Customer Reviews

Over the Beach: The Air War in Vietnam

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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.

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.

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.

As a former naval aviator and Viet Nam veteran flying off the Kitty Hawk during this period, it was easy to relate to the feelings of other pilots flying in this war. It made you realize that you were not the only one questionuing the sanity of the decisions made by McNamara and Johnson. Great read.

!Only could have been written by someone who was there. OUTSTANDING! passed it along to another combat vet.
Semper Fi
Joe

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.

This was a good book that mostly follows the F-8 Crusader pilots of VF-162 "The Hunters" on the USS Oriskany during two tours in Vietnam in 1966-68.

It reads sort of non-linearly in that it jumps around between the stories of the different pilots in the squadron and intertwines them all together. The book also includes the story of an A-4 pilot who was also on the Oriskany during this time, and the story of his wife back in the States, both of which are also intertwined in amongst the stories of the F-8 pilots.

"Over The Beach" is great when it shows you who these pilots are and how they deal with performing their duties in their squadron. When they're not flying, a lot of the pilots party hard and drink heavy, some have affairs, and others are deeply religious and committed. The management of all these different personalities by the commanding officers becomes very interesting, especially when one pilot seems to shirk his combat duties and others start resenting him.

I wanted to like this book a lot, but it unfortunately detours a lot to the wife of the A-4 pilot. My question is, why not follow a wife of one of the pilots from VF-162? In my opinion it would have served the book better to just stay focused solely on the pilots and wives of "The Hunters" because that is the real story of this book.

I have the 2005 paperback edition and except for the exceptional F-8 photo on the front cover, there are no photos included, and it really could've used some to help tell the stories. A great visual supplement I recommend is Osprey's "F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War" which has several photos and illustrations of the aircraft and pilots of VF-162, including a squadron photo from 1967 where you can put faces to the names of the pilots.

Overall this was a good read and a great look into an F-8 fighter squadron on Yankee Station.

As a Navy Viet Nam Veteran, I'm currently reading lots of books about the Viet Nam War. This book is factual (as far as I know) and was in good condition from the seller. I have no complaints.