This book recounts four tours of Air Force duty in Vietnam, 1965–1968, and reports firsthand how tactics and the war effort changed each time. The routine and risk of daily airlift operations and the differing air bases are discussed—and colored with personal memories. Cargo included everything from elephants to dancing girls, and accidents and errors were all part of the mission. The author describes the work as a “history-based, humorous, satirical, and bitter recount of a major national wasted effort,” with commentary on American attitudes, the costs and the lingering social impact of the war. Photographs. Index.

Bill Barry spent 20 years in the Air Force as a C-130 navigator, war planner and NATO intelligence officer and later served as an army missile contractor. His articles and columns have appeared in the New York Times, the U.S. Naval War College Review and Vietnam and World War II periodicals.

Bill Barry
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 215
Bibliographic Info: 26 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3924-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5223-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Vietnam: The Atmosphere and the Beginning      3
The First Tour      9
Between Tours      21
The Second Tour      23
Between Tours Again      60
The One-Year Tour      62
Between Tours Yet Again      161
Five Months in Japan and Vietnam      164
Aftermath      198

Author’s Military History      203
Index      205