Rescue of Streetcar 304: A Navy Pilot's Forty Hours on the Run in Laos (Ausa) | 
 enlarge | Author: Kenny Wayne Fields
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $12.75
You Save: $7.20 (36%)
New (15) Used (5) from $12.11
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 240061
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 1591142717
Dewey Decimal Number: 959
EAN: 9781591142713
ASIN: 1591142717
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
On 31 May 1968, Navy Lt. Kenny Fields catapulted off USS America, in his A-7 Corsair II on his first combat mission. His target was in Laos, which at the time was officially off-limits for U.S. attacks. Fields call sign Streetcar 304 was the first to roll in and destroyed the target with a direct hit. Three AAA guns began to fire, but, following his wingman, he rolled in again. This time many more AAA guns opened up and Fields was shot down hitting the ground with enemy troop in hot pursuit. The Rescue of Streetcar 304 is Fields exhilarating narrative of the 40-hour ordeal that followed, in what turned out to be one of the largest and harrowing air rescues of the war. Before it was over, the U.S. Air Force had flown 189 sorties to rescue Fields, and in the process four pilots had ejected, seven planes were lost or heavily damaged, and one pilot became a POW for five years. This tale of a Navy fighter pilot s escape and rescue is a gripping story of courage and brotherhood during the Vietnam War.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
Incredible tale of a pilot's time on the ground in Laos December 26, 2008
Kenny Wayne Fields recounts the harrowing days following his first combat mission during the Vietnam War. The first combat mission was supposed to be a milk-run, but fields found himself in the middle of the largest concentration of flak in Laos. He was shot down during his second bombing run, and he spent the new three days evading the Pathet Lao guerillas and the North Vietnamese regular-army division that had retreated from Khe Sahn to lick it's wounds. The book is an incredible tale of bravery, faith (in both God and country), and good luck.
On May 31, 1968 Streetcar 304 (the call sign for Field's plane) launched during the last combat sequence of the day. Less than an hour later, Lt Kenny Fields bombed a barge unloading supplies and went back for a bombing run on n underwater bridge. Moments later, he found himself on the ground in the middle of the jungle surrounded by troops who did unspeakable things to captured aviators.
For three days, he was in contact with overhead Forward Air Controllers who directed countless bombing sorties to subdue the anti-aircraft artillery sites that ringed the potential pick-up zones for the rescue. The rest of the book is the incredible story of the 189 Nail, Sandy, and Jolly Green sorties that protected Streetcar during his time on the ground. It also includes the story of Sandy 7 who was shot down less than 1 mile away, but his tale lacks the happy ending.
As an aside, one of the minor characters in the book, Sandy 8, was none other than Captain George Merritt, author of Contrails Over the Mojave: The Golden Age of Jet Flight Testing at Edwards Air Force Base and Testing Death: Hughes Aircraft Test Pilots and Cold War Weaponry (Ausa). This book contains a small chapter to fill in the gap between his years as an Air Force test pilot and Hughes Aviation Company test pilot.
This book is an absolute page-turner. This is written just as well as "Flight of the Intruder", but every single word of this book is fact. If you enjoy this book, I'd also recommend Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam
The Rescue of Streetcar 304 December 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is written by the pilot on the ground in "Cheating Death" The author of "Cheating Death" encouraged Fields to write this book and together they add to your experience. Wonderful book that most of us only view from a different angle.
 Could Have Been Better December 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
There are a few contradictions between Fields' version of his own rescue and that of George Marrett's in Cheating Death: Combat Air Rescues in Vietnam and Laos, and I highly recommend Marrett's book if you haven't already read it. While Marrett gives Fields' rescue a bird's-eye-view summary, Fields' account takes the reader on the ground through close calls with the enemy, mosquito clouds, failing survival radio batteries, frustration at failed rescue attempts, exhaustion, friendly fire and heroic endurance. Both are very good books.
That said, I thought Kenny told an excellent story that mostly kept my attention but occasionally had me grumbling to myself about editorial blunders in the text. Hence, the three-star rating. First, the book could have been streamlined by truncating chapters and, perhaps, eliminating Chapter 16 altogether, "Sad News for the Wife." Wordiness is another issue that could have been addressed with good editing.
Many statements in the book were punctuated with question marks. Usage mistakes include using "different than" instead of the correct "different from," and use of the expletive "frapping" in place of the F-word got annoying after awhile. Or maybe Navy guys on the USS America really did use that word. Overuse of the intensifier "really" really had me grinding my teeth, as I don't really consider a sentence such as "It really surprised me that they considered the use of a gas agent" as very good writing. Misuse of that word and others like it, e.g. "totally," are fine in casual speech (I was really, really scared you wouldn't remember, but I'm like totally glad you did) but doesn't belong in formal, written English. Overusing intensifiers tends to weaken the meaning of the words they modify.
A meticulous editor could have improved the reading experience and turned The Rescue of Streetcar 304 into an even faster and more exciting read than it already is. I know I'm being picky, but I'm an English teacher, so I really can't help myself. Really.
From an Air Force point of view November 5, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was almost sorry when Kenny was rescued because it meant the end of the book. Unfortunately, the cover leads one to think the book is about helicopters, but it isn't. I was in the Air Force in Viet Nam when Kenny was there and believe Navy pilots had skills superior to those in the Air Force. I can't imagine returning to a carrier in the middle of the night during a storm. Having met this gentleman and sat in the very same A-7 pictured here, I have the utmost respect for him as well as the A-7. This story is worthy of your time to read and should be made into a movie.
Excellent Story! September 24, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was also shot down in Laos, very close to the spot the author had his experience. My back-seater and I (flying an Air Force F-4E, in 1970) were luckier and were rescued after just one night in the jungle. This book is an "easy read" and I personally related to much of what he experienced. This is one of the few books I've read that I had to keep reading till I was finished. I'd like to think that I could have survived for as long as he did, but honestly, I doubt I'd have done as well. The rescue forces were outstanding throughout the war. Knowing they would perform as those in this book did was a significant factor in keeping our spirits high in spite of the questionable political conduct of the war.
|
|
|
