Download or read book Under the Wing of a Patriot The Life Story of USAF Fighter Pilot Col Jim Ryan written by Shane Allen and published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In war, it takes tough men to lead survivors; and the strongest survivors eventually become leaders themselves, leading yet another pack of survivors. So on and so forth it goes, new leaders are made--leaders who are willing to do anything for their country. And it all starts by being taken under the wing of a patriot.During a milestone era in the fighter business, Jim Ryan was surrounded by the most influential fighter pilots who left an unprecedented mark in history.He went from aviation cadet pilot out of high school to squadron commander of the 358th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) before making colonel. His Air Force career spanned nearly 30 years through sitting nuclear alert in Europe to 377 combat missions in Vietnam as a forward air controller with the 1st Cavalry, a Hobo Sandy, and squadron commander of the 358th TFS (Lobos).Noted as one of the most knowledgeable men in the Air Force on operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War while at the Pentagon, Col. Jim Ryan was led by the best and led the best.It's the true inspirational story of a boy who soars from meager beginnings in Eastern Oklahoma to USAF fighter pilot during a diverse and dynamic time in America

Download or read book A Patriot s Calling written by Lt Colonel Dan Rooney and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A decorated fighter pilot and PGA professional tells the story of his life and service—to both his nation and others—in this remarkable memoir that is a stirring record of faith, patriotism, family, philanthropy, and golf. What does it mean to be a patriot? For Oklahoma native Dan Rooney, it is someone who not only puts his life on the line for country, but who opens his heart and mind and seeks to build a life that embodies the purest and most concentrated essence of himself. For many, Rooney is the model of a patriot: as an Air Force pilot who deployed to Iraq, serving three tours of duty; as a professional golfer who established a nonprofit foundation awarding thousands of scholarships to the children of fallen and disabled veterans; as the father of five daughters; as a man of faith, whose copilot, both in the skies and on the ground, has always been God. A Patriot’s Calling is his autobiographical journey through some of the most character-defining moments of his awe-inducing life and career. “On my third tour of duty in Iraq as F -16 fighter pilot, I felt a powerful calling from God to share the miraculous fusion of people and experiences uniquely placed along my journey. During my reflection, I began to understand how the forces of synchronicity had shaped my life. Synchronicity, or, as I like to call it, ‘chance with a purpose,’ is all around us. These encounters with God’s messengers are the sign-posts along the road of life guiding us toward our essence.” A Patriot’s Calling illuminates Rooney’s true essence—and offers guidance and inspiration for us all. A Patriot’s Calling includes 40 photos and 3 maps.

Download or read book Unforgotten Hero written by Jim Escalle and published by Traylor House Publishers. This book was released on 2013-07-27 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unforgotten Hero tells the captivating life story of Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who became missing in action during the Korean War. Growing up in a small farming town in California’s San Joaquin Valley during the 1930s and 1940s, Jim was a devoted son, a caring older brother, a talented athlete, and a young man of moral character who always put others first. He started high school as the Second World War was at its peak, and graduated during a time of transition within America and around the world. He had always wanted to fly airplanes someday, and with the introduction of jet propulsion during his high school years, he dreamed of becoming a jet pilot. Called to serve his country after the Korean War began, his dream became a reality when he joined the Air Force and eventually got the opportunity to fly the F-86 Sabre, regarded as the most advanced jet fighter of its time. Soon after arriving in Korea he went on his first missions, which were MiG Alley sweeps. However, since Jim was assigned to a fighter-bomber squadron, the majority of his combat missions were air-to-ground. These were the most dangerous missions. In Korea, more pilots had been killed or listed as MIA due to being shot down by ground fire rather than enemy aircraft. For Jim, this fact was realized only five weeks before the armistice was signed. He paid the ultimate price for freedom when he disappeared while on a combat mission over North Korea and was never seen or heard from again.

Download or read book 9 Lives of a Fighter Pilot written by Greg Raths and published by . This book was released on 2013-01 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pilot's life is never dull, especially when you're a jet fighter pilot in the Marines flying assault missions in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's reign and then when you work at the White House under President Clinton! In training and in war, in the air and on the grounds sometimes you have close calls with Death. And sometimes you get nine lives. You better live the ninth to its fullest! This is Colonel Greg Raths' tale... from the cradle through his Mayberry-like upbringing through his wild college days and wilder air training days to his time in the war, at the White House and beyond. Raths wrote this book to serve as a roadmap for success that any young man or woman can follow. It's all in the planning. And it's all about living large and in charge.

Download or read book Sierra Hotel flying Air Force fighters in the decade after Vietnam written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In February 1999, only a few weeks before the U.S. Air Force spearheaded NATO's Allied Force air campaign against Serbia, Col. C.R. Anderegg, USAF (Ret.), visited the commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. Colonel Anderegg had known Gen. John Jumper since they had served together as jet forward air controllers in Southeast Asia nearly thirty years earlier. From the vantage point of 1999, they looked back to the day in February 1970, when they first controlled a laser-guided bomb strike. In this book Anderegg takes us from "glimmers of hope" like that one through other major improvements in the Air Force that came between the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. Always central in Anderegg's account of those changes are the people who made them. This is a very personal book by an officer who participated in the transformation he describes so vividly. Much of his story revolves around the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, where he served two tours as an instructor pilot specializing in guided munitions.

Download or read book Scrappy written by Howard C. “Scrappy” Johnson and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-10-01 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From World War II to high above the Earth to Vietnam, this memoir tells the story of fighter pilot Howard C. "Scrappy" Johnson. Beginning with his early years in Knoxville, Tennessee, the book follows Johnson through his career at the University of Louisville and his enlistment as an Air Force cadet at the onset of World War II. After World War II, Johnson served a tour of duty in the skies over Korea and in 1958 broke the world's altitude record by over 14,000 feet, soaring at 91,249 feet in his F-104A Starfighter. For this remarkable feat he was awarded the Collier Trophy, aviation's highest honor. In Vietnam, he was director of operations for the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing and was instrumental in founding the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots, a group dedicated to the remembrance of fallen and captured airmen. Written with panache, this work records the bigger-than-life adventures of one of America's finest.

Download or read book Officers in Flight Suits written by John Darrell Sherwood and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 1998-11 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States Air Force fought as a truly independent service for the first time during the Korean War. As a result, the fighter pilots reigned supreme. In Korea, American air power was challenged by the most advanced fighter of the time -- the Soviet MiG-15 -- and ruled the skies in many celebrated aerial battles. In addition, however, they destroyed virtually every major town and city in North Korea, demolished its entire crop irrigation system, and killed close to one million civilians. Korea, then, is the perfect laboratory for studying the culture of fighter pilots, a culture based on self-confidence and risk-taking, one which has promoted what John Darrell Sherwood calls "flight suit attitude." In Officers in Flight Suits, Sherwood explores the flight suit officer's life, drawing on memoirs, diaries, letters, novels, unit records, and personal papers as well as interviews with over fifty veterans who served in the Air Force in Korea. From their training to dramatic encounters during battle, from their socio-economic backgrounds to the flight suit culture they developed, Sherwood investigates every dimension of these pilots' lives. The book provides an illuminating portrait of fighter pilot culture, demonstrating how this culture affected their performance in battle and their attitudes toward others, particularly women, in their off-duty activities - Jacket flap.

Download or read book Vanishing Contrails written by James Franklin Grey and published by Booktango. This book was released on 2015-12-01 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get to know an American aviator who fought in the great air wars over Europe during World War II and steered a B-29 right through the center of a mushroom cloud from an atom bomb blast, among other aerial feats and accomplishments. From his youth during the Great Depression to his 22-year career in the U.S. Air Force to his life as a civilian and private pilot, Mr. Grey skillfully weaves together the events happening in the world with those occurring in his life. His voice is unique, his stories human and compelling. Readers will appreciate both his eloquence and candor. Vanishing Contrails is much more than just the recollections of a retired pilot. It speaks to the vanishing of an entire way of life and the code by which so many members of Mr. Grey's generation (the "greatest") lived their lives.

Download or read book Into the Wild Blue Yonder written by Allan T. Stein and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Allan T. Stein idolized his uncle, a pilot in the Great War. So in 1943, in the midst of the Second World War, he left Texas A & M University for Lackland Air Field to learn to fly. By the time he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1969, Stein had flown everything from BT-13s and B-24s to B-52s and C-47s. During World War II, he flew missions over China and the Sea of Japan, and by V-J Day, he had participated in eight campaigns and logged 347 hours in combat. Stein later spent one year in Vietnam as operations officer for the 360 TEWS (Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron), which used refitted C-47s to monitor and locate Vietcong units. He ended his career as inspector general of the Civil Air Patrol." "Stein considers himself to have been an ordinary airman, not a hero. But he was also a seasoned pilot and a conscientious officer with a strong sense of right and wrong. After a young pilot he had certified died in an accident, Stein made it a practice to fail all but the best candidates. He was just as disgusted with the corruption he encountered in the Civil Air Patrol as he was with the tendentious reporters he met in Saigon's Hotel Caravelle." "Although he met his share of cowards and scoundrels, Stein loved to fly and he loved the air force. He was the sort of officer his superiors trusted not to make mistakes, but he was not the sort to rise to high rank. What he offers here is an account of a typical career as an air force officer, complete with its frustrations, moral dilemmas, and the occasional harrowing experience."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Download or read book Fighter Pilot written by Christina Olds and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2010-04-13 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighter Pilot is the memoir of legendary ace American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force, Robin Olds. Robin Olds was a larger-than-life hero with a towering personality. A graduate of West Point and an inductee in the National College Football Hall of Fame for his All-American performance for Army, Olds was one of the toughest college football players at the time. In WWII, Olds quickly became a top fighter pilot and squadron commander by the age of 22—and an ace with 12 aerial victories. But it was in Vietnam where the man became a legend. He arrived in 1966 to find a dejected group of pilots and motivated them by placing himself on the flight schedule under officers junior to himself, then challenging them to train him properly because he would soon be leading them. Proving he wasn't a WWII retread, he led the wing with aggressiveness, scoring another four confirmed kills, becoming a rare triple ace. Olds, who retired a brigadier general and died in 2007, was a unique individual whose personal story presents one of the most eagerly anticipated military books in recent memory. Please note: This ebook edition does not include the photo insert from the print edition.

Download or read book Rupert Red Two written by Jack Broughton and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2008-01-15 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1945 Second Lieutenant Jack Broughton graduated from West Point with the silver pilot wings of a newly commissioned member of the Army Air Corps. Nearly thirty years later, he retired as a full colonel in the United States Air Force, an entity that didn't even exist when he first learned to fly. Along the way Colonel Broughton saw duty in virtually every fighter aircraft the Air Corps and then Air Force had to offer. He experienced the birth and coming of age of the U.S. Air Force and its bloodying in combat in Korea and Vietnam. In this, his third book, Broughton offers readers what is virtually a biography of the U. S. Air Force as it was experienced by one of its finest combat leaders. From his initial duty in postwar Germany as part of the American occupation, to air-to-air combat in Korea, to his command of the Thunderbirds and two combat tours in Vietnam, Broughton describes what it is to meet the enemy in the air--and to fly some of the best-known aircraft in combat. By the bestselling author of Thud Ridge and Going Downtown.

Download or read book Basic Airman to General The Secret War Other Conflicts written by General ''Pete'' Piotrowski and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the remarkable success of a first-generation Polish kid who, at the age of eighteen, enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He was one of less than a handful of basic airmen who rose to the rank of four-star general. More importantly, it covers the reincarnation of WW II Air Commandos under the code name of Jungle Jim, as well as US combat air operations from 1961 through 1967 flying obsolete B-26s and the newest jet fighter, the F-4D. Then airman Piotrowski qualified for aviation cadet training and earned his first wings as a navigator and electronic warfare officer (EWO). Following assignments in Korea and Japan, he returned to the United States for pilot training ranking number one in his class and qualifying for jet fighters. He was selected for Project Jungle Jim and became a leading air force expert in conventional weapons and tactics. His flying ability, combat experience, and tactical expertise led to his assignment at the Air Force Top Gun School to instruct air force generals headed for Vietnam on conventional weapons and tactics. Following school and staff assignments, he was selected to command the Fortieth Tactical Group, Aviano, Italy. He led the group for three years, receiving a rating as "Best Wing in the USAF." Following Aviano, he was a special assistant to, and troubleshooter for, General Jones, air force chief. Shortly thereafter, he was selected to build the 552nd AWAC equipped with the E-3A aircraft and bring it to combat status. Next, he commanded Air Defense TAC, where he was selected to review the Desert One failure with five other officers. He provided inside information on how the rescue attempt in Iran unraveled. On another special assignment, he was sent to Saudi Arabia as a special advisor to the Saudi chief of the defense staff with the mission to improve Saudi Air Defense. Following that, then major general Piotrowski went to Oman with a diplomatic portfolio to forge an agreement with the Omni government on joint military training of US and Omani forces. Subsequently, he was assigned to the Tactical Air Command as the director of operations and vice commander. Here he grappled with a number of aircraft-related problems and brought the stealth fighter into the operational inventory. Next, he commanded Ninth Air Force with twelve subordinate wings with roughly one thousand fighter aircraft assigned, with responsibilities for air warfare in support of ground forces in the Middle East. On one of his many visits to Sudan, he stopped an invasion from Ethiopia in one day. He was promoted to the rank of general to serve as the vice chief of the air force. Here he revealed how the JCS operates, as well as inside information on the capture of the Achille Lauro hijackers and the punitive raid on Libya. His last assignment was commanding the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM), where he had the opportunity to host and brief senior military members of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China.

Download or read book Five Nickels written by Jim “Boots” Demarest and published by Permuted Press. This book was released on 2022-02-15 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On February 15, 1991, Captain Steve Phillis was leading his wingman, Lieutenant Rob Sweet, on their thirtieth combat mission of Desert Storm flying the A-10 Warthog. They were tasked with attacking Iraq’s vaunted Medina Division of the Republican Guards—by far their most dangerous mission of the war. Near the end of their attacks, Rob was forced to eject from his aircraft and began a five-minute parachute ride down to the troops he and Steve had just finished bombing. Steve, an experienced combat search and rescue pilot and distinguished graduate of the Air Force Fighter Weapons School, immediately sprang into action to save the life of his wingman. After spending three minutes and forty-five seconds circling Sweet, Steve’s A-10 was hit by an enemy surface-to-air missile. Five Nickels: True Story of the Desert Storm Heroics and Sacrifice of Air Force Captain Steve Phillis, is a love story. Steve loved his family, fiancée, fellow fighter pilots, country, wingman, and life. Yet he was willing to risk them all to fight—and if necessary, die—for what he believed in. Steve’s story—from Rock Island, Illinois to the Air Force Academy, to his life as an A-10 fighter pilot—is the stuff of heroes. As Steve’s Academy classmate and boxing partner, fellow fighter pilot and “Top Gun” graduate, Jim “Boots” Demarest is uniquely qualified to tell Steve’s story. A gifted storyteller, Boots shares his experience with Steve from the Academy Boxing Team to paint a complete picture of the man who had so much to live for, yet was willing to risk it all to do the right thing. Five Nickels is filled with the details of Steve’s life and loves that will capture, enchant, and pull readers in. His story of combat heroics in the face of incredible danger will captivate and inspire all who read it.

Download or read book Inside the Turn Circle Earning My Wings in the F 16 1979 1988 written by Pk White and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-02 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSIDE THE TURN CIRCLE relates the challenges and joys of training for and becoming an F-16 fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force from 1979 to 1988. It reflects both life in the air and on the ground, including: the culture of the fighter squadron the joys and challenges of living overseas the fun adventures and love shared by families depending on each other the stresses and pressures inherent in this often dangerous profession U.S. Air Force Colonel (Ret) P.K. White provides an inside look into the life of a fighter pilot during the Cold War. This is a story of laughter and tears, triumphs and defeats, overcoming challenges, and the exhilaration of flying America's front-line fighter jets. Colonel White tells the story of growing up on military bases in Europe as the son of an Air Force Chief Master Sergeant in the turbulent Sixties and Seventies, attending college through the Air Force ROTC program, then heading off to pilot training as a Second Lieutenant. He explains what it was like facing off against the Warsaw Pact flying the Air Force's hottest fighter, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, in Germany in the Eighties when the Soviet Union was a real and present threat.

Download or read book Turning Final a Life Complete written by Jim Reed and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2011-03-30 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jim Reed has had a life of diverse adventure. From sending U-2s to the North Pole, retrieving Missiles in the open ocean and a flying career that spanned the world, he has done just about everything that you could pack into one lifetime. Turning Final captures those adventures and shares it with all of us who dream of meeting exciting challenges. This story is about a real life pilot/sailor who accomplished things that most people only dream about while at the same time he and his lovely wife raised a family of four boys. His life truly spans the world.

Download or read book Call Sign KLUSO written by Rick Tollini and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2021-04-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A US Air Force Captain tells the story of his life and service during Operation Desert Storm in this thrilling military memoir. A pilot all his life, Rick “Kluso” Tollini turned his childhood dream into a reality when he became a fighter pilot for the US Air Force. In Call Sign KLUSO, Rick “Kluso” Tollini puts the fraught minutes above the Iraqi desert that made him an ace into the context of a full life; exploring how he came to be flying a F-15C in Desert Storm, and how that day became a pivotal moment in his life. He recounts his training, preparation, and missions, as well as the life of a fighter pilot in a combat zone. He also explores life as an air force veteran, and his turn to Buddhism as he comes to terms with his actions in combat. Rick’s first experience of flying was in a Piper PA-18 over 1960s’ California as a small boy, and his love of flying through his teenage years was fostered by his pilot father, eventually blossoming into a decision to join the Air Force as a pilot in his late twenties. Having trained to fly jets he was assigned to fly the F-15 Eagle with the “Dirty Dozen,” the 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron, at Kadena AB, Japan, before returning Stateside to the 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron “The Gorillas.” Throughout training, Reagan’s fighter pilots expected to face the Soviet Union, but Rick’s first combat deployment was Desert Storm.

Download or read book Airman written by Russell M. Gimmi and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2009 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is the biography of an extraordinary Air Force pilot, Richard F.B. Gimmi, who began his career flying B-25s in World War II and ultimately flew the F-105 in Vietnam."--Jacket page II.