Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968 [Paperback]

David Kirk Vaughan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786404884 | ISBN-13: 978-0786404889 | Publication Date: April 1, 2000

In February 1967, Air Force Lieutenant Vaughan arrived at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taiwan to begin 14 months as a C-130 Hercules pilot, airlifting supplies and troops throughout southeast Asia. Feeling well suited, Vaughan had volunteered for the duty, but little had he realized the pressure associated with flying the heavy cargo plane under combat conditions and taking off and landing on the short runways that dotted the Vietnamese countryside. Among his most harrowing duties was the aerial resupply of the Marine base at Khe Sanh during the most intense action of the Tet Offensive. This is the story of an Air Force pilot's progression from inexperienced flyer to veteran crew member and how he came of age under combat conditions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating book about a little-known aspect of the Southeast Asian conflict." --Flight Journal

"Nails the Vietnam War airlift experience with the precision of a perfect assault landing...straightforward...selfless accuracy." --Air Power History

About the Author

David Kirk Vaughan lives in Waynesville, Ohio. He is the coauthor of MiG Alley to Mu Ghia Pass (with Cecil Foster, 2001).

Product Details

• Paperback: 205 pages
• Publisher: McFarland (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786404884
• ISBN-13: 978-0786404889
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1962 and completed a twenty-year career in the Air Force. Flew cargo and training aircraft in Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command, including a 15-month tour flying C-130s in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Received MA from the University of Michigan and PhD from the University of Washington. Has taught classes in composition, technical communication, and literature at the Air Force Academy, the University of Maine, the Air Force Institute of Technology, and Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Published a number of books in the area of aviation literature and history, including Anne Morrow Lindbergh: A Study of Her Writings (Twayne, 1988); An American Pilot in the Skies of France: The Diaries and Letters of Percival Gates, 1917-1919 (Wright State University Press, 1992); Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968 (McFarland, 1998); and Flying for the Air Service: The Hughes Brothers in World War I (Popular Press/University of Wisconsin Press, 1998). He was co-author, with Cecil Foster, of Foster's Air Force memoir, MiG Alley to Mu Ghia Pass: Memoirs of a Korean War Ace (McFarland, 2001). Most recent book is Words to Measure a War: Nine American Poets of World War II (McFarland, 2009). His next book, Letters from a War Bird: The World War I Correspondence of Elliott White Springs, will be published by the University of South Carolina Press in 2012. Plans to write at least three novels, though he has yet to complete one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good - if you are into C-130 stuff., June 19, 2003

By 

Traveller (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968 (Paperback)

I bought this book because I am going into the Air Force Reserves as a C-130 pilot. I, of course, found it very interesting and informative, but I don't think I would recommend it to any non-pilots and would hesitate to recommend it to a non-airlift military pilot. A lot of people would find the topics he discusses very boring as compared to a fighter or bomber type memoir book. Nevertheless, I thought the stories he told were awesome - he talks about almost every mission the Hercules performs - hauling mail, booze, troops, dead bodies, ammo, and medical litters of injured troops. He also details the short-field capability of the C-130 flying into all of those fields in 'Nam. There are several hair-raising stories that he depicts where they are supplying the Marines at Khe Sahn during Tet and others where he is landing in bad weather, runways with craters, dirt strips, etc. He also mixes up the book with some details of the social life in Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines (he parallels the airlifting stories with stories about a chick he "hangs out" with in Bangkok.)

Anyway, I thought it was a great read, but I doubt most folks would think so unless they were very into the C-130 - like me.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare airlifter's memoir of SE Asia, July 3, 2005

By 

C. Branch (Cordova, AK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968 (Paperback)

Runway Visions is the appropriately titled story of Captain Vaughan's experiences and "bringing up" as a C-130 aviator in Southeast Asia from February 1967 to April 1968, from a newly ordained aircraft commander (AC) at Dyess AFB to "new guy" novitiate in the right seat, progressing to the left seat as AC with a crew, and both seats as an instructor pilot, to check out the "new guys". Early in his fifteen-month tour, he is introduced to the harrowing landing required of An Khe Golf Course, relieved by the construction of a new runway nearby (An Khe Main), then back to the dread of the Golf Course when the new runway is closed for further improvement. Missions to Khe Sanh during his tour are described, the crew's Christmas dinner at the chow hall providing signs of the future siege.
Airlift operations during this time in that part of the world have been little documented, so this journal of a C-130 pilot is a welcome addition to the literature of military aviation for the period. Most pilots seem to have the most vivid impressions of their landing strips, regardless of time, place, or aircraft flown, and this book would be welcomed by many, especially those who know that runways are not always straight and level, or paved and lighted. Perhaps it would prove an awakening for those who don't, and should, as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must buy", March 6, 2002

By 

Bruce Guzowski (Tiffin, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968 (Paperback)

I found David Kirk Vaughan's book about his experiences as an airlift pilot in Vietnam impossible to put down. His descriptions of action in and out of the cockpit are done such that they are very easy to understand, even if one is not a pilot. Yet, even the experienced military aviator will find some intriguing action there for him too.

Vaughan's description of landing at the "golf course" is but one example. Written in such a manner that the novice can appreciate the extreme difficulty of such a task, an aviator will nearly be in disbelief, especially after seeing the landing strip in one of the several photos that the author took during his tour and which are included in the book.

Of course there is plenty of action outside the cockpit, too. Again, I found Vaughan's descriptions superb as he related his travels throughout Thailand, Vietnam, the Phillipines and back "home" in Taiwan.

If one wishes to have a better understanding of the life of a military transport pilot or to have a record of Vietnam war airlift action, then this is a must buy!