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The war in Vietnam in 1966 remains etched on the memories of all who served there. This thrilling, barrel-ride of a novel takes readers inside the cockpit in the heat of modern battle and examines the inner conflict of people serving their country in extraordinary circumstances.
- Sales Rank: #1910484 in eBooks
- Published on: 2004-04-30
- Released on: 2004-04-30
- Format: Kindle eBook
From the Inside Flap
"Don Henry is a world-class fighter pilot who gets to the bottom of what makes aerial tigers tick. He captures the excitement of getting shot at that haunts their self-proclaimed supreme confidence. Don Henry's Thunderchief is the equal on modern warfare to Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage."
-Gen. Charles A. Horner
coauthor, with Tom Clancy, of Every Man a Tiger
When America's space program began to look for astronauts, it initially turned to fighter pilots, finding in them men who could remain calm in the face of fear and uncertainty and solve intensely complicated problems in disarmingly simple and effective ways. Men who possessed these skills were said to have "the Right Stuff." Set in 1966 during the Vietnam War, Thunderchief is an extraordinary exploration of what the Right Stuff is and how jet fighter pilots pass it on within their close-knit community.
Ashe Wilcox is a young pilot struggling to gain respect through the trials of initiation under fire. He is mentored by Hunter, a tortured POW-camp survivor obsessed with aerial combat and revenge. Ashe and Hunter's relationship, in which Hunter is a reluctant and demanding instructor, leads Ashe on a dangerous and passionate journey of self-discovery. Thunderchief explores the inner conflict and mortal spirit of people in combat and reveals the staggering impact on their families and relationships.
Don Henry gained a unique perspective as a combat fighter pilot, squadron commander, and psychologist. He has logged thousands of hours in supersonic fighter aircraft and is a highly decorated combat pilot and commander of a first-line fighter squadron. His combat decorations include the Silver Star and three Distinguished Flying Crosses. He lives and writes in Laguna Beach, California.
From the Back Cover
"Packed with action, emotion, and tragedy, Thunderchief is the authentic, moving story of a combat pilot's struggle to overcome peer pressure and fear. Don Henry develops a superb portrait of fighter pilots and how they develop the Right Stuff. Along the way, he also tells us a lot about ourselves."
--Walter J. Boyne
author of The Influence of Air Power upon History
About the Author
Don Henry gained a unique perspective as a combat fighter pilot, squadron commander, and psychologist. He writes about the inner conflict and mortal spirit of people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Don, a former Air Force Colonel, logged thousands of hours in supersonic fighter aircraft and commanded a first line fighter squadron. He flew 129 combat missions in F-105s over Laos and North Vietnam. His combat decorations include the Silver Star and three Distinguished Flying Crosses. He lives and writes in Laguna Beach, California.
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Thud combat in technicolor!
By Scott C. Locklin
I'm slowly savoring the literature of the F-105 Thunderchief; the ultra-lead slead: the "Thud." The F-105 was a remarkable aircraft in so many ways; it was a technological masterpiece, the apex of late 50s supersonic aircraft design. Everything about it was cutting edge; from its flight computers, to its airframe (which actually changed significantly over the short lifespan of the aircraft, due to new knowledge about supersonic flight). It was designed for a very specific, very short-duration nuclear deterrent role in europe, and used in almost the exact opposite way. The Thud was designed to supersonically deliver a single nuclear weapon to tactical targets in a rapidly changing european theater of war; there was no plan for, say, long term maintainance. In Vietnam, it was used to deliver multiple conventional weapons in a precision manner on heavily defended strategic targets; day, after day. It wasn't very good at it. The analogy I like to draw is that was like using a high end Caddilac with a bazooka duct taped to its nose to fight against Soviet tanks. As such, it was the bloodiest machine since the B-17 in WW-2. If you pulled F-105 duty over Vietnam, your chances of survival were about 50/50. As such, the stories of the tough, moustached men who relentlessly fought in these machines fascinates me.
Colonel Don Henry's novel is a (probably heavily) fictionalized version of his experiences in the war. It contains many of the touchstones of the actual men and machines; right down to Roscoe the dog at the 388th wing in Korat. The feeling and atmospherics are what really makes this book sing. Many of the other memoires tell similar stories, but the fact that he was allowed fictional license really added color to the story of Thud pilots. From the humid teeming jungle; to the brutal heat, idling on the runway, breathing the exhaust fumes of a squadron of Thuds; to the brilliant scene when the flight of Thuds emerges from a thunderstorm: there is vivid descriptive beauty and color in his tale. It is a story of fire, gore, wind and women; and he evokes them all in palpable ways. Some of the images were so powerful, I suspect they will stay with me for many, many years. There is also great emotional intensity between the two novel's protagonists. It is one of those great archetypical stories, of guru and young buck, and the passing of the warrior badge to the new generation of chevaliers.
I'll be honest, some of the things which happen in the novel are pretty unbelievable, and even cheesy. Knowing how life operates, these are probably closest to being actual fact. For example, the various "love stories" came off as sort of contrived and overly old fashioned to my modern Berkeley sensibilities. The thing is, when I talk to people who were in that war, like, say, my dad, that's more or less how things were. As such, it's more likely an encapsulation of something real; reminding us of the way romance was in more innocent eras.
If you want to read an actual memoire, read something else. If you want to experience the color and ardor of a man's time as a Thud driver in Vietnam, this is the book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
A fast-paced account of the Right Stuff
By Lowell E. Waite
Thunderchief is a novel about the making of a fighter pilot. The story follows the trials of Lt. Ashe Wilcox, a rookie Air Force pilot flying the Republic F-105 fighter-bomber in combat missions over Vietnam. The author, himself a decorated veteran combat pilot, provides a gripping story the gamut of physical and psychological stresses associated with war in the air. There are harrowing missions, evasion, losses, doubt, self-examination, exhilaration, comedy, irony, sadness and valor; in other words, everything one might expect from a well-written war memoir. That this particular work is a novel should not deter those interested in military history, nor those interested in the psychology of warfare and warriors. The story reads like an authentic chronicle in all respects, and I doubt you will be disappointed with its scope and message.
Thunderchief starts fast and escalates from there. Don Henry hits the target with this narrative; I hope there are more fighter pilot tales to come from this author!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Great Novel From A Great Pilot And Patriot
By Robert I. Hedges
In "Thunderchief" former USAF fighter pilot Don Henry chronicles the molding of a young fighter pilot, First Lieutenant Ashe Wilcox, into a mature warrior and leader flying the mighty F-105 from Takhli RTAFB, Thailand in the awful year of 1966. Ashe (who reminds me of real-life hero Karl Richter, a close personal friend of Henry) is mentored by a somewhat spooky former POW who only answers to the name "Hunter," and is a full-blooded American Indian, which makes the title of the book into not only a description, but a clever play on words.
I read the book straight through in one sitting, and enjoyed it immensely. Although fiction, many elements of fiction only serve to obscure specific people: there is no doubt that this book feels definitely authentic, and far better than most war fiction. I found the characters and situations encountered compelling and intriguing, and found the account of the aerial actions highly readable.
I only have a few quibbles with the book, all of which pale in comparison to the outstanding qualities the book has. I found the "Indian" references occasionally heavy-handed and pushing the limit of being believable. Clearly the Hunter character is central to the story, but some of his personality traits and behaviors seem like contrived plot points rather than natural and realistic characteristics of a true warrior and fighter pilot. I found the conclusion to be predictable, even though it was well written: the foreshadowing was unmistakable since the first time the subject of Hunter's obsession with the Doumer bridge was brought up very early in the story. Having said that, the character of Hunter serves as a model for Ashe and in that role is very effective. I especially found the Epilogue to be an ingenious method of revealing an intriguing conclusion: Henry clearly crafted the last two pages very carefully, and he got them exactly right.
Although I have to admit that I would have preferred a similar book of historical nonfiction from Henry (the Broughton and Rasimus books are my favorite books on war ever written, perhaps my favorites of all time) this is an excellent and exciting book, and I recommend it without reservations.
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