Over the Beach: The Air War in Vietnam [Paperback]

Zalin Grant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 1989

Here is the vivid true story of Fighter Squadron 162, based on the USS Oriskany in the Gulf of Tonkin. Grant delivers a riveting tale of courage and details the air strategy of the Vietnam War. "First-rate. . . . History as it should be".--Kirkus Reviews.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a Time correspondent, Grant (Survivors frequently visited the fighter pilots who flew missions over North Vietnam from the carrier Oriskany, and interviewed many of them anew after the war. The material he collected, combined with diligent research and considerable journalistic talent, comprises a first-class account of an important aspect of the war that has not received major attention. The pilots are portrayed in a dimensional way rarely found in war literature, and Grant conveys vividly what it was like to live through intense anti-aircraft fire, dogfights with MIGs, downing and rescue (as well as downing and capture) and psychic burnout. This is more than an air-combat book, however: the author follows the course of disagreements between the high command and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara over the usefulness of the air war, the reaction of the pilots to charges of bombing civilian areas, the struggle of a pilot's widow to confirm that he has been killed and then to reconcile herself to his death. First serial to Vietnam Veterans of America; Military Book Club dual main selection.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this sympathetic and penetrating history the pilots of a fighter squadron aboard the U.S.S. Oriskany battle the internal politics of their unit, their own doubts about the Vietnam War, and fears for their safety, while acting like fighter jocks, all bravado and hard living. Laced through this diverse, personality-filled work are the words of wives and many of the pilots themselves and the author's telling assessment of the bombing policy, which was tentative and ineffective despite the courage and skill of the men who carried it out. The action begins in July 1966 and ends as a final run is cancelled due to bad weather in 1972. This is a valuable examination of the Navy's bombing of the North, with less emphasis on hardware than a pilot might wish, but biting and insightful. A gem. Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 343 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (July 7, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671696505
• ISBN-13: 978-0671696504
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,843,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The 1966 Viet Nam cruise of the U.S.S. Oriskany (CVA 34), December 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Over the Beach (Hardcover)

From the very first chapter, I knew that "Over the Beach" was the diary I had failed to keep while serving on the U.S.S. Oriskany (CVA 34) during it's deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin in 1966. Over and over again, I found myself reliving the actions described there. Instantly putting faces to the names. Remembering the 16 October 1966 fire in hangar bay one. The only mistery left is how someone who was not there know so much of the times and the people ? It was genuinely like finding an old family photo album, or listning to an elderly uncle reminise about things that happened in your youth. "Over the Beach" should be viewed as a diary into the times and minds of those that flew from Aircraft Carriers during the early Viet Nam era. It is not a book to satisfy the idle mind, but one that fills in the gaps created by time and selective amnesia. To someone in great thirst, a small tumbler of cold water will seem as an ocean. "over the beach" provided exactly the same satisfaction to me.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History as it should be..., April 19, 2003

By 

TMac "busted_flush" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Over the Beach: The Air War in Vietnam (Mass Market Paperback)

Zalin Grant's "Over The Beach" is an account of fighter squadron 162 from the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany during the Vietnam war. Grant does a masterful job of blending the history, with the real lives of the people who were a part of that history.

The reader feels the palpable emotions of the pilots as they "crossed over the beach" on their way to targets in Hanoi and Haiphong. The squadron was incredibly successful, but with that success came great loss. Many pilots were shot down over North Vietnam where there was almost no chance of rescue. The reader also hears from those pilots who became prisoners.

Grant incorporates the history of the air conflict into the book as well. Johnson, Nixon, McNamara, and Kissinger all weigh heavily into this account. The politics of the conflict led to a war fought on confusing terms. But this doesn't read like some history text.

From the terror of carrier landings to the wild frat boy parties aboard the Oriskany, this book covers it all. From the adulterous behavior of many of the piots to the gut-wrenching roller coaster of emotions suffered by an MIA's wife, this book does not hold any punches. It may be hard to find this book (some libraries may have it) but it is one of the finest (and personal) accounts of carrier warfare in Vietnam I have ever read.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping!, May 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Over the Beach: The Air War in Vietnam (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is about the fighter pilots of the Fighter Squadron 162 - based on the USS Oriskany. This book is an excellent account of the exploits of carrier based fighter pilots. You understand their fears, their trepidations, the danger of carrier landings at night, and the general terror and excitement of flying fighter jets in Viet Nam. It's told in a "you are there" context. We feel the pain of the wives as they learn their husbands are shot down and not coming home; the strain they go through awaiting word of their husbands. The book is quite stunning and difficult to put down. It's one of the best I've read concerning the air war in Viet Nam.