The Doom Pussy [Hardcover]

Elaine Shepard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1967

The doom Pussy was the first book on Vietnam to chronicle aerial combat. Among the truckloads of fan mail the author received were scores of letters from veteran pilots who claimed they had carried the book as their "bible" on the conflict.

At a Vietnam War veteran's reunion in Las Vegas in August 1969, the celebrants were current members of two of the oldest units in the U.S. Air Force: The 8th and the 13th Tactical Bomb Squadrons (TBS). Formed as "aero squadrons" in 1917, their histories are studded with stirring escapades and flying lore. Patriotism to them was not a thing of scorn, but of tradition and high challenge. In over half a century of serving their country the squadrons had flown everything from SPADS and DH-4s at Saint Mihiel to B-26s in Korea.

The 8th and 13th veterans of Vietnam were honored to have as their special guests six men in their eighties, a rare and vanishing breed who had helped pioneer aerial warfare over Europe in frail, single-engine biplanes.

These gallant aviators of the 8th and 13th Aero Pursuit Squadrons who flew in World War I, sat at a table near the rostrum. In a touching scene before the program began, the glorious old pelicans quietly rose, shoulder blades straight, to toast with champagne the squadron hero of other times and other wars, General Carl A. "Tooey" Spaatz. After World War I, he had made global headlines flying the famed Question Mark to a world endurance record of 150 hours and 50 minutes. In 1947 he was named the first Chief of Staff of the new U.S. Air Force and remained an uncommonly popular officer.

Earlier in the evening, Gen. Spaatz had stopped by Elaine Shepard's table. "I have read your book, The Doom Pussy, twice," he said. "I keep it on my night table."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Absolutely fantastic book on the action in Vietnam. Every American citizen should read it. That a woman reporter wrote it is even more amazing." -- Arthur Godfrey

"Elaine focuses on the fighting men's pride, their courage, their vernacular, their humor. They come alive. Her swashbuckling guardians, Pilot Nails and Navigator Smash belong in this war's roster of memorable characters." -- The Louisville Times

"Miss Shepard does not boggle at recreating soldier's speech. Even better is her skill at putting on pages their gallant humor. The book is frank and makes Vietnam seem close as one street over." -- Arizona Republic

"This may reach a market no other Vietnam book has done -- the ladies. It has glamour and guts." -- Virginia Kirkus

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Rockoon Pr (1967)
• ISBN-10: 0962838810
• ISBN-13: 978-0962838811
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,005,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early Vietnam air war from a WWII perspective, October 14, 2010

By 

J. A. Donoghue "Cloudmaster" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Doom Pussy (Hardcover)

I flew US Army helicopters, UH-1H and UH-1C gunships, for the 4th Infantry Division in the Vietnam Central Highlands in '67-'68. We circulated a copy of "The Doom Pussy" around the unit, and it became a touchstone for many of our conversations. In fact, the cry a character in the book used when starting a takeoff, "Stony Burke out of chute five!", cribbed from an early Jack Lord (Hawaii 5-0) TV show about rodeo riders, was used by gunship pilot Gambler Deuce when he began his takeoff.
It is a fascinating look at the effort of pilots in the early days of the conflict, when the escalation was in its early days and both sides were trying stuff out to see what worked. Although death is not a stranger in "The DOOM Pussy," in fact, that was a much less violent phase of the war, sort of "Terry and the Pirates" on steroids. Later, when the technology matured and the numbers of fighters increased substantially, things got much more deadly.
However, the thing that struck me about the book was the tone, clearly an echo from World War II. Some of the individual words were modern for those times, but the attitude towards the "adventure" was a rousing "let's go get 'em" sort of thing that by '67 was already obviously naive. Looking at the history of the author, coming of age and popularity as an actor at the height of the war, the reason for this becomes apparent.
So it serves as a dual history, showing on one hand the actual events of flying missions over South Vietnam in the early '60s, and on the other hand clearly reflecting some of the attitudes that got us in so deeply in the first place. For this unique combination it is unsurpassed.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Doom Pussy, December 8, 2005

By 

David L. Eastman "DAVE EASTMAN, OL 23,-24" (Center Sandwich, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Doom Pussy (Hardcover)

This was one of the first books written about Air Force experiences in VN. I remember reading it while stationed at Vinh Long in the Delta. We were flying helicopters and wondered if the world yet knew what we were doing in the Mekong Delta with the 13th Aviation Battalion. The war as this woman author portrays was still starting as she wrote, and hungry war correspondents were trying to get their new books out to describe "The Only War We've Got" before it was over. No one knew then that the Vietnam war would go on and on, over a decade. The two colorful pilots she is friends with were typical of those early warriors from the Cold War era who were yearning for a real fight, after all those years waiting for something to happen with the Communist threat. My book, "OUTLAWS IN VIETNAM" describes flying Huey D-models later in 1966-67, just before TET. When we read this author's work while in country, we were trying to see if anyone had yet captured the flying experience occurring in the Vietnam conflict.