Customer Reviews

Launch the Intruders: A Naval Attack Squadron in the Vietnam War, 1972 (Modern War Studies)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is obviously a serious labor of love. But it is also highly professional and thorough. You can tell that by the strength of the effort Reardon puts forth. And I know that dealing with a bunch of former naval aviators, to get their story, must have been a challenge of unusual proportion. Every effort appears to have been made to portray the exploits of this special group of warriors -- the way it really was. The integrity of the book is apparent. This was a challenging war fought by true patriots. While others balked, these men step up to the plate, serving their country's interest the best way they could. The A-6 community was one of several unheralded groups that went into harm's way without much fanfare. Carol Reardon corrects that oversight by bringing the "Sunday Punchers" of Vietnam back to life.

In 1986 Zalin Grant set the bar for navy squadron histories with his book OVER THE BEACH. Grant's book was a probing, insightful, warts-and-all history of an F-8 Crusader squadron flying combat in 1966 and '67 off USS Oriskany. Carol Reardon matches Grant's book and then some!

This is military aviation history at its finest - an exhaustively-researched, lively-written, in-depth look at the fliers - and families of VA-75 - as the "Sunday Punchers" deploy to Yankee Station in 1972 for combat ops. If Reardon's book doesn't win some sort of literary award, something's wrong!

Highly recommended!

I loved this book!! Although my usual genre is mystery/crime, I picked this book up at a book store and could not put it down. The men and their wives portrayed in the work are true heroes and heroines and should be praised. I would recommend this book very highly to anyone, especially those with a taste for military history.

Excellent in all regards. Dr. Reardon captures the wartime ready-room environment in detail rarely seen by other authors. As a carrier aviator and a former student of Dr. Reardon, I whole-heartedly recommend this book for anyone interested in a snippet of carrier aviation's near-100 year history.

I flew Intruders with several of the people who were prominent in the book - I wish I had been able to read about what they had been through at that time. As students and young pilots we heard bits and pieces about this cruise, but never an end to end account. The squadron and their families are captured very well by the author, as good people doing their best under trying circumstances. Top Gun captured the glamor of Naval Aviation, but this book has the real story, the real people, and the real hurt that goes with the job.

From start to finish, I could not put this book down. I felt the emotions when the crew members were told about the emergency recall over what must have been an unforgettable weekend. I felt I was back in my squadron all over again, except this time I was observing countless A-6's launching off the Sara with live weapons going into battle. I remembered Bruce Cook who had dreams of flying with the Blue Angels and whose life was sadly cut short flying a C-1. I had flashbacks of sitting in the VA-42 Ready Room at Oceana while news reports announced that Da Nang was being overrun by Viet Cong and thought that our government had truly let down the brave pilots and b/n's of VA-75 who flew during the Vietnam War. Most of all, I thought of my B/N, John Pfrimmer, and tried to imagine both of us in combat. I think we would have done the Punchers proud. God bless these guys, they are truly heroes.

...as a Puncher who served with VA-75 during this period and the men mentioned within,I can personally attest to the accuracy and detail that the author has so wonderfully and painstakingly written.She does the men a high honor,and is a class act herself.I found myself sucked in reading it and reliving my time with them.Not a better book written on the A6 Community.Very highly recommended.

Before digital was analog. Remember the Book 'Flight of the Intruder'? The BN had to kick-start a balky computer. Everything the Intruder crews had reminds me of Beta software. They knew all-weather attack could destroy targets while reducing losses- it begged for the toughest assignments. However, equipment reliability frequently affected missions. You think a plane might launch in daylight if some lighting is inoperable, but these planes needed all their electronics to survive in enemy skies. On ship, the repair guys had increasing pressure and few repair parts, so daily availability rates were poor.

This is the background to the war cruise of Navy Attack Squadron 75.

Thank you, fellas. You have my respect.

It is written: now let us praise famous men. Professor Reardon,though an academic, has told a very human, very touching story about the men who answered their nation's call during turbulent times. They all served aboard USS SARATOGA. This book is a great tribute to that ship and her men. A momentous accompishment!

This is a great book. I purchased it as a gift for my brother after reading it myself. It not only tells the story of the Intruder but of VA-75 Sundy Punchers the squadron our father served with during the Vietnam War. These are stores we grew up hearing.