Vietnam, 1967. America's most daring fighter pilots faced their greatest challenge in a desperate war. Now on his second tour, Major Court Bannister is hunted by a new, more determined breed of enemy and haunted by his brother's shocking act of treason.

The Trails War formed a major part of the so-called 'secret war' in South East Asia, yet for complex political reasons, including the involvement of the CIA, it received far less coverage than campaigns like Rolling Thunder and Linebacker. Nevertheless, the campaign had a profound effect on the outcome of the war and on its perception in the USA. In the north, the Barrel Roll campaign was often operated by daring pilots flying obsolete aircraft, as in the early years, US forces were still flying antiquated piston-engined T-28 and A-26A aircraft. The campaign gave rise to countless heroic deeds by pilots like the Raven forward air controllers, operating from primitive airstrips in close contact with fierce enemy forces. USAF rescue services carried out extremely hazardous missions to recover aircrew who would otherwise have been swiftly executed by Pathet Lao forces, and reconnaissance pilots routinely risked their lives in solo, low-level mission over hostile territory. Further south, the Steel Tiger campaign was less covert. Arc Light B-52 strikes were flown frequently, and the fearsome AC-130 was introduced to cut the trails. At the same time, many thousands of North Vietnamese troops and civilians repeatedly made the long, arduous journey along the trail in trucks or, more often, pushing French bicycles laden with ammunition and rice. Under constant threat of air attack and enduring heavy losses, they devised extremely ingenious means of survival. The campaign to cut the trails endured for the entire Vietnam War but nothing more than partial success could ever be achieved by the USA. This illustrated title explores the fascinating history of this campaign, analysing the forces involved and explaining why the USA could never truly conquer the Ho Chi Minh trail.

The Nimrods is an important new book for two reasons. First, it is an accurate true-life story, told by an A-26 navigator/co-pilot who flew 182 combat missions in the Vietnam War, about a magnificent band of A-26 pilots and navigator/co-pilots who flew--from 1966 to 1969--countless high-intensity nighttime dive-bombing missions in "The Secret War in Laos" (Steel Tiger, Barrel Roll and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail). To illustrate the intensity of the dive-bombing missions in the Vietnam War, the writer describes, in detail, more than twenty separate unforgettable missions and more importantly the personalities and psychological reactions of all of the unforgettable characters who were a part of the 609th Special Operations Squadron. Second, the book is highly relevant to the current Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terror, because it addresses the lessons learned in the Vietnam War (and World War II and the Korean War) and advocates that Americans and their allies apply those lessons learned to terrorism and renewed threats of nuclear war from tyrants and terrorists around the world. This is a book whose time has come. The views of our military veterans and their families who have endured the life-threatening and life-changing experiences of combat are made known to the American public and our allies. Recommendations from The Iraq Study Group Report, and President Bush's new Iraq strategy, are reviewed and analyzed. The book articulates a new way forward and a new vision that can be embraced by the entire world, and contrasts the vision of America and its allies with the vision of Osama bin Laden and the radical Islamic terrorists who threaten the security of the entire world.

David R. “Buff” Honodel was a cocky young man with an inflated self-image when he arrived in 1969 at his base in Udorn, Thailand. His war was not in Vietnam; it was a secret one in the skies of a neighboring country almost unknown in America, attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail that fed soldiers and supplies from North Vietnam into the South. Stateside he learned the art of flying the F-4, but in combat, the bomb-loaded fighter handled differently, targets shot back, and people suffered. Inert training ordnance was replaced by lethal weapons. In the air, a routine day mission turned into an unexpected duel with a deadly adversary. Complacency during a long night mission escorting a gunship almost led to death. A best friend died just before New Year’s. A RF-4 crashed into the base late in Buff’s tour of duty. The reader will experience Buff’s war from the cockpit of a supersonic F-4D Phantom II, doing 5-G pullouts after dropping six 500-pound bombs on trucks hidden beneath triple jungle canopy. These were well defended by a skillful, elusive, determined enemy firing back with 37mm anti-aircraft fire and tracers in the sky. The man who left the States was a naïve, self-centered young pilot. The man who came back 137 missions later was much different.

The Vietnam War was one of America's longest, bloodiest, and most controversial wars. This volume examines the complexities of this protracted conflict and explains why the lessons learned in Vietnam are still highly relevant today. Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide provides a compendium of the key people, places, organizations, treaties, and events that make up the history of the war, explaining its causes, how it was conducted, and its far-reaching consequences. Written by recognized authorities, this ready-reference volume provides essential information all in one place and includes a comprehensive list of additional sources for further study. The work presents a detailed chronology that outlines the numerous battles and campaigns throughout the war, such as the Tet Offensive, the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Operation Rolling Thunder, and the Battle of Hue. Biographies on Lyndon Johnson, William Westmoreland, Robert McNamara, Ngo Dinh Diem, and other major political figures and military leaders provide insight into the individuals who played key roles in the conflict, while primary source documents such as President Nixon's speech on Vietnamization provide invaluable historical context.

Written by men who flew the missions and gathered together the recollections of their comrades, this is an account of the political, social, cultural, technical and combat context of an extraordinary side of the Vietnam conflict. An account touching on topics ranging from Thai supernaturalism to high tech warfare, it is also the very human story of American airmen obliged to keep heady secrets and perform demanding tasks under menacing conditions. A good read for aviation enthusiasts, students of the Vietnam War, veterans and those wishing to learn more about Southeast Asia, this book is more than a history. It is a holistic portrait of a little known and less understood aspect of the Vietnam "era."