SOLVED. Juvenile Book for young readers about a boy in military school who befriends a ghost who was a slave [s]

[Michael]

I think I read this book in the late 70s or early 80s. It was written for older children (7th-8th grade age group). It is about a boy named Josh in military school. He goes to a house that is scheduled to be demolished to make way for an airport. He meets the ghost of a boy who was a slave. (I think a man lived there as well.) Some other things I remember about it:
His parents were either divorced, or his mom had died recently
His dad drove a Cadillac El Dorado
There was a man at the school named Sgt. Forbes whom none of the students liked
Sgt. Forbes broke his leg and dropped his crutch once, but none of the boys would help him pick it up
The school commandant secretly hoped there would be a war so he could lead all the boys into battle
Josh said at one point, "I hate airports!"

[Lisa]

The Ghost And The Whistling Whirligig

[Michael]

Thank you Lisa! That's it! I love to re-read old children's books. I think I'll hunt this one down if I can and put it on my Kindle.

Michael

[Lisa]

You're welcome.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Congrats on solving your mystery Michael. I'll shelve the book and move this down to Solved for you.

[Michael]

Awesome! Thank you!