 In March 1945 , he applied to the Civil Aeronautics Administration for a commercial pilot 's licence . He was subsequently certified to fly both single and multi @-@ engine aircraft between 225 and 1500 horsepower . Before being discharged from the Army Air Force in July 1945 , he began to fly for Pan American World Airways . He was based first in Miami , before moving to New York City for their long @-@ haul flights . He began to fly routes from New York to Johannesburg or Calcutta , the two longest Pan Am routes at the time . He and his wife Eileen lived in River Edge , New Jersey . He continued to pursue his dream of writing , and had a poem published in the Op @-@ Ed section of the New York Times on June 17 , 1943 . During his time with the airline , he took two extension courses at Columbia University in the spring of 1946 . 
