Alone, Unarmed, and Unafraid: Tales of Reconnaissance in Vietnam [Paperback]

Taylor Eubank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1991 | ISBN-10: 0899506127 | ISBN-13: 978-0899506128

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"this...book is evidence that good things come in small packages...a flavorful group of stories that gives the reader insight into feelings, relationships and happenings" -- San Antonio Express News

Product Details

• Paperback: 129 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899506127
• ISBN-13: 978-0899506128
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,003,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doom Pussy is a haunting account of unarmed flight, November 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Alone, Unarmed, and Unafraid: Tales of Reconnaissance in Vietnam (Paperback)

"I have flown into the jaws of the cat of death," is the English translation of a Vietnamese proverb, which applied to flying at night. American aviators simply said, I have seen the Doom Pussy. This story would be good fiction; as it is--true--it is electrifying.

That, plus the story of the snake, the guard and spending Monopoly money on the local economy are enough for me to recommend this to anyone.

One last pathos: combining Ed Atterberry's plane being shot down with Browning's poen "...Ghent to Aix" works beautifully. Plus we learn how even respected and veteran reporters published false information about the torture or lack of torture of Americans in the Hanoi Hilton...well, I got bleary eyed.

Read this. You'll laugh more than you cry, but you'll do both.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touched by Vietnam? This is a must read., November 22, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Pine Bluff, AR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone, Unarmed, and Unafraid: Tales of Reconnaissance in Vietnam (Paperback)

This book really moves. Taylor Eubank flew 200 combat missions in Southeast Asia--all unarmed. He was a member of a small group of American servicemen to go into combat unarmed. This makes for exciting flying and exciting reading. The tales of derring-do and night flights and unarmed photo runs over Hanoi are funny and poignant and, well, gripping.

I could not stop reading "The Longest Run," which recounts missiles (SAMs) coming from all around while the mission required the aircraft to fly straight and level. Try putting that down!

This is a really good read. If you or yours have been touched by the Vietnam conflict in any way, you need to read this book.