Flying a Phantom RF-4C reconnaissance jet amidst air combat--the remarkable technical details, the mission, the derring-do--and the 19 nonflying hours a day: All this told in a gripping series of vignettes by a former pilot of a U.S. Air Force photo reconnaissance jet stationed at an airbase in Udorn, Thailand, during the Vietnam conflict. Formation flying, night photo missions, confrontations with B-52s, the Officer's Club and shows at Udorn, AAA fire, SAM missiles, the "Hanoi Hilton," GIs being killed by their own side--all this and more form a work of literature quite unlike any other emerging from Southeast Asia.

Reconnaissance pilots have brought home more secrets in less time than any other form of intelligence in the military. They often changed the course of wars, prevented some, and perhaps precipitated others. Here is the largely unsung but fascinating saga of aerial reconnaissance- from its halting beginning in the Civil War to its intricate use in Vietnam, where new tactics turned aerial reconnaissance into one of our most powerful weapons in brush-fire conflicts. On the Military Intelligence Branch History Reading List 2012.

Illustrated with over 30 maps, diagrams and photos This is a story of war. A parable of men and machines, of friend and foe. A drama of moves and countermoves, played out in the skies over North Vietnam and having for its backdrop two bridges - the majestic Paul Doumer and the infamous bridge at Thanh Hoa. These bridges know well the script of war. The silent contrails high in the blue, the growing dialogue of anti-aircraft fire, the scream of engines, the thunder of bombs, all building to a crescendo. Then subsiding, only to start again in another act on another day. An old play that reopens regularly with new actors - and therein lies our tale. The curtain went up at the Thanh Hoa Bridge in April 1965, and, as the Vietnam drama unfolded, many new players made their acting debut. Fighters named “Thunderchief” and “Phantom,” missiles known as SAMs and SHRIKEs, bombs called “Walleye” and “Smart,” and the credits go on. Wild Weasel, Jolly Green, Young Tiger, and MIG Cap - all starred in our long running play as did such names as Carolina Moon and Flaming Dart. Names that flashed brightly across the stage and then were gone. Actors in a historical play that has now passed into history - leaving us to tell THE TALE OF TWO BRIDGES.