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On Yankee Station: The Naval Air War over Vietnam Review

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(More customer reviews)This book on the naval air war over Vietnam should be required reading not only for all military pilots, but for every military and civilian official who is involved in planning strategy, tactics, or military weapon procurement.
But don't get the idea it's a boring book; besides giving the reader a clear view of what happened in the air over Vietnam, the author makes his points in a very readable fashion, not by preaching but by simply pointing out what we did, and why we could have done so much better -- in the conduct of the war, in providing better (often SIMPLER) equipment, and in better training.
It's definitely worth obtaining from an out-of-print dealer or from your library. Even if you have no connection with the military, this will expand your understanding of that period in US history.

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Foreword by Stephen Coonts. Combining vivid personal narrative with historical and operational analyses, this book takes a candid look at U.S. naval airpower in the Vietnam War. Coauthors John Nichols, a fighter pilot in the war, and Barrett Tillman, an award-winning aviation historian, make full use of their extensive knowledge of the subject to detail the ways in which airpower was employed in the years prior to the fall of Saigon. Confronting the conventional belief that airpower failed in Vietnam, they show that when applied correctly, airpower was effective, but because it was often misunderstood and misapplied, the end results were catastrophic. Their book offers a compelling view of what it was like to fly from Yankee Station between 1964 and 1973 and important lessons for future conflicts. At the same time, it adds important facts to the permanent war record.Following an analysis of the state of carrier aviation in 1964 and a definition of the rules of engagement, it describes the tactics used in strike warfare, the airborne and surface threats, electronic countermeasures, and search and rescue. It also examines the influence of political decisions on the conduct of the war and the changing nature of the Communist opposition. Appendixes provide useful statistical data on carrier deployments, combat sorties, and aircraft losses. This paperback edition of a book first published in 1987 includes a new foreword by Stephen Coonts.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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A Country Such As This Review

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(More customer reviews)"A Country Such As This" is a timeless classic that chronicles the enormous social, economic and political upheavals that roiled America throughout the 1960s and 1970s. James Webb, a foremost author, Vietnam combat veteran and future Secretary of the Navy, presents a moving and incisive allegory in the life experiences of three 1951 U.S. Naval Academy graduates. Red Lescynski, Judd Smith and Joe Dingenfelder are "blood brothers" who swear an oath of allegiance to their country and each other. But their lives are destined to be sundered by the epochal changes sweeping the country: economic dislocation, an epidemic of divorce and fractured families and, most of all, societal and political divisions wrought by U.S. policy in Vietnam. Particularly insightful is the ongoing dialogue between Smith, a conservative Republican, and the ultra-liberal Dorothy Dingenfelder (Joe's estranged wife), who clash repeatedly and vociferously. Red Lesczynski's brutal plight in North Vietnam POW camps are heart rending, as are his difficulties assimilating into a fundamentally changed American society after a seven-year absence. Webb's descriptions of the opprobrious conduct of the anti-war movement are priceless.
We are fortunate that 18 years after its initial publication, the U.S. Navy's publishing arm has re-published "A Country Such As This," enabling a new generation of Americans to benefit from Webb's sage wisdom.

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The innocence the 1950s and turbulence of the 1960s and 70s--years when America reached out and touched the heavens, only to be torn apart by internal conflict and a war in Southeast Asia--provide a dramatic setting for this unforgettable story of three men and the women they love carving a place for themselves in a society where the rules keep changing. Written by bestselling novelist James Webb, it has been hailed as a major work of our time and a stunning commentary of political and social life in America over nearly three decades. From the wars in Korea and Vietnam to antiwar protests in Washington and POW camps in Hanoi, from young love and parenthood to divorce and reconciliation, Webb's eye for detail, provocative insights, and subtle revelations have earned him the highest literary accolades. His convincing characters and gripping scenes fully engage the reader as the three Naval Academy graduates reevaluate their lives, their country, and the cost of success.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Launch the Intruders: A Naval Attack Squadron in the Vietnam War, 1972 (Modern War Studies) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is obviously a serious labor of love. But it is also highly professional and thorough. You can tell that by the strength of the effort Reardon puts forth. And I know that dealing with a bunch of former naval aviators, to get their story, must have been a challenge of unusual proportion. Every effort appears to have been made to portray the exploits of this special group of warriors -- the way it really was. The integrity of the book is apparent. This was a challenging war fought by true patriots. While others balked, these men step up to the plate, serving their country's interest the best way they could. The A-6 community was one of several unheralded groups that went into harm's way without much fanfare. Carol Reardon corrects that oversight by bringing the "Sunday Punchers" of Vietnam back to life.

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Each pilot and bombardier/navigator sat side by side in an all-weather jet built for low-level bombing runs, precision targeting, and night strikes. Their success-and their very lives-depended on teamwork in flying their versatile A-6 Intruders. And when the North Vietnamese mounted a major offensive in 1972, they answered the call.Carol Reardon chronicles the operations of Attack Squadron 75, the "Sunday Punchers," and their high-risk bombing runs launched off the U.S.S. Saratoga during the famous LINEBACKER campaigns. Based on unparalleled access to crew members and their families, her book blends military and social history to offer a unique look at the air war in Southeast Asia, as well as a moving testament to the close-knit world of naval aviators. Theirs was one of the toughest jobs in the military: launching off the carrier in rough seas as well as calm, flying solo and in formation, dodging dense flak and surface-to-air missiles, delivering ordnance on target, and recovering aboard safely. Celebrating the men who climbed into the cockpits as well as those who kept them flying, Reardon takes readers inside the squadron's ready room and onto the flight decks to await the call, "Launch the Intruders!" Readers share the adrenaline-pumping excitement of each mission-as well as those heart-stopping moments when a downed aircraft brought home to all, in flight and on board, that every aspect of their lives was constantly shadowed by danger and potential death.More than a mere combat narrative, Launch the Intruders interweaves human drama with familial concerns, domestic politics, and international diplomacy. Fliers share personal feelings about killing strangers from a distance while navy wives tell what it's like to feel like a stranger at home. And as the war rages on, headlines like Jane Fonda's visit to Hanoi and the Paris Peace Accords are all viewed through the lens of this heavily tasked, hard-hitting attack squadron.A rousing tale of men and machines, of stoic determination in the face of daunting odds, Reardon's tale shines a much-deserved light on group of men whose daring exploits richly deserve to be much better known.This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.

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Afterburner: Naval Aviators and the Vietnam War Review

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(More customer reviews)Once again, John Darrell Sherwood has taken us back to Vietnam. In "Fast Movers" we saw the air war through the eyes and recollections of Air Force pilots, systems officers and other members of the support team.
"Afterburner" is the story of the US Navy's contribution to this most difficult time in our history. It makes no claims to being the definitive account of this aspect of the war, but it does make the observation that the Vietnam War offers many helpful insights to Navy war fighters currently engaged in the global war on terrorisim. It would be my opinion that the book scores well in that regard and it also offers many cautionary tales for naval aviators, those who plan these wars and those who find themselves in a political position to influence the war's conduct.
Vietnam is very far in the rearview mirror to many of us and while it was front and center in the nightly news reports, many of us found it easy to let the scenes wash over us as the prosecution of the war became ensnared in the politics of the day.
Lost in the war protests and the POW stories and frustration of watching the greatest millitary power in the world be held at bay by an inferior force were numerous stories of heroisim and frustration that deserve to be told and listened to.
This is an appropriate place to do that. It is sobering, educational, sometimes uplifting and some times maddening. However, it is worth doing.

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View the Table of Contents.Read the Prologue.

"An exceptionally well written, well documented, fast-moving account."-Washington Times

"This is a book written on multiple levels, and well worth reading."-M.S. Naval Institute Proceedings

"This book is a welcome addition to the history of naval aviation and fills a much-needed void by detailing the later years of the Vietnam naval air campaign."-Sea Power

"Makes for lively, vivid, and informative reading. I would include it...on my list of the top ten books on the air war in Vietnam."-Air Power History

"John Sherwood has done a fine job in giving us a first-rate account of a confusing but critically important period in Naval Aviation history."-The Hook

"As a collection of individual studies and 'war stories,' Afterburner should find an interested readership." -Military History

"With a 45-degree dive angle set, 450 knots of airspeed building, and my altimeter unwinding like crazy, my scan went rapidly between the bombsight and flight instruments. . . . When I looked over my shoulder at the target, I could see where the bombs had hit and exploded."

Through stories like this diary entry of a fighter pilot, John Darrell Sherwood brings forth the personal accounts of 21 naval and marine aviators in this chronicle of the second half of the Navy's air war over Vietnam.

Despite spending over 200 billion dollars and dropping almost 8 million tons of bombs on Southeast Asia, the U.S. was unable to score a definitive victory in the air war. Afterburner takes us inside the day-to-day operations of the air war, particularly during the most intense year of the campaign: 1972. During that year, North Vietnam launched the first large-scale conventional attacks on strongholds in South Vietnam. Sherwood shows how the U.S. fought back with some of the most innovative air campaigns in its history, including Nixon's Linebacker bombings and the Navy's mining operation in Haiphong Harbor. From duels with enemy MiGs to the experiences of Commander C. Ronald Polfer, who became the voice of reason among American POWs in the Hanoi Hilton's Room 5, the detailed stories in Afterburner make these historical events come to life.

Sherwood compiles and analyzes an incredible breadth of information about the details of each of the Navy's operations during the air war and then relates the key parts of the narrative through the eyes of an pilot or flight officer involved in each action. Through tales of courage and fear, triumph and horror, Sherwood reveals the lives of common aircrews who performed extraordinary service. Their experiences illustrate the personal nature of war-even from the air-and show that the air war in Vietnam may have begun as a slow burn, but by 1972, it was more intense than an F-4 afterburner.

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Phantoms Over Vietnam: U.S. Navy F4 Phantoms 1965-1973 Review

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This 2001 OSPREY book is typical of their entire series, good value for not much money. The Phantom crews of the U.S. Navy and U.S.M.C. accounted for 43 Vietnamese aircraft shot down, plus the Navy Phantom IIs 'scored the first kills of the Vietnam War ... as well as scoring the last.".
This book, typical to the entire OSPREY series of books, has a multitude of great photos (80 in color as well as many in black and white), including several abundant full color maps. This book gives a good, focused survey history of the Navy F-4 ops in Vietnam. A listing of the various chapters follows:
PART ONE
Incident At Hainan
The Players
Rolling Thunder Begins
An Intense Year
The End of the Beginning
TopGun
Proving the Point
PART TWO
Rising Tensions
Frm Freedom Train to Lineback I
Linebacker I Comes to an End
Linebacker II
Index
Experts may turn up their noses at this book as being too pedestrian, however, for the average reader this book will turn out to be very useful in gaining knowledge of the Phantoms over Vietnam.
Semper Fi.

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Fire from the Sky: Seawolf Gunships in the Mekong Delta Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an excellent read. The facts are what they are and adequately support the "Sea Stories". Outstanding documentation and photos which gives the writer a grip on the reality of the Vietnam era warfare. It was especially gratifying to have the author go to extreme effort to conduct the personal interviews rather than just "wing it".
Gerhard E. Skaar
CAPT/USN/RET
Naval Aviator
HA(L)3, Det. 5 1969-70

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Flying Black Ponies: The Navy's Close Air Support Squadron in Vietnam Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the story of Navy Light Attack Squadron Four. It began in the very late 60's and was decommissioned in mid 1972. It's mission was close air support and protection of the US and Viet Namese Navy's riverine forces/brown water navy, including the SEALS. It was started with odd looking but agile light aircraft borrowed from the Marines to fill a mission that jet aircraft and helicopters could not. The Navy had eliminated in the mid 60s the only aircraft that had been able to support these forces on the ground.
It provides historical data with foot notes that makes it valuable for students of the era and scholars. It has interspersed personal information and stories - funny and sad - from the author's recollection, interviews with persons involved, copies and originals of official documents, private letters, scripts and casette recordings done at the time by some of the subjects.
Some of the characters- real people- include the brave and the foolish, the disturbed, the failed, the reborn. One commanding officer is as classical a martinet as any in literature or history.
It reads well and the technical and military allusions always are accompanied by a subtle/parallel plain language description which makes it enjoyable for non-military readers.
For craft and reading pleasure it's remininscent of Flight of the Intruder and Hunt for Red October.

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Foreword by Stephen Coonts. The tragic, the comic, the terrifying, the poignant are all part of the story of the Black Pony pilots who distinguished themselves in the Mekong Delta between 1969 and 1972. Flying their Broncos "down and dirty, low and slow," they destroyed more enemies and saved more allied lives with close-air support than all the other naval squadrons combined during the three years they saw action. Author Kit Lavell was part of this squadron of "black sheep" given a chance to make something of themselves. The U.S. Navy's only land-based attack squadron, Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4) flew support missions for the riverine forces, SEALs, and allied units in borrowed, propeller-driven OV-10s. For fixed-wing aircraft they were dangerous, unorthodox missions, a fact readers quickly come to appreciate.After two years of research, Lavell has been able to match many of the air operations to those on the ground and tell the dramatic story from both perspectives. One of several offered in the book is the bringing together of SEAL Barry Enoch, a Navy Cross recipient, and Black Pony pilot Larry Hone, a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, whose encounter is stunningly described in chapter 14. Lavell also provides vivid scenes of life and love away from combat and gives a concise history of the squadron along with details of its unique use of the OV-10.

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Navy Seals: A History (part III) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the second volume of Kevin Dockery's collection of oral history of the Navy SEALs. His first volume, 'Navy SEALs: A History Of The Early Years' was released about a year ago. I believe a third and final volume about the Navy SEALs and their operations during the Persian Gulf conflict will be released next year.
In part two of this fascinating history of the Navy SEALs Kevin Dockery again presents a collection of oral accounts by former UDT and SEAL team members. Famous, former, frogmen like Richard Marcinko (Commander, USN (Ret.)) and Governor Jesse Ventura are just some of the SEALs that recount their operations during the South East Asian conflict.
My favorite feature about this second volume are the numerous rare black and white photographs depicting the UDT and SEAL team members in action.
If you have enjoyed Chief James Watson's 'Point Man' and all the other Richard Marcinko books, then you will definitely want to read 'Navy SEALs: A History Part II: The Vietnam Years.

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Hunters & Shooters: An Oral History of the U.S. Navy SEALS in Vietnam Review

Hunters and Shooters: An Oral History of the U.S. Navy SEALS in Vietnam

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(More customer reviews)The great thing about this oral history is that you get a personal feel for the characters as they talk about their experiences. The wide range of experiences are reflected in the wide range of personalities that the history is drawn from. The accounts are honest and sincere. Each account begins with a brief editorial introduction and summary of a different aspect of the SEALs unit formation and operational history in Viet Nam. This helps the reader to understand the subject as a broad total of experiences rather than just a bundle of yarns slapped together. The editor did a great job of putting the accounts in an informative sequence which gave this reviewer a greater background understanding of the following accounts as I progressed through the book.
I bought my copy during a visit to the SEAL/ UDT Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida and I strongly recommend other interested military buffs to buy this book and check out the museum. Well worth it.

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Rescue of Streetcar 304: A Navy Pilot's Forty Hours on the Run in Laos Review

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(More customer reviews)I have never read a better book about heroism than this book, it is a must read. This true adventure takes place during the Vietnam War. Kenny Fields, a Navy Pilot, has written an adventure story about his escape from Laos after his aircraft was shot down. We are told in graphic detail of his experiences and of those attempting his rescue. The reader will feel as if he or she is in the jungle with him and in the Air Force aircraft attempting his rescue. It also tells of the heart ache and fear family members go through when their loved ones are placed in harms way. This book will become a classic of men at war. It illustrates the courage, love of God, country and family of our men in the military.

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On 31 May 1968, Lt. Kenny Fields catapulted off USS America in his A-7 for his first-ever combat mission. His target was two hundred miles away in Laos. What the planners did not know was that Fields was en route to a massive concentration of AAA gun sites amidst an entire North Vietnamese division. Fields, call sign Streetcar 304, was the first to roll in, and he destroyed that target with a direct hit. Three AAA guns began to fire, but, following his wingman's run, he rolled in again. This time many more AAA guns opened up and Fields was shot down. Soon, a rescue pilot suffered the same fate. The Rescue of Streetcar 304 is Fields' exhilarating narrative of the forty hours that followed and what turned out to be one of the largest and most spine-tingling air rescues of the Vietnam War. Fields mixes humor and drama as he recounts teeth-chattering close encounters with Pathet Lao guerillas, and nearly being killed time and again by friendly bombs. He describes in riveting detail the radio chatter between participants, and the stress effects of coping with fear, sleep deprivation, wild animals, and relentless AAA. By the time it was over, the U.S. Air Force had flown 189 sorties to rescue Fields, and in the process four pilots ejected, seven planes were lost or heavily damaged, and one pilot became a POW for five years.

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Silver Star: Navy and Marine Corps Gallantry in Iraq, Afghanistan and Other Conflicts (Blue Jacket Bks) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having chronicled USN/USMC winners of the Navy Cross, James Wise and Scott Baron shift focus to those Marines and sailors awarded the Silver Star in Afghanistan, Irag, Vietnam, Korea and World War II. Ninety-seven men - 24 sailors and 73 Marines - have been awarded Silver Stars in Iraq and Afghanistan as of March 2008. THE SILVER STAR recounts the exploits of 75 of those individuals and ten from the earlier conflicts.
As with their NAVY CROSS volume, Wise and Baron arrange the accounts alphabetically within each conflict. After presenting the official citation, they then recreate the action in narrative form. In some cases, several SS awards were made for the same action, 'Operation Phantom Fury,' for example, resulting in 10 awards. The most widely-known Afghanistan/Iraq SS winner is probably tank commander GySgt Nick Popaditch, who recently penned his autobiography ONCE A MARINE. Notables from the previous wars include Vietnam MoH-winner Jimmie Howard and WWII's FDR, Jr. and John Hamilton (aka actor Sterling Hayden).
Truth be told, the Iraq/Afghanistan accounts, which make up 70% of the book, have a depressing sameness to them; most being hellacious, in-your-face ambushes in narrow streets marked by dozens of RPG rounds and storms of AK fire. Time after time, superb training coupled with personal bravery and initiative made the difference.
While THE SILVER STAR is an inspiring chronicle of brave men in action, the Iraq sections leave you with a sense of sadness; all that bravery and suffering in an unnecessary war! And I still think the reverse chronological arrangement, first seen in NAVY CROSS, makes for a clumsy read. Recommended.

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Black Sailor, White Navy: Racial Unrest in the Fleet during the Vietnam War Era Review

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(More customer reviews)John Darrell Sherwood is an official historian serving at the United States Naval Historical Center. His fields of study extend to Naval Aviators as well as the U.S. Air Force during both Korea and Vietnam, telling the stories of the men who lived through two of the United States' most controversial conflicts. In Black Sailor, White Navy: Racial Unrest in the Fleet During the Vietnam War Era, Sherwood addresses the problem of African American strife due to inequality in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He finds that the leadership and the men of the U.S. Navy had to construct their own solutions to the conflicts that arose and most importantly, try to understand their differences so that everyone could serve equally, with dignity and respect.
At the onset of the Vietnam War, the Navy was not ready for the racial strife that would later plague their ranks. African Americans had been serving in the Navy since the American Revolution, possibly constituting 10 percent of Naval personnel. During the Civil War, "blacks represented 10 to 24 percent of the warship crews" in the U.S. Navy. Both of these contributions are substantial tributes to the effectiveness of African American sailors and their dedication to U.S. efforts. Incidents involving riots and discrimination during World War I and World War II had created a "white navy," one of Caucasian dominance. Very few blacks were involved with the U.S. Navy during the post-WWII years and those that did served mainly as stewards or mess attendants. The black officer pool was so small as to be almost negligible.
Going into Vietnam, the U.S. Navy was a primarily white institution that discouraged the induction of African Americans. Tests were difficult as to discourage all but the brightest of black participants. Blacks were commissioned to lowly jobs in the steward branch that were deemed "undesirable for whites." Problems with inequality of work and differences in culture and social standing would result in violence on at first several, and eventually many of the ships in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam.
Revolts and conflicts in the ranks may have led to a complete paralysis of the Navy. Sherwood looks primarily at how these racial tensions played out on the ships and at naval bases, assessing personal accounts and records to create a valuable narrative. He uses the reports integrated with interviews from specific incidents to illustrate the pressures on African Americans and their subsequent reactions. From the lawlessness and segregation that inspired the Kitty Hawk riot to the racism that sparked violence on Intrepid, Sherwood provides ample evidence with interviews and reports straight from the men who experienced the times.
After addressing the events that caused these problems to surface, Sherwood follows up by explaining how each issue was dealt with by their respective commanders and how that translated in time to the high command. As riots were put down and men reprimanded, the Navy eventually began a series of reforms under Admiral Zumwalt and later Admiral Holloway that would shape the Navy's policies on race relations. At first with minority affairs representatives and later with increased opportunities for black advancement and better working conditions, the Navy created an environment that blacks and whites could both benefit from.
Sherwood's book Black Sailor, White Navy is an effective narrative for understanding the racial tensions that may have paralyzed the U.S. Navy during Vietnam. It leaves little to the imagination, with thorough evidence drawn from the Naval archives, interviews, court records, statistics, and demographics. It is an interesting story as well, involving the reader with backgrounds of Zumwalt, Holloway, and many of the minor officers that experienced the unrest firsthand. Sherwood has built a balanced and comprehensive account of the fight for African American equality in the United States Navy.

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It is hard to determine what dominated more newspaper headlines in America during the 1960s and early ‘70s: the Vietnam War or America's turbulent racial climate. Oddly, however, these two pivotal moments are rarely examined in tandem.

John Darrell Sherwood has mined the archives of the U.S. Navy and conducted scores of interviews with Vietnam veterans — both black and white - and other military personnel to reveal the full extent of racial unrest in the Navy during the Vietnam War era, as well as the Navy's attempts to control it. During the second half of the Vietnam War, the Navy witnessed some of the worst incidents of racial strife ever experienced by the American military. Sherwood introduces us to fierce encounters on American warships and bases, ranging from sit-down strikes to major race riots.

The Navy's journey from a state of racial polarization to one of relative harmony was not an easy one, and Black Sailor, White Navy focuses on the most turbulent point in this road: the Vietnam War era.

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Gray Ghosts: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F4 Phantoms Review

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(More customer reviews)The entire focus of this book is the personal experiences of flight crews who flew the Phantom. I find it a refreshing break from the typical aviation book laden with boring and dry technical jargon. The personal anecdotes of how this awesome aircraft started out as a fleet defense fighter and was eventually used as almost everything else is much more interesting.

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This new study of the sea-going Phantoms includes contributions from over a hundred aircrew and maintainers who were involved in the Phantoms success from the earliest service development flying to its twilight years in the Reserve units. There are personal accounts of MiG battles from more than a dozen MiG killers, first-hand descriptions of the F-4s introduction into combat with the Marines as a CAS and reconnaissance aircraft, memories of Bear intercepts on Mediterranean cruises, narratives covering the aircrafts service into the 1980s, and much more. These voices are blended with a detailed technical and developmental description of the aircraft, supported by comprehensive appendices and over 450 photos in color and black and white.

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