Book : Da Nang Diary A Forward Air Controllers Gunsight View

-Titulo Original : Da Nang Diary A Forward Air Controllers Gunsight View Of Flying With Sog

-Fabricante :

Casemate

-Descripcion Original:

Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal BEST MEMOIR OF 2014. Originally published in 1990, this classic work has now been revised and updated with 50,000 words of additional narrative and previously unpublished photos. It is the story of how, in Vietnam, an elite group of Air Force pilots fought a secret air war in Cessna 0-2 and OV-10 Bronco prop planes-flying as low as they could get. The eyes and ears of the fast-moving jets who rained death and destruction down on enemy positions, the Forward Air Controller made an art form out of an air strike-knowing the targets, knowing where friendly troops were, and reacting with split-second, life and death decisions as a battle unfolded.The expertise of the low, slow FACs, as well as the hazard attendant to their role, made for a unique birds-eye perspective on how the entire war in Vietnam unfolded. For Tom Yarborough, who logged 1,500 hours of combat flying time, the risk was constant, intense and electrifying. A member of the super-secret “Prairie Fire” unit, Yarborough became one of the most frequently shot-up pilots flying out of Da Nang-engaging in a series of dangerous secret missions in Laos. In this work, the reader flies in the cockpit alongside Yarborough in his adrenaline-pumping chronicle of heroism, danger and wartime brotherhood. From the rescuing of downed pilots to taking out enemy positions, to the most harrowing extended missions directly overhead of the NVA, here is the dedication, courage and skill of the fliers who took the war into the enemys backyard.Colonel Tom Yarborough, USAF (ret.) served in the Air Force for thirty years in a variety of flying and staff assignments. A command pilot, during his two Vietnam tours as a forward air controller, he earned thirty combat decorations, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He currently lives in Springfield, Virginia, where he maintains ties to the academic community as an adjunct history professor at Northern Virginia Community College.Table of ContentsIntroductionPrologue: June 30, 1970Map: Area of Operations1. Indoctrination of a Rookie2. Across the Fence3. X-Ray Mission: Laos4. Prairie Fire5. Rescue at Route 9666. lessons in Judgment7. Standing Up in a Hammock8. Outside the Envelope9. The Covey Bomb Dump10. All Points of the Compass11. Valley of the Shadow of Death12. SAR on the Trail13. The Year of Fifty-Three WeeksEpilogue: August 15, 1973Where are they Now?GlossaryBibliographyIndex Review Many SOG veterans -- including myself -- are alive today thanks to the courage, flying skill and determination of Col. Yarborough and his fellow Covey FAC pilots. His personal account captures the spirit of those harrowing days when we Green Berets, deep behind enemy lines in Laos -- no matter how dire the situation -- only needed to hear Coveys approaching engines to know all was not lost. Congratulations on telling your story -- and our story -- so well.John L. Plaster, Team Leader, Recon Team California, MACV-SOG, author of SOG and Secret CommandosFrom telephone booths on the Ho Chi Minh Trail to dangerous emergency landings at abandoned Khe Sanh, you can almost see the explosions of marker rockets and smell the avgas in DA NANG DIARY, this intimate account of a Forward Air Controller working with the Special Forces on their secret operations in South Vietnam and Laos. Yarboroughs vivid picture of staging the air missions that inserted SOG teams where they were needed is the only one of its kind. Dont miss it!John Prados, noted Vietnam War historian and author of Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945-1975As Covey 580 and a former Prairie Fire FAC, I can definitely identify with Tom Yarborough’s saga. Da Nang Diary is a riveting, authentic story that has never been told until now. Yarborough takes you into the cockpit as he flies his dangerous top secret missions in support of c