Lincoln Group's Rachel Riley Now an Author

By Jeffrey Boutwell

Columbia, Md.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Rachel Riley, longtime Lincoln Group friend and colleague, has a book being published in October that will be of interest to many. Rachel and her son, William B. Riley, have written a comprehensive account of Rachel’s uncle, the decorated fighter pilot William B. Overstreet Jr., and his exploits during World War II that included a dogfight with a German Messerschmitt Bf-109 around and under the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Entitled Dogfight Under the Tower: William B. Overstreet Jr.’s Humble and Audacious Life, the book utilizes archival records, family papers, never-before-seen photos, and Overstreet’s own oral testimony to weave together a portrait of what it was like to fly a P-51 Mustang fighter during the war in the European theater.  Notable characters in the book include legendary American airman Chuck Yeager and Overstreet’s close friend, fellow fighter pilot Edward “Eddie” Simpson, who was killed by the Germans while attempting to escape them with the help of the French underground.

As recounted by Rachel and Bill, Overstreet’s story is straight out of the Greatest Generation, from his childhood in little Clifton Forge, Virginia, through his service in World War II to his modest recounting in later years of his service with the 357th Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces.  As Rachel notes on the book’s website, it all “started with stories and a box of family records.” 

More information is available at the website, Dogfight Under the Tower, and the book will be available in October from Amazon and Barnes & Noble in various hardback and paperback editions, with color and black-and-white photos.