Those Who Were There
Ninety-Two True Stories of Combat Missions Flown over North Vietnam
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Colonel Bob Hudson, USAF (Ret) Mission 92: "We took off in our usual three ship formation, dropped our bombs and headed home. The only difference was that as we were heading home, the main thrust was going in. There were planes everywhere. This was the start of LINEBACKER II, the Eleven Day War." "We are going to be hit." It felt like we slammed into something. That something was a SAM that went off on the left side of the cockpit, slightly below the nose. That meant that the whole left side of the jet took the brunt of the explosion. The windows were all blown out, the radome and radar were blown off and the airplane had explosively decompressed. I was in shock and I just sat there. "I noticed I was covered with goo and couldn't figure out where it came from. I looked to my left and realized that the goo was Bob." To my horror, he had had taken the brunt of the explosion." There was no doubt he was dead and what I saw put me further into shock. "I sat there staring at Bob, when Mike, from downstairs said, "Come on Bob get the nose up and center the PDI, we have to get the bombs off." I took the controls and got the nose up and started to center the PDI, which I must have got accomplished because we got our bombs on target. As we egreesed the target we took another SAM in the left wing. The missile caused the airplane to roll hard left and down. I gave the order to bail out. "I left Bob somewhere over North Vietnam at over 37,000 feet. Mike, Duane and I were captured by the North Vietnamese and were POWs for 93 days."
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About the Book
Many outstanding air force pilots and aircrew members share their first hand combat experiences, providing ninety-two firsthand accounts of air missions flown against the most heavily-defended targets in North Vietnam. The primary mission of the United States Air Force during the period of 1965–73 was to concentrate on air strikes.
Read the personal accounts of the air force aircrews that clearly demonstrate undaunted determination, indomitable courage, professional skill, and extraordinary heroism—despite the most intense air defenses faced by a modern air force and the restrictions imposed on the pilots of the United States Air Force (and Navy) by the U. S. government.
Limitations were regularly imposed upon aircrews during the war. During the Rolling Thunder campaign, (1965-1968) tactics and target selections were decided at the White House, with no airman in attendance. President Johnson boasted on national television, “They can’t even bomb an outhouse without my approval.” If the air war in Vietnam was all in vain, it is the policy makers, not the warriors, who must be held accountable. Gain a new understanding of the Vietnam War with Those Who Were There: Ninety-Two True Stories of Combat Missions Flown over North Vietnam.
About the Author
Author of MiG Killers of the Vietnam War, A Directory of USAF/USN Air Combat Victories in Southeast Asia, Donald J. McCarthy, Jr. served in the United States Air Force from 1964-1968, and also served for eleven years with the Connecticut Air National Guard. He worked for thirty-two years as a criminal investigator with the Waterford, Connecticut Police Department. He lives in Waterford, Connecticut. Cover Photograph Credits: The front and rear cover photographs were taken by Major Richard Kierbow, USAF (Ret).