Secret Stories from Vietnam Air Rescues Revealed in New Book

Vietnam Air Rescues

EAVESDROP, as a father recounts to his adult children his exploits as an Air Force "Jolly Green" combat rescue helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

BE THERE to see what it was really like.

RIDE ALONG and determine what you would have done when another man's life was literally hanging in the balance.

FEEL what it meant to save a life, and what it meant to lose one.

EXPERIENCE heart pounding action in Vietnam Air Rescues.

The book begins with the authors’ ‘Unauthorized History of the Vietnam War’; then continues to describe his life as a “Jolly Green” rescue pilot, picking up aircrew shot down in North Vietnam and Laos. Details of his 7 rescues of 9 men are included, as well as over 30 anecdotes relating to his experiences.

The book is profusely illustrated with more than 100 photos, maps and drawings.

A Few Reminiscences on the Origin of Vietnam Air Rescues

If it were not for my second son, Craig, VNAR, as I like to refer to it would have never come about. I was an Air Force combat helicopter rescue pilot, a ‘Jolly Green’, during the Vietnam War in 1967-1968 and managed to rescue several people.

After my return, as the years went by, I related my war stories to my children. After he grew up and had children of his own, Craig began bugging me to write my experiences down.

For my part, I was decidedly unenthusiastic. It sounded like a lot of work and I could not imagine that anyone would want to read about what happened to me.

In 1998, I was tracked down, via the internet, and invited to join the other surviving participants of my last rescue to brief the Air Force at Nellis AFB, NV. Both my wife, Kaye, and I attended. It was there that I met, under slightly better circumstances and for the second time, the final man I had rescued.

We began to sporadically keep in touch and one day he sent me an email with an outline of what he remembered about the rescue. Intrigued, I wrote a counterpoint from my point of view and sent it back to him. It was fun!

It was here that Craig stepped up his badgering of me to write everything down, even if only for the benefit of his children. So, having retired and moved from California to Kansas where he lived, we started a collaborative effort. I did the writing and Craig assisted with maps, etc.

To my delight I found my old flak map and discovered that I had written down the dates and particulars of each rescue on the back.

My first chore was to decide on a format. Should I just tell about my 6 rescues, or should I add more items?

Early on, I decided that a short history of the Vietnam War (from my perspective) was in order. Then, it became obvious that some background on the rescue effort was necessary. This, alas, entailed a host of military acronyms, so a ‘Jargon’ section was added for those unacquainted with ‘military speak’.

Somewhere, along the way for some reason, I decided to name the various rescues. I tried to keep the description of each one short and to the point. Finally, I decided to add a section consisting of various events that had occurred which were not, strictly speaking, a part of an individual rescue.

People have asked if I had a hard time writing all this down. The answer is ‘No’. Those experiences are burned into my memory.

Since this was a book that would only be distributed to my children, I felt there was no problem speaking of my faith and how the Lord had preserved my life. Thus, in the beginning of 2003, An Old Helicopter Pilot Remembers Vietnam debuted.

We printed 10 copies on a laser printer and distributed them between the 4 children. Somewhat naively, I thought that was the end of it. But, word got around and friends and family began asking for copies.

Initially, I satisfied these requests by burning the text on a CD. Later, at my eldest son David’s suggestion, I created a website (thanks to tons of help from David and number 4 son, Mark) and offered it as an ebook.

Then, again at David’s suggestion, a publisher was found and the book came to be printed as an actual book. One of David’s comments, or requests, was that I dump ‘that stupid title’ and get a new one.

I thought long and hard and finally came up with Vietnam Air Rescues. I also had to do quite a bit of reformatting. At each previous stage, I remembered some tidbit or other that had been inadvertently left out and included it with the new version.

I also had to face the ‘faith’ issue. Would the general public accept my statements about how the Lord had quite literally saved my life? After much soul searching, I decided this would be the public’s problem, not mine, and I left it in.

In the midst of all this rewriting, I was assisted by my wife and all 4 sons, who would suggest topics they remembered me talking about that I had left out as well as gentle suggestions regarding my method of describing events.

I felt that the cover I had produced myself for the laser-printed book could stand some improvement, so I launched what proved to be an international search for a graphic artist who could design a new one. Out of 18 submissions, I selected a man in England who did what I feel is a super job.

The last hurdle was to put away ‘pride of authorship’ and hire an editor who could supply the final polish to the text. Number 3 son, Eric helped me find a good one.

Vietnam Air Rescues came out in book form in April, 2008 and has produced many surprises. One of the first of these is the interest shown by all who have heard about it. Secondly, are the compliments I have received, which go beyond the normal supportive comments of friends.

Then, the biggest surprise of all, is the interest shown by females. I would have considered this to be a subject of interest only or primarily to men, but many women have remarked how they enjoyed my descriptions. Some have even commented that it has helped them understand what fathers, brothers, and husbands went through.

Since the book version was released, I have spoken at one church banquet, one civic club and one historical society. These have been fruitful enough that I plan to advertise my availability to speak at these type occasions. I have developed a 30-minute multimedia presentation that includes period photos, maps, drawings and even combat film footage of two of my rescues.

My website is www.vietnam-air-rescues for those who would like to look at it.

Grab a copy of this book here: Vietnam Air Rescues

Win a Free Copy!

Each person who posts a comment on any or all of the blog tour spots will be entered in a random drawing for a copy of Dave Richardson's. In addition – the blog owner that hosted the winning commenter will also win a free copy of Vietnam Air Rescues. Share your thoughts and comments with author Dave Richardson. He will check in throughout the day to answer questions. You’ll learn more and you have a chance to win his book - if you haven't already read the book pick up visit his website today and order a copy www.vietnam-air-rescues.com.

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