Customer Reviews

Thud Ridge: F-105 Thunderchief missions over Vietnam

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ahave read this book many times over the years and the story that Col. Broughton tells is what really happened in the skies of N. Vietnam, not what you may have heard on the news or read in a paper. He tells in detail the fallacy of Johnson's and McNamar's stupidity in waging war and their completely ignorant use of air power, not to mention the rules of engagement. THis is absolutely a book that should be read by anyone interested int the Vietnem War. The book alludes to what happened to Col Broughton because of two of his Majors, and the total lack of care by those Generals in command of 7th and 13th Air Force, who ended up hangin him out to dry. His follow up book details this story and is also a book not to be missed. THis book alonf with "Going Downtown" should be made into a movie. Col Broughton was an American Hero in every sense of the word, and a fighter pilot's pilot, and he was let down by the leadership of the very arm of the service that he pledged his loyalty to. He was also the leader of the early Thunderbirds.

I have read this book so many times. A graduate of West Point, Jack Broughton is a fighter pilot's fighter pilot. He brings you into the cockpit of the F-105 and into combat. It is a fast paced story told from the point of view of a fighter pilot and leader. If you read this book you will understand why the US lost in Vietnam. You will feel the bitterness of men who fought in Vietnam against their own bureacracy and the political leadership in Washington. To this day, it amazes me that Washington tried to fight a war, half a world away, micro managing down to the level of target selection, routes and engagement rules. Colonel Broughton is a hero. America should keep men like him close to its heart instead of ending a career like his for a bureacratic snafu. This book is about combat leadership and the warrior ethic. The lessons learned from this book very well apply today. Students at the officer schools, academies, squadron officer school, air command and staff, even higher should be required to read this book and Broughton's other one, Going Downtown.

"Serria Hotel" book about a "Tango Uniform" situation. I have read and re-read this book many times over the years. Col Broughton captured the essense of the words Duty, Honor, Country. His DUTY was to the men he led into the jaws of death, usually twice daily. His HONOR demanded that he protect them at all costs. And his COUNTRY sent him, and thousands more, "in harms way" without understanding, or caring what this meant. Col. Broughton's book tells the story of men who became dis-allusioned in their Country's leadership, but continued to fight, and die, because THEIR honor required it of them.

It was my pleasure to fly with Colonel Jack Broughton on many missions. He speaks from the heart and soul of every dedicated Thud pilot who ever went down Thud Ridge. And he does it with the most objectivity of any leader I've flown with. More Artistry in Leadership came from this one man than all our vaunted 'Strategists'ever imagined--reference our ride to The Viet Tri Thermal Power Plant in 1967, (Thud Ridge 1990). Mission accomplished, All Flak Targets destroyed and the Power Plant demolished by following F-4'Strike Flights--not a shot fired at them. Jack had formed for a 'Whifferdil' type 'popup' attack off the deck, with a verticle Tactical-turn to the bomb run. Unpredictability plus Execution plus Surprise equalled truly artistic combat--if ever combat can be such. He's had his detractors, but such people were bonified fairweather patriots, far from the action. One or two detractors, closer to the action, and of higher rank, have their own horn to blow, certainly not their Nation's interest. This is FOUR STAR BOOK by a FOUR STAR LEADER. H.W.BINGAMAN RRVFP/105

Though written in 1969 its lessons are still burningly poignant. When politics fail the military is usually called for to settle the issue. If our politicians are to spend human lives to obtain their goals then the men and women fighting have to know they are fighting to win. This book should be required reading for each and every officer in the USAF. This book tells of one mans struggle to make sense of a war he did not want to fight in but when his country called he went. Only, he was given strict rules to follow which cost the lives of his squadron mates. Rules by which any reasonable military man would think were ludicrous at best. Rules set by men who were 6000 miles away and safe in there own homes. Rules which took away the the ability to win and in many cases to stay alive. Bordering on the criminal, these men in Washington consigned many men to their deaths by their ignorance. Lt Col Broughton stood up for his men. On a particularly dangerous mission two of his men fought their way back home. These men broke one of the all mighty rules of engagement levied on them from Washington and lived. Rather than being congratulated, they were to be court marshalled. Lt. Col Broughton stepped in and protected his men. And in doing so brought a court martial upon himself. The lesson to be learned: Fight to win or don't fight at all. Desert Storm proved Lt Col Broughton was correct.

The first thought that comes to my mind regarding Thud Ridge, is the incredible candor and the vivid unit-level challenges that Col Broughton brings forth in his book. The reader is quickly drawn into the day-to-day challenges of the F-105 mission and Col Broughton lays a solid foundation for most readers to follow and understand the nuances and terminology that surrounds military life and the aviation community.

This is certainly a story that needed to be told. Understanding the North Vietnam aerial campaign opens the readers mind to the severe targeting limitations imposed on the pilots in conducting their daily missions. Unfortunately, countless aviators lives were needlessly put into harms way and Col Broughton honorably portrays the cost in lives of his friends and fellow aviators to his readers.

The heroism of the Thud aviators and their naval counterparts rank high on the list of all time achievements in combat. The Silver Stars and Air Force Crosses reinforce the level of valor that these aviators displayed in the Hanoi region. Moreover, the risks incurred of ejecting over cannibal territory and heavily occupied NVA regions help portray just how couragous these aviators truly were.

I'd recommend this book to military professionals and to military historians. The general populous will benefit from the overall story, but many of the key details learned only from adaptation to military duty, may be lost. Nevertheless, the point will get across to all readers.

Weakness: The book needs editing. There are several out of place words that do not make grammatical sense, but are easily passed over if recognized and quickly translated.

This book is not just for pilots or even just for those in the military. Being a civillian myself, it came as a shock to me to read about the criminal imposition of absurd restrictions that were placed on those who we ask to fight and die for our country. This should be mandatory reading for EVERY American, especially those of us who were led to believe that it was our military that failed in Vietnam...

Col. Jack Broughton's "Thud Ridge" was one of the first books I ever read on the Vietnam War. I read it in middle school back in the mid-1980s and, while I forgot many of the stories he told in his book, the stories of the high-level military and political micro-management and mismanagement of the war were not forgotten. The book is much more than that, though: it is full of great stories of everyday heroism among the Air Force pilots who flew missions over North Vietnam.

Col. Broughton was an F-105 "Thud" pilot and a senior officer in his wing during the bomber offensive against North Vietnam. The book was originally written while the war was still ongoing, so many of his stories are unfinished (it was unknown if the lost pilots were killed in action or captured), and Col. Broughton wrote from the perspective of "here's what we need to be doing to improve and win this war."

While Col. Broughton clearly has an axe to grind against the superiors in the Air Force and in Washington, D.C., who caused needless waste and loss of life, this book really shines as a memoir of the tough combat in the skies over North Vietnam. Col. Broughton methodically describes how his air wing functioned, how new pilots were brought into the wing and trained for combat, and how they also had to work hard to convert their airbase in Thailand from an airstrip in the jungle into a functioning combat base. And the stories of the daily life-and-death struggle in the air against enemy MiG fighters, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-aircraft guns are some of the best ever written.

This excellent memoir is one of the best Vietnam accounts ever written.

I first read a paper back version of this ten odd years ago on the long haul flight between the US and Australia, I think I must have lost something in the latter part of the read on the flight, perhaps through ( wine?) tiredness. Anyhow after reading a number of other great books on Thunderchief operations in Vietnam of late I decided to re visit Jack Broughtons book and to say I was gripped be enormity of it is an understatement. Even as an ex military pilot I guess I never fully appreciated the real tough decisions that the leaders had to make...stay on top and risk being thumped by MIGs and SAMS of go below and get fried by flack and SAMS. The part of book where Jack describes the eventfull Sunday is probably the best "tell it like it was" aerial drama I have read.., not to mention how he managed to drag a badly shot up Thud back to an emergency strip...and fighting a war with his hands tied behind his back due to the rules of engagement,enthralling stuff. The only criticism I have is that there were not enough photographs of the other key characters in his story

"Thud Ridge" is still the best book on the air war in Vietnam after almost 40 years. First published in 1969 while the war was still going on, this book addresses both the bravery of the F-105 pilots specifically, and the cowardice of the political and military leadership that sacrificed American lives pointlessly. A true patriot, Colonel Broughton explains the challenges of flying "downtown" to the most heavily part of North Vietnam in terms of both his duty as a professional military officer and as a savvy flying leader. He was a demanding boss, but clearly supported his subordinates to the hilt: as a former US Air Force pilot myself, what I can say assuredly is that the military needs more men like Colonel Broughton.

The book is fast paced and grimly descriptive. The accounts of specific missions are both frightening and informative, but none can rival chapter nine, "The Longest Mission," a disaster that cost the Air Force Medal of Honor Winner Leo Thorsness, Harry Johnson, Bob Abbott, and Joe Abbott. Most infuriatingly, some of these men could have been rescued if not for the incompetence of the controlling agencies and the outdated rescue resources available. The entire book is aided greatly by Broughton's foresight to bring a tape recorder with him to capture the action as it occurred: the account of this mission would be greatly diminished without these tape transcripts. Since this book was written while the war was ongoing it is interesting that after a pilot was shot down, Broughton normally had no way of knowing his fate. Leo Thorsness, for instance, made it back after years of torture as a POW; I sincerely hope that a biography of this American hero is forthcoming at some point.

Colonel Broughton has written two more books following this one, "Going Downtown" and "Rupert Red Two," both of which I also highly recommend. His later books are slightly more polished than "Thud Ridge," but no book can touch this book for contemporaneous action and honest critique of the air war in Vietnam.

"Thud Ridge" should be mandatory reading for all officers in the military and all members of the civilian leadership, who in this case were quick to commit American lives to the cause, but strangled the combatants with asinine rules imposed by academic and political wonks who knew nothing of aerial warfare or the ramifications of their decisions. In "Thud Ridge" Broughton singles out the administration of Lyndon Johnson, and particularly Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and his feebleminded policy of "gradualism" for well-deserved scorn. We should never allow a war to be administered again: it must be fought, and the effort must be led by men like Colonel Broughton.

Colonel Broughton: Thank you for your service, and thank you for your books. We should never forget the lessons they contain.