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This is the true story of Master Sergeant David M. Burns, an aerial gunner assigned to the deadliest squadron in air force history. Aboard the AC-130 Spectre gunship, he flew a total of 287 combat missions over Laos, South Vietnam, and Cambodia, in pursuit of the truck traffic coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. His squadron destroyed more than fifteen thousand trucks loaded with war munitions destined for South Vietnam and Cambodia. Despite heavy and constant anti-aircraft and missile fire, the loss of six aircraft and the lives of fifty-two men, the crew never wavered in its dedication to the mission. Master Sergeant Burns has a distinguished military career that began in 1951 at the age of fifteen. He served one tour of duty in Phan Rang, South Vietnam, in 1967, and four tours of duty in the 16th Special Operations Squadron in Southeast Asia as an aerial gunner, lead gunner, and instructor gunner. He served in both the United States Navy and Air Force, earning three Distinguished Flying Crosses for heroism, twenty-seven Air Medals, as well as a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Vietnam Service Medal with nine battle stars, and other decorations from the Korean War. He was wounded twice and is credited with saving the lives of fourteen crewmembers. This is his story.
Callsign: Spectre is the true story of a young man from a small town in Pennsylvania who grows up and enlists in the United States Air Force at nineteen. Nearly forty years after the fact, Jeff Noecker recounts his combat flight experiences from the Vietnam War flying in an AC-130 Spectre gunship. The story follows him from his initial air force training to being accepted into an unusual Special Operations unit. What sets this story apart from the others that have been written about Vietnam is the Spectre gunship that Noecker flew in on his missions. While the US Air Force was flying hundreds of F-4s, F-105s, B-52s, OV-10s, O-2s, A-7s in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, there were only fourteen AC-130A Spectre gunships in theater and only one squadron that flew them Noecker's squadron. There were even fewer than fourteen when the program began in 1968; the first few flew out of a base in Vietnam. The stories contained here resemble a diary, presenting both personal anecdotes of Noecker's and of stories he heard over the course of his time in service. Some of these may seem a bit farfetched, but Noecker sticks to the facts as much as possible. Unbelievable as some of the stories sound, his tales of his time in the air are unmistakably true. After being "live" for a year, I find that one piece of data was incorrect in the original printing. This has been corrected and a small amount of other data has been added. The corrections appear in the second printing of both hard and soft covers which are available now and will be available in ebook format very soon.
An electrifying novel of men at war in Vietnam, by the writer Tom Clancy calls the real thing. Filled with the searing, authentic voices of Vietnam, Eagle Station is a gripping, compelling tale of a race against the clock to save a crucial radar station. Berent's most dramatatic novel yet.
The Trails War formed a major part of the so-called 'secret war' in South East Asia, yet for complex political reasons, including the involvement of the CIA, it received far less coverage than campaigns like Rolling Thunder and Linebacker. Nevertheless, the campaign had a profound effect on the outcome of the war and on its perception in the USA. In the north, the Barrel Roll campaign was often operated by daring pilots flying obsolete aircraft, as in the early years, US forces were still flying antiquated piston-engined T-28 and A-26A aircraft. The campaign gave rise to countless heroic deeds by pilots like the Raven forward air controllers, operating from primitive airstrips in close contact with fierce enemy forces. USAF rescue services carried out extremely hazardous missions to recover aircrew who would otherwise have been swiftly executed by Pathet Lao forces, and reconnaissance pilots routinely risked their lives in solo, low-level mission over hostile territory. Further south, the Steel Tiger campaign was less covert. Arc Light B-52 strikes were flown frequently, and the fearsome AC-130 was introduced to cut the trails. At the same time, many thousands of North Vietnamese troops and civilians repeatedly made the long, arduous journey along the trail in trucks or, more often, pushing French bicycles laden with ammunition and rice. Under constant threat of air attack and enduring heavy losses, they devised extremely ingenious means of survival. The campaign to cut the trails endured for the entire Vietnam War but nothing more than partial success could ever be achieved by the USA. This illustrated title explores the fascinating history of this campaign, analysing the forces involved and explaining why the USA could never truly conquer the Ho Chi Minh trail.
The popular conception of the Vietnam War focuses on the ground war—the soldiers and grunts who humped along jungle trails and fought the Vietcong face to face—but an important part of the war was waged in the skies over Southeast Asia, and indeed many of the war’s most well-known figures were pilots, from John McCain and James Stockdale to the unknown men who unleashed napalm hell and who carried out Curtis LeMay’s “bomb them into the Stone Age” doctrine, Lyndon Johnson’s Rolling Thunder, and Richard Nixon’s Linebacker. This photo book chronicles the U.S. Air Force’s operations in Vietnam, covering the aircraft, munitions, battle damage, and uniforms of Vietnam in the air.
Silver Medalist in Literary Fiction, 2020 Military Writers Society of America Awards Brendan Leary, assigned to an Air Force photo squadron an hour from L.A., thinks he has it made. But when the U.S. invades Cambodia and he joins his buddies who march in protest, he is shipped off to an obscure air base in upcountry Thailand. There, he finds himself flying at night over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in a secret war that turns the mountains of Laos into a napalm-scorched moonscape. As the emotional vise tightens, his moral fiber crumbles and he sinks ever deeper into a netherworld of drugs, sex, and booze. When a visit by Nixon looms, Brendan dreams up an all-squadron bicycle race to build morale, win hearts and minds in rural Thailand, and make him and his underpaid buddies a pile of money. The Big Buddha Bicycle Race is a last gasp of hope that turns into a unifying adventure—until the stakes turn out to be far higher than anyone imagined. The Big Buddha Bicycle Race is a new take on the Vietnam War. A caper on the surface, it is also a tribute to the complex culture and history of Southeast Asia and a sober remembrance of those groups who have been erased from American history—the brash active-duty soldiers who risked prison by taking part in the GI antiwar movement, the gutsy air commandos who risked death night after night flying over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and the people of Laos, whose lives and land were devastated in ways that have yet to be fully acknowledged in Western accounts of the war.
David R. “Buff” Honodel was a cocky young man with an inflated self-image when he arrived in 1969 at his base in Udorn, Thailand. His war was not in Vietnam; it was a secret one in the skies of a neighboring country almost unknown in America, attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail that fed soldiers and supplies from North Vietnam into the South. Stateside he learned the art of flying the F-4, but in combat, the bomb-loaded fighter handled differently, targets shot back, and people suffered. Inert training ordnance was replaced by lethal weapons. In the air, a routine day mission turned into an unexpected duel with a deadly adversary. Complacency during a long night mission escorting a gunship almost led to death. A best friend died just before New Year’s. A RF-4 crashed into the base late in Buff’s tour of duty. The reader will experience Buff’s war from the cockpit of a supersonic F-4D Phantom II, doing 5-G pullouts after dropping six 500-pound bombs on trucks hidden beneath triple jungle canopy. These were well defended by a skillful, elusive, determined enemy firing back with 37mm anti-aircraft fire and tracers in the sky. The man who left the States was a naïve, self-centered young pilot. The man who came back 137 missions later was much different.
Paul Lintier's 'My .75: Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75m/m Battery in 1914' is a poignant memoir that provides a firsthand account of the experiences of a gunner during the tumultuous events of World War I. Lintier's writing style is introspective and vivid, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the gritty realities of war. The book is a valuable historical document that offers insights into the challenges faced by soldiers on the front lines and the psychological toll of combat. Lintier's attention to detail and emotional depth make this memoir a compelling read for anyone interested in the human side of war literature. Paul Lintier, a French soldier who served as a gunner during World War I, draws from his own experiences to create a raw and authentic portrayal of life on the battlefield. His unique perspective and personal reflections lend credibility and depth to his narrative, shedding light on the complexities of war and its impact on individuals. Lintier's dedication to sharing his story highlights the importance of remembering the sacrifices made by those who fought in the Great War. I highly recommend 'My .75: Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75m/m Battery in 1914' to readers who are interested in firsthand accounts of World War I and the human experience of war. Lintier's memoir is a gripping and thought-provoking work that offers a glimpse into the hardships and triumphs of soldiers during this tumultuous period in history.