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Seawolf28: Branded a Maverick as a Junior Officer this is a true account of naval aviation as seen through the eyes of one of the most decorated Navy pilots of the Vietnam era

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A Navy Maverick With True Grit!
Seldom do I ever read a military aviation book where I come away thinking that I would have really loved to have flown with the author of that memoir. Author Al Billings is a veteran's veteran! He is a man among men. It was men like Al that made flying in Hueys the heroic aviation adventure it was. His book "Seawolf 28" explodes with energy and action and much more. His personality certainly comes shinning through and shows him for whom he was.
Billings was awarded over 40 medals and citations including the Silver Star and The Distinguished Flying Cross. He was a member of the Navy's most decorated helicopter attack squadron in the Vietnam War. I have met several members of the Seawolfs when filming the documentary film "In the Shadow of the Blade." You could not find any better group of honorable men for sure. It is not surprising to read how well they did in combat. This book not only honors the role of the author but also adds to the almost myth like tales of those fine young men.
The book is well written and is a great read. I admit that the last chapters in the book were not the way I would have liked to see it end for the author, but Billings is true to himself all the way to the end and shows a lot of class. When you finish reading his book you will be left with many emotions about the war, the men, leadership in the military and what it means to stand up and be counted when someone has to be accountable and honest. Al Billings is a true leader in the real sense. I think most veterans will agree that he would be the guy that you would like to have had in the pilot's seat on your flight!
This is a must read book and receives the MWSA's HIGHEST RATING - FIVE STARS!

Who would think that stumbling upon an old high school classmate on Facebook would lead to reading a book such as this. CDR Billings shared his experiences in a wartime Navy followed by peacetime. I know the feeling having done the same at the same time. Having faced some of the same kinds of officers Al did, I was unable to cope with limited resources and left the active Army after eight years as a junior officer. The story and manner told should be mandatory reading for all officers during their first years of service. Operations is the main focus and provides intellectual stimulation to all soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen and their leaders. It also gives back sadness for those lost on combat and their families. In Vietnam I experienced days of adrenalin pumping action followed by weeks of boredom. Returning to garrison/base after combat operations can be a let down. CDR Billings demonstrated complete professionalism during his service to this country. A 22 year career and attainment of O-5 is quite an accomplishment for a graduate of Torrance HS. Al, I'm damn glad to know you. I know the difference between cock sure and arrogance, and, buddy, you ain't arrogant. Thank you for serving our great country with dedication and honor. Duty, honor, country!

Mr B.
I rate this as one of my favorite books of all time. I'm reading it for the second time now and even so, I can't put it down. Your sea stories are just amazing and incredibly detailed. By reading you're book I actually feel like I've learnt something on helicopters and even life itself. I'm still curious to this day about what ever happened to Mr. Combat SAR. I'm looking forward to reading your next book. Is it still in the making?

Al Billings was a "Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross" winner, a Helicopter Aircraft Commander with 600 missions flown as a member of the Seawolves during the 1968 "Tet Offensive," considered by most the climax of the Vietnam War. "Seawolf 28" allows you travel back in time and fly with Billings on nine incidences of potentially deadly engine failures, all of which he was able to safely bring his aircraft on the ground. This memoir will bring you incredible acts of heroism, dedication and steadfastness, and also exposes deeds of irresolution, vacillation, and faintheartedness. It is all here, finally chronicled, in a memoir that Billings presents himself as a man that tried to overachieve in a Naval hierarchy constrained by his own set of principles. Unfortunately, some of his standards were radically opposed to the attitudes, constitutions and values of the officers and commanders he served with and described in this memoir, and in that regard Billings would not compromise his positions to bridge this. Fire from the Sky: Seawolf Gunships in the Mekong Delta He perceived that there were instances where some of the top echelons of authority in the U.S. Navy were officers that achieved this rank other than by personal achievement and qualifications. These officers received choice assignments and gave each other reciprocally glowing fitness reports, with their primary concern being the advancement of their own career as opposed to the safety and welfare of the enlisted man, who were the people that made it all possible. The author's memoir is based on a span of a 22 year Naval career, occurring during both a war and later a peace setting.

The time period Billings set foot in Vietnam is critical, as 1968 was a year unlike anything America ever had or will experience again. At issue was Billings individuality, which was at odds with the Naval commanders, admirals, and officers he served under. Therefore, a confrontation between them was inevitable and as a consequence, a naval grapevine of derogatory gossip evolved giving rise to a stigmatizing blemish on his character, one that he could never shed regardless of his spectacular accomplishments. Nevertheless, this memoir was not written to castigate nor disparage, as Billings reminisces that his Naval experiences and the men he served with were the greatest he has ever known, and would identically relive his life the same way if given the chance. Seawolves: First Choice The author's origin is from Los Angeles, and in 1968 the "City of Angels" was notorious for its nonconformist, free spirited hippie scene and vibrant beat culture. Images of Billing's antecedents brought to mind the Venice coffeehouses, Hollywood's "Sunset Strip" with its innovative rock clubs like the "Whisky-a-Go-Go" and the "Troubadour." Los Angeles and 1968 became synonymous with famous rock bands like "The Doors, Buffalo Springfield," and a Hollywood produced show that made its debut on January 22 of that year. Graphic images of America's first "television war" made the dinner hour, showing the nation a soldier's widow, baby in arms, reading one of her husband's last letters from Vietnam which competed for air time with "Laugh In," a new show that boasted shapely chicks in acid-colored bikinis and mod flowered body paints.

America now had a prime time choice of watching reports of Marines using "Zippo" lighters to burn suspected Viet Cong civilian huts on "search and destroy" operations juxtaposed with wildly costumed pranksters spouting sexually hip one-liners, hosted by two swinging bachelor types, the comedy team of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. Out of this background the legend emerged of an irrepressible, cigar chomping Al Billings, forever forward known as "Hollywood Al." In his quest for self discovery, the engine failures, medals and awards and even his wartime service paled in comparison to the confrontations he was destined to face with senior officers he did not see eye to eye with. U.S.Navy Seawolves: The Elite HAL-3 Helicopter Squadron in Vietnam Regardless of the issues, his detractors found that Billings held values and core beliefs that he would permanently adhere to and wouldn't change for anyone, regardless of the consequences. Billings leaves it up to the reader to give the final verdict as to whether the confrontations described in this memoir arose because of his intransigence or his own personal rebelliousness. After enlisting, twenty year old Al Billings started his quest by flying five hours cross country from Los Angeles to Pensacola, Florida, his first day as a Naval Cadet.

It was January of 1965, six months after the North Vietnamese regime supposedly conducted two deliberate attacks against U.S. Naval vessels operating in the international waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. U.S. President and Commander in Chief Lyndon B. Johnson was determined to take what he deemed: "All necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression." Johnson, the consummate salesman, had his infamous "Johnson Treatment" working on August 7th, 1964. Calling on his domineering personality and his blend of coercion, LBJ successfully pushed, pulled, cajoled and rammed the "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution" past Congress. However in this case, the ultimate price would turn out to be incalculable, resulting in 58,212 Americans killed, 153,452 wounded, and 1,711 unaccounted for. This resolution, while it gave him the exclusive right to use military force without consulting the Senate, he would later confess was based on a false pretext. By the end of 1964, there were approximately 23,000 U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam, and 1,278 wounded. With LBJ's resolution, America's direct involvement in the ground war in Vietnam commenced. By the time Billings arrived in February of 1968, over 550,000 American soldiers were in country and were being killed at the rate of over 1,000 a month. One thing LBJ didn't include in his "Great Society" was the Naval Cadet Program Billings reported to, and the author admits that if it hadn't been for this conflict, this program would have gone by the wayside.

While still seeking his personal identity, Billings explained that college just didn't cut it for him, and his sole focus became as follows: "Becoming a naval aviator was what I wanted, and I was willing to make whatever sacrifices that were necessary to achieve that goal. The skills and concentration required to land a high-performance aircraft aboard a pitching carrier deck in the black of night seemed to be the challenge I was looking for." Unfortunately, some of the early superior officers he ran into were imperfect in their tactics of leadership. In his first week at the Naval Academy, the first ten days were a period of indoctrination, with all cadets being tested. Billings had one particular cadet officer that excessively rode him until he snapped. Admitting that he had a bad temper, Billings qualified it, asserting the following: "Even back then, I had trouble with people abusing their authority." With the moniker of irascibility being the first of many bad reputations to follow him, this officer warned Billings that he would never graduate from flight training if he couldn't control his temper. War on the Rivers: A Swift Boat Sailor's Chronicle of the Battle for the Mekong Delta His reaction was far from being intimidated: "Nothing was going to stop me from becoming a naval aviator. I had never failed at anything, and I was not about to start."

When ordered to stand at attention during room inspection and to control his emotions, Billings noted: "Back then I was full of life and every day was an adventure. I even smiled a lot, sometimes too much. You weren't supposed to smile. I can remember one time during a room inspection I got put on report for breaking out in uncontrolled laughter." If nothing else, the nine engine failures, the ocean burials of some of his friends and Vietnam would put quite a damper on his sense of humor. Al Billings was about to find out about human error and that by following an officer's orders that didn't sound right could cost one their life. While still in training as a Naval Aviation Cadet, Billings noticed a chasm in rank: "Some officer candidates felt that it was beneath them to listen or even speak to the cadets." Throughout this memoir, Billings insists throughout his career he treated all men, enlisted and officer alike with respect, completely lacking any pretentious airs of superiority. A Dragon Lives Forever: War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta 1969-1991, and Beyond Several instances in this memoir he was warned by different officers about his fraternization with enlisted men under him, a warning which Billings simply ignored. Billings saw that there were instances where it was necessary to disregard a superior officer's commands. When do you draw the line between common sense and obedience? If Hitler's Concentration Camp guards had refused to obey the Fuhrer's orders, the Holocaust might never have happened. Ditto with The "My Lai Massacre" where the men of "Charlie Company," part of the Americal Division listened to and obeyed Lt. William Calley's orders. Tragically, the result was the mass murder of 347-504 unarmed citizens in South Vietnam.

In "Flight Training," Billings noticed that the officers that felt it was inappropriate to listen or even speak to new cadets could create a potential disaster. He illustrated the dangers inherent in this uncommunicative attitude by recalling the following anecdote; Billings was on a cross country flight with 5 other students, 6 aircrafts and a flight instructor practicing the newly acquired navigation skill of "dead reckoning." This was a method of using both a map and visual ground references to navigate, as opposed to instrument training. As Billings was flying back to base, he noticed that there was an unanticipated crosswind that had caused the squadron to veer off course. Should they continue, and not correct, he realized that they would run out of fuel and possibly crash. Thinking of the five Navy Grumman Avengers of the ill fated "Flight 19" that disappeared in December of 1945 off Florida's coast near the Bermuda Triangle, Billings contacted by radio the Officer Candidate, who twice ignored him. Finally the Officer responded arrogantly to Billings: "Cadet, I don't need you to teach me how to navigate!" The Element of Surprise: Navy Seals in Vietnam Out of desperation, Billings tried again. Within a minute, Billings recalled: A voice came over the radio, "Lead pilot, this is your flight instructor. I suggest you listen to what the cadet said and right your flight to a different heading." Billings concluded: "Later in my career I would see this same type of egocentric mentality cost lives." Graduating from Flight Training with Billings was 13 other pilots. If a pilot was at the top of his class, he could select his preference of fixed wing jets or rotary aircraft.

However, this was the summer of 1966, and Vietnam was in the "build up" period of troops and supplies. Early year offensive U.S. ground operations such as "Crimp, Masher, and Birmingham paled in comparison to the March 9-10 "Battle of A Shau," which was considered an outright victory for the North Vietnamese. It was a costly battle, one resulted in 800 NVA 800 killed out of an initial force of 2000 men. U.S. loses were 8 killed, 12 wounded and 5 missing. Somehow it was lost to American war planners that the NVA were immune to the strategy of enemy attrition. The most important event, at least for Billings, was a message the Navy sent fleet-wide in early 1966, asking for volunteer Naval Aviators to man a new squadron that was just being formed entitled "Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three" known as the acronym HA(L)-3. Consequently, eighty Aviators were chosen to be in the first wave of "Seawolves" and transferred to Vietnam. That summer, the Navy borrowed and manned eight UH-1B Hueys from the Army, and to decrease the chance of enemy ground attack, they built specifically configured, helicopter capable "Landing Ship Tanks" (LST's) to be used as their landing platform bases. This ensured their mobility and proximity to their own area of operations. This group was paired down into four detachments, with each one containing both 8 aviators and crewmen obtained from "Helicopter Combat Support Squadron One ("HC-1), located in Imperial Beach, San Diego, California. On April 1, 1967, HA(L)-3 was officially commissioned in South Vietnam under the command of LCDR Joseph B. Howard. It was the only all volunteer helicopter attack squadron in the Navy, and was created specifically to deny the VC use of the Mekong Delta's waterways while at the same time ensuring that the local population had unfettered use of it.

Additional responsibilities were to launch search and destroy patrols, enemy reconnaissance, medical evacuations, as well as both SEAL Team insertions and extractions, of which Billings gives lucid descriptions of in "Seawolf 28." From 1967-68, six Seawolve detachments were deployed from various South Vietnamese bases, but the one Billings eventually was assigned to, Detachment II out of Nha Be, had the most vital assignment. Their area of operation was the Rung Sat "Special Zone," which was a maze of swamps and canals that surrounded the vital shipping channel leading from the city of Saigon to the sea. As Mr. Billings would soon find out, this area was a favorite target of VC ambush and mine booby trapping activities. Al Billings role as an aviator was about to be answered. Because of the Navy's pressing need for helicopter pilots, the prior choice of self determination of jets vs helicopters no longer existed; 13 out of 14 Naval Academy graduates were assigned without volition to fly helicopters. Billings was one of the 13, and his reaction was less then joyous: "Helicopters? They still don't know how they get up in the air. The joke was, they shake and shutter so bad, the ground rejects them." The author also gives the reader insight as to what he thought Vietnam would give him: "I was not a war monger. At this point, I didn't know what type of person I was, or would be and I wanted to know. I felt the experience would help me find out. It was worth the risk to find out the man I would be." Who was the author's idol and now at age 22, what were his morals and ethics at this point in his career? Billings used the following beliefs to govern his reactions and decisions every time he ran into a commanding officer whose views and ways of leadership he didn't agree with: "I grew up watching John Wayne movies and probably didn't know it at the time, but what he seemed to stand for, set in motion many of my beliefs."

In terms of sincerity, Billings expressed the following: "I thought if you were honest and straightforward with people they would respect you for it and respond in kind. I believe that if you were strong and stood up for what was right, you would be admired. If you were to lead men you would have to win their respect, and set the example." If you carefully juxtapose the aforementioned with each confrontational situation in this memoir he was destined to face, you will understand why he was unfairly labeled as a maverick. After Billings graduated from Flight Training on June 19, 1966, he left to his next destination with "Navy Gold Wings." This was an unrestricted designation, meaning he could fly anything, i.e. either a jet fighter pilot or helicopters. On his inevitable passage to Vietnam, his first duty assignment was "HC-1," at Imperial Beach, San Diego. The majority of upcoming experiences were a whirlwind for the author. For starters, the Navy gave Billings 30 days to move from Pensacola to the West Coast, and having what he thought was a female friend in Michigan, he jumped in his candy apple red Mustang and embarked on his cross country trek. Halfway on his trip back to California, Billings pulled into a Detroit gas station to ask for directions. Local Motown police spotted him and mistook him for someone else with a similar looking vehicle who had just shot someone a few blocks away. To make things worse, Billings had a .22 caliber pistol on him. You have to wonder what was going through "Hollywood Al's" mind as the police brought him to jail and gave him their version of street justice. Papa Bravo Romeo: U.S. Navy Patrol Boats at War in Vietnam Billings recalled: "When they found the automatic pistol, you would have thought they just captured Al Capone. On the way in, they told me that if I was innocent of the shooting, I would probably get only 3-5 years for having a loaded gun."

After finally being released, Billings tried to explain to his friend, a stewardess, why he was late. She quickly blew him off, and Billings made a beeline to San Diego. Once at HC-1, Billings thought that if he could just get into "Search and Rescue," helicopters might prove to be worthwhile and exciting to him. Any thought of still wanting fixed wing aircraft evaporated when Billings came under the tutelage of Mike McCormack, a man known as "Mr Combat SAR." A very professional, low key, highly proficient pilot, Billings saw in Mr Combat SAR everything in a pilot he wanted to be. He learned a lesson indirectly from McCormick, one that would define his future. Heard as a tale from another pilots, Billings was told that McCormack was once standing by for a search and rescue assignment as he flew his helicopter off North Vietnam's coast. Soon after an American fighter bomber was shot down over the Communist mainland the pilot safely ejected. McCormack received an emergency signal from the downed pilot and had a perfect fix on his position. A favorite ploy of the North Vietnamese was to use downed pilots as bait. They would intentionally hold back from capturing the downed pilot so they could set up around him and wait for the rescue crew to come in, ambushing both. The NVA rarely took prisoners, and McCormack, knowing any delay could have tragic results, desperately sought permission from the Commodore and his staff on "Yankee Station," a prerequisite on any rescue operation. Impatiently encountering one delay after another, McCormick grew more frustrated, and after being told to wait some more, he feigned static, turned his radio off, and on his own volition went in and quickly grabbed and rescued the pilot and returned to the ship. Vietnam Air Rescues This incident, along with an upcoming rescue situation in South Vietnam Billings would successfully accomplish, left the author very confused about honesty.

Similar to McCormack, Billings without permission from his Officer in Charge charged into a rescue mission with one thought: "There was something inside of me, driving me. Nobody was going to die on my watch." Swooping down into an area he was told was "too hot" with enemy activity to fly into, he disregarded his superior's orders, with one overriding thought: "As a pilot I couldn't just circle overhead while I listened to someone tell me over the radio, his buddies were dying." Billings description of this rescue mission and the miraculous medevac of two very severely wounded "River Rat" Sailors off their immobilized PBR during a VC ambush is one of the most exciting anecdotes I have ever encountered! Both sailors concede that they would not have lived if Billings was unsuccessful. Although Billings would later win both the "Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross" for his gallantry, after the mission was over he flew back to Nha Be, wondering how he could be the only helicopter pilot in Vietnam to pull a rescue of this magnitude off and get in trouble for it. He watched with incredulity the next day when a group of reporters came looking for him. After Billings' Officer in Charge heard this group's clamor, he stood up and announced: "I was the Fire Team Leader in charge of the rescue." Highly disappointed, Billings wrote: ""I could get philosophical here and say that it really didn't matter, but as a young man and still to this day, the truth was very important to me. I never understood the truth could be considered a character flaw in real life." The rest of "Seawolf 28" begs to be read, showing us that Billings fought an every day battle to do what he thought was the right thing while running into very difficult reigns of command.

Next, Mr. Billings was assigned to "Detachment Lima," aboard the U.S.S. Bon Homme Richard, where he was about to find this vessel was officiated by an individual whose presence dictated a most difficult challenge. His Officer in Charge was a complicated individual that suffered from a "Napoleonic Complex." To make matters worse, Billings was in a group of fliers where it was blatantly obvious that one of the pilots was both unqualified and inept. This Officer simply could not control a helicopter and no one else in the group wanted to fly with him. When Billings warned the Officer in Charge of this, he was rudely rebuffed. As the reader will find out, this would ultimately result in tragic and fatal consequences. Prior to departing on his first tour in Vietnam, Billings was once again let down as he experienced the frustration of trying to escape when no one else wanted to from "Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape" training at Warner Springs,California. The whole purpose of this school is not to get captured by one's enemy, and if that possibility occurred, to evade, resist and escape. He spent a frustrating week with a timid group of junior officers that let themselves get captured and wound up taking him along with them. Then, in mock POW camp, he was betrayed by these mercurial junior officers that first promised to help Billings escape, then hypocritically reneged as a result of being ordered by the erratic imprisoned Commander. Rescue of Streetcar 304: A Navy Pilot's Forty Hours on the Run in Laos (Ausa) So disappointed was Billings with the result of S.E.R.E. school, he assumed that the reason this commander so easily broke when interrogated and consequently "washed out" of S.E.R.E. and the Navy was to fulfill his gutless ulterior motive of avoiding Vietnam. Billings also alerts the reader of the following: "I would learn more about human nature and would lose a roommate and a very close friend. Burials would become commonplace."

This Western Pacific Deployment of 1967, known as the naval acronym "Westpac," turned out to be full of death and tragedy, as while he dealt with a recalcitrant Officer in Charge, Billings simultaneously confronted a search and rescue operation fraught with catastrophe. With the Bon Homme one day away from sailing into Hawaii, the detachment was informed that two destroyers had collided out at sea with casualties. Billings was ordered to fly his helicopter 78 miles to the damaged destroyers, pick up two of the wounded and them transport them via his "H2B Sea Sprite" to a hospital in Hawaii. The medevac went without a hitch. However, upon landing at the hospital, an ambulance driver carelessly shot up to Billing's Sea Sprite, almost colliding the ambulance with his helicopter's rotor blades. Instinctively, Billings raised up the helicopter quickly to avoid this. Things would quickly get worse, as the author took off again and landed at a nearby refueling point, desperately needing fuel without which they wouldn't be able to fly seaward back to the destroyer to pick an additional casualty. When the guy running the fuel truck learned Billings didn't posses the right form he required for gas, he refused a refill. Billings, packing a pistol with his face an inch away from the driver's nose, responded as follows: "You see this pistol? This .38 tells me that if you don't give us the damn fuel, I'm going to take it, and you'll have nothing to say about it!" The driver relented and quickly succumbed to Hollywood Al's temper. Billings would witness another four officers would lose their lives on the Bon Homme before the next calamity, the July 29, 1967 U.S.S. Forrestal. This tragedy would claim an additional 134 sailors lives, and severely injure 161.

The description of the rescues Billings flew, as well as his recollection of the odor of burning flesh he was forced to inhale left an indelible mark on his senses and even today is a very hard read. This memoir includes Al Billings tour of 1968 with the Seawolves. This took place during and after the most important incident of the Vietnam War, the "Tet Offensive." This most publicized and controversial battle began on January 21st, 1968 at the Khe Sanh combat base. Eight days later, on January 30th, the North Vietnamese Army played their trump card. As Al Billings went to Helicopter Gunship Training school at Fort Benning, Georgia, the Communists pulled off one of the greatest surprise attacks of all time. Viet Cong forces, in a desperate attempt to inspire the civilian population of South Vietnam to join them in their military efforts of overthrowing the South's government, unifying the country and forcing the withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces, violated the previous day's agreed upon cease-fire. The VC were made up of South Vietnamese civilians and NVA advisors who lived in the cities and villages throughout South Vietnam. They were subordinate, yet part of the NVA in its ultimate goal of reuniting the two countries as one. The previous week's battle at Khe Sanh was the curtain-raiser for the Tet Offensive of January 31, 1968 and was similar to the 1954 battle of "Dien Bien Phu" in which the Viet Minh (now called the NVA) had surrounded their enemy and cut off all land routes for supplies and evacuation. Khe Sanh was an NVA diversionary tactic to draw the American military spotlight towards them and away from the South Vietnamese cities while the Viet Cong fought the Tet Offensive.

On January 31, the V.C. initiated their offensive when approximately 84,000 of their troops attacked along the entire length of South Vietnam every major allied airfield and 64 Southern district capitals as well as scores of smaller towns. With the focus on Hue and Saigon, the former, in the northern part of South Vietnam, was taken over by the V.C. and executions of over 2,300 pro American city officials and their families occurred. In November of 1967, the commander of all American forces in Vietnam, General Westmoreland, had declared in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. the following: "We have reached the point when the end begins to come into view." Some of these films, the most spectacular of the war, included footage on NBC and ABC of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the chief of the South Vietnamese police executing a captured VC officer after a street battle. This scene would later adversely affect American public opinion to the point of no return in regard to the desire to end the war. According to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Clark Clifford, the reaction of the U.S. military leadership to the Tet Offensive "approached panic." Westmoreland made himself look foolish by continuously maintaining his belief that the NVA attack on Marines besieged at Khe Sanh was the Communist's real objective and that the VC Tet Offensive was a diversion! Washington Post reporter Peter Braestrup belittled the General more by asking: "How could any effort against Saigon, especially downtown Saigon, be a diversion?" West of Hue: Down the Yellow Brick Road The beginning of the "good old boy club" i.e. the closed, overprotective military elite went into overdrive and any rogue that spoke out against it or deviated, particularly within its own ranks was considered a maverick.

Hollywood Al's staunchness and convictions saw him stand up to any Naval superior that acted towards his men or himself with impropriety regardless of the situation or consequences. The Tet Offensive had other deleterious consequences on the U.S. Military. The negative coverage gave the citizenry of America the false impression that the U.S. was losing the war in Vietnam and that it was a major Communist victory. In reality, the VC suffered such high casualties that they were no longer considered a fighting force and their ranks would have to be replaced for the rest of the war by NVA regulars. The civilian population of South Vietnam, for the most part indifferent to both the Northern and Southern regimes, did not as predicted join with the VC during the Tet Offensive. This was ignored by the American media, with the most conspicuous comment coming from Walter Cronkite, who declared on February 27, 1968 that: "We are mired in stalemate and the time had come for negotiations to end U.S. involvement in the war." Al Billings discusses this, angrily asserting that what was actually an NVA military defeat was convoluted by way of domestic news media sensationalism and seditious anti-war demonstrations into a political victory for them. Cronkite's call for disengagement did influence the President, with Johnson lamenting: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost the country." On the last day of March, 1968, as Al Billings flew his UH-1B Gunship out of Nha Be, South Vietnam as an Aircraft Commander for the Seawolves, President Johnson made an announcement.

On national TV, millions of television viewers learned that LBJ now sought negotiations to end the war and would not run again for president. The North Vietnamese interpreted the U.S. reaction to these events as the weakening of America's resolve to win the war and correctly predicted that victory could be theirs, if they stayed their course. Billings voiced his opinion that America had won the war on Vietnam's battlefields but lost it back home on the college campuses and city streets. The year of 1968 was the wrong year to pick up a false label Billings would never shake, with distrust of commanding officers in Vietnam and domestic upheaval at an all time high. Aside from the February 1st televised incident of the South Vietnamese police officer executing a VC suspect, the My Lai Massacre occurred on March 16, and two weeks after that, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupted nationwide, lasting for several days afterwards. On June 5th, U.S. presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed in Billings home town at the Ambassador Hotel by Sirhan Sirhan. In July, the CIA officially started their "Phoenix Program" in Vietnam, which ultimately killed 40,000 civilians between 1968 and mid-1971 and in late August, 10,000 antiwar group demonstrators clashed with 23,000 police at the Democratic Convention in Chicago.

The results were ugly, with a horrified nation watching as bystanders and press were beaten by police officers in a melee depicting graphic police brutality. While America had gone mad, Al Billings flew missions, and Americans were hurt, taken prisoner and killed. Equal to this injustice was the branding of Al Billings as a "Maverick", which stifled his career. The very system that this author cherished closed it's doors to his advancement by a questionable fitness report. However, Al Billings next obstacle, the substandard medical care he received, and the collusion that he perceived was directed against him by the Orthopedics Department at Balboa Naval Hospital was a tragic injustice. It is a true affront to a dedicated man that gave his heart and soul to an institution he loved and revered, the Navy, and an intolerable outrage in terms of the disrespect this warrior was reciprocated with for his selfless contributions. Nevertheless, the fact remains that Al Billings, a man that was admonished that he would never go past an enlisted man, became a Commanding Officer of HC-1, Air Boss aboard the USS Belleau Wood and aside from winning the Distinguished Flying Cross and Silver Star, was a member of the prestigious Seawolves, the Navy's most decorated squadron of the Vietnam Era. In every single instance of his career, he persevered and rose above misfortune and adversity, and is able to translate his experiences for all to read. "Seawolf 28" should be included in the curriculum for any Annapolis, West Point or U.S. Air Force Academy cadet, ensuring that their core values of "Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do" transcends into action!

ive just read seawolf 28 by al billings, at just over 400 pages, i found it to be boring at times seperated by a few pages of note worthy reading. very little on vietnam, it never mentions that he was married untill it says that he was getting a divorce. only someone who was familier with the type of aircraft that this person used to fly, would find this book interesting. this book was full of very technical information that the common reader would be completly lost in. i would think that a pilot who won so many awards during the vietnam war would spend a little more time on his actions during that time, and not so much on the differences on the type of craft he flew before and after the war.

Al Billings takes his 20+ years of leadership experience in the Navy and uses them to write an honest, emotional work about his experiences in combat and in command. He doesn't pull punches, and he does an excellent job of relaying the leadership traits and tools that worked well for him during his career. I particularly enjoyed how he in detail relayed how he got to the root of the problem in the various units in which he served. Those techniques could be used in the military today, and even in civilian leadership roles. Billings embodies servant leadership, taking care of his troops even at great personal risk and expense, and though not as polished as some other career officers, he had the right ideas at the right time to complete the mission. Current military and civilian leaders alike would do well to take note of his no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase approach, as well as his practice of making decisions and standing by them, despite the consequences.

In addition to the important leadership lessons, the book had some fantastic sea stories to keep things light and moving, and any Navy vet will find something to relate to within its pages.

I recommend this book for any current military officers or senior enlisted, as well as civilian managers. The style described might not work all the time for everyone, but there is value in the approach presented.

This book, in my view, is a one-of-a-kind! This author has served his country to the utmost, and then some. He was an outstanding pilot that went where his beliefs took him; being it doing the honorable thing by rescuing servicemen in need, or fighting the politics because of what he did.
This is such a great book! Not only for the "war stories-which are NOT war stories", but for the way he stands his ground ; not only for himself, but especially for his fellow military servicemen.

When I bought and began reading Seawolf 28 I expected a book dedicated to telling the story of HAL-3 during the Vietnam conflict from a different person's perspective. But I was pleasantly surprised to read about a naval officers' career from his flight training as a NAVCAD to his retirement as a Commander some 22 years later. It was refreshing to read about a pilot who was more interested in learning every system of the aircraft he flew and then flew them to edge of their flight envelope safely. I enjoyed reading how Commander Billings refused to become a member of, "The Officers' Political System," just to further his own career. Commander Billings hit every problem head on to fix things right the first time, motivate his crews, and get the job done. As a retired US Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer I found Seawolf 28 one of the hardest books I've read in a long time to put down.
I highly recommend this book to anyone, and be forewarned it's hard to put down.

Mr. Billings,

I have not had a book like this that I had difficulty putting down in years. In addition to everything else, you are quite the writer. I think this should be required reading by all medical students and psychiatry residents. I plan to purchase a few and assign it as reading for anyone I supervise. I have to keep the one you sent me to myself as it means so much to me. Hope things are going ok for you. Didn't you tell me you are in the process of a second book, and if so, will that be a continuation or on a different topic. I can think of several people involved in the treatment and assessment of veterans and a few politicians I may send a copy. I also plan to make it one of my primary gifts throughout the year for special occasions, because I think it is a great read in addition to the insight into the realities of war and the effect on the people involved. You are truly a great man. Lanette


Dear Al:

Morris and I want you to know how much we have enjoyed your book. Your keen ability to take the reader right into whatever action or feeling you're experiencing speaks volumes about your talent. I could literally feel the story you were talking about. I realized the first night I started the book that I could not keep from constantly clenching and unclenching my toes. Morris felt the same way - our daughter who is 31 experienced the exact same thing so your reach is for these younger ones who have such an interest in this war. She read all night the first night - could not stop herself. Thank you for the hours and hours of work that went into this book. Please write another - about any subject! You have captured the Pendleton audience. We have great appreciation for some of the pain that must have come to you in this process. You are a true gentleman and officer.
Dianne

This is a must read book and receives the MWSA's HIGHEST RATING - FIVE STARS! Military Writer's Society of America Bill McDonald

The Seawolves have a great story that needs to be told. Unfortunately, this is a poorly written, poorly edited book that does a great disservice to men who made that story great. If you can endure the abundant spelling and grammatical errors, you are certain to be turned of by what boils down to be one long, pointless and self promoting sea story. One look at the picture on the back cover told me all I needed to know: cheesy mustache, choker whites unbuttoned down to his chest hair, awkwardly posing on a wicker chair with a San Miguel in his hand. The entire book is an embarrassment to Navy Pilots.