Customer Reviews

Quoth the Raven

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Jim Roper has done a wonderful job of getting out some of the incredible stories of missions flown by our pilots in the secret war in Laos. Having flown those missions myself as a Covey FAC, 1968-69, I can vouch for the authenticity of his book. I for one highly recommend his book.
A fellow Covey FAC and former Raven, Larry Ratts, sent me the paperback copy and I,m now ordering the hardcover version for my library.
Thanks Jim for writing the book and Larry for the gift of the book
Don Fulton / Covey 538

This effort by Jim Roper is one of those rare books that tells a story of such compelling interest that one is captivated from the first word. The battle the US waged against the Communists in Laos is still one of America's "Forgotten Wars" and what Jim does is give the war definition and reveals its human demension. The flying narrative is absolutely riveting--having personally flown with both Walt and Pterodactyl FACS in 0-1E Bird Dogs along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, I was instantly transported back in time some 35 years to those terror filled moments among hours of tedium...this book is FOR REAL!!! Jim does not sugar coat anything, relating the horrors of fellow FACS dying in a number of shoot downs and accidents with grim reality. His struggles with higher ups removed both physically and mentally from the harsh truths faced by the FACS at the point of the spear make for both entertaining and ultimately frustrating reading--as the reader shares the author's angst with stupidity and lack of zeal to successfully accomplish the mission by his superiors. He gives a great look at how these mostly unknown and underappreciated warriors battled austere conditions, with humor and alcohol as their primary weapons while on the ground, and bravery and determination while in the air. This book is a great read and also an excellent primer on the plight of Laos during the US presence in South East Asia.

This is a fantastic book about an Air Force pilot's tour of duty as a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam and Laos. It's one of the best personal accounts I've read about the air war in Southeast Asia. The author's writing style puts you right in the cockpit of the propeller driven O-1 and O-2 aircraft on dangerous missions over the Ho Chi Minh trail and against PAVN and Pathet Lao troops in other parts of Laos. It's amazing that these small aircraft were flown at low level in the vicinity of small arms and anti aircraft guns. If you've ever flown a small Cessna or Piper you can appreciate a lot of the author's descriptions of what it was like to fly these aircraft. I also enjoyed the author's descriptions of what the pilots did on their off-duty time. They worked hard and played hard also. The title of the book might be a little misleading as less than half of it deals with his time as a Raven but overall it's a great book and I had a wonderful time reading it.

As a book, it is well written. As a story, it is second to none.

So many emotions hit you when reading this book... for all those who have sacrificed, for all those who knew they may pay with their lives, for all those who did pay with their lives, throughout the history of this country, we owe everything.

My mother, who lost 3 brothers in WWII, and my father, who spent 4 years in North Africa and Italy, knew all too well what war is... I remember them telling us as children, as we packed goodies in coffee cans every month to send to the soldiers in Vietnam, that we were doing this for those who were fighting to keep us free. My children are being raised likewise.

To all those REMF (who probably are the ones that ate the goodies in the coffee cans) who unnecessarily hindered these heroes we owe nothing but contempt.

Mr. Roper, thank you for what you did and for giving us the privilege of knowing your story.

Being a Viet Nam veteran, but in a different part of the war, I found this book fascinating. The way he shows how a mindset needs to be in order to survive is spot on. What I really enjoyed is how he showed life on the ground. Two different lives, in the air and on the ground but actually it is one. He brought back a lot of memories and believe it or not a lot of good ones. You know a book is good when you can visualize what is going on and relate to it. God bless to all the FAC's who were in Nam and especially to my cousin who was mentioned in this book.

Wow! The first chapter started out a bit regular, but in the second chapter,it really picked up steam. This book gives a insight to the men who flew in the secret war in Laos. No sugar coating,just straight story. What Mr.Roper writes about is backed by stories from other real "Covies","Nails" and other FAC's that have had the honor of meeting. Excellent reading. I guess why it is so good is like what Ernest K. Gann had said about you can't write with realism unless you have lived the events. I put it in the group of Fate is the Hunter and My Secret War.