illness."

Most of the material focuses on the Decatur surgeon's experiences in the Navy during World War II and his early years, especially when he worked at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.

"I inserted Decatur information in appropriate places," Tim Requarth said. "It took me a couple of years to put it all together."

Tim is in graduate school at Northwestern University, Evanston, with the aim of becoming a neurobiology researcher. For four years, he was a musician in Chicago, playing the piano and guitar and writing musical scores for theater shows.

"The book has been a labor of love, and I am really proud of his persistence and the quality of his work," said Connie Requarth, Tim's mother.

In the book's preface, Tim Requarth explains:

"Bill was a man of unusual energy; a multitude of hobbies accompanied these formal achievements. His enthusiasm for acrobatic stunt flying led to a fourth-place finish in nationals; he soared in a glider to over 29,000 feet; he tried hang gliding; he broke a leg parachuting; he chartered sailboats and navigated them himself through the Great Lakes, the Caribbean and the South Pacific; he iceboated; and he learned to windsurf when he was 75 years old. Even into his late 80s, Bill would swim a mile every morning at 5:30, and on his 80th birthday he swam almost three miles, 'just for the hell of it.' "

Bill Requarth was born in Charlotte, N.C., on Jan. 23, 1913. His family moved to Decatur in 1921 to a house at 413 W. Main St. During high school, Bill was an intern in the Decatur Herald sports department. He was a Millikin University student, then graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

While working in the Cook County Hospital, he enlisted in the Navy. He was sent to San Diego and then to Pearl Harbor.

When the Japanese planes attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, Bill had a date to play handball at 7 a.m. He didn't keep that date, he was too busy pulling bombing survivors out of the water.

The Pearl Harbor section of the book is a grabber. So are the pages about his World War II experiences after Pearl Harbor.

The later Decatur days are summarized in an epilogue. An appendix details his achievements.

Of course, Bill Requarth is a Decatur treasure. The Dr. William Requarth Surgery Pavilion at Decatur Memorial Hospital is named for him, along with the Dr. William Requarth Astronomy Observatory Tower in the Millikin University Leighty-Tabor Science Building.

In the front of the book, there's a quote from Bill Requarth:

"I've had a lot of good experiences. I've been very lucky in life, really. I've always just been fortunate. I really believe that you're put in the world and expected to do so much. A lot is expected of you."

Bob Fallstrom can be reached at bfallstrom@herald-review.com or 421-7981.

About the book

"The Flying Doctor, The Life of William Requarth," by Tim Requarth. 194 pages, $10.

Available at Haines & Essick, the Decatur Memorial Hospital Gift Shop and St. Mary's Hospital Gift Shop. Proceeds go to the hospital auxiliaries and to the Decatur Area Education Coalition at the Community Foundation.