When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam [Hardcover]

Ed Rasimus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 2003

Ed Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost—the highest loss rate in Southeast Asia—and many pilots were killed, captured, and wounded because of the Air Force’s disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus’s one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis, and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the finest combat memoirs I have ever read, from any air force in any war.”—Dan Ford, Wall Street Journal

“You can almost smell the jet fuel and gunpowder. You attack the world's fiercest defenses at 500 knots and share the ultimate thrill of hurling yourself against almost impossible odds—and winning.”—Jack Broughton, author of Thud Ridge

“A story that reflects the bravery of the men who flew over enemy territory in a perilous time.”—The Baltimore Chronicle

“[A] modern-day Red Badge of Courage”—John Darrell Sherwood, author of Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience

From the Inside Flap

"YOU CAN ALMOST SMELL THE JET FUEL AND GUNPOWDER. You attack the world's fiercest defenses at 500 knots and share the ultimate thrill of hurling yourself against almost impossible odds–and winning.
–JACK BROUGHTON, author of Thud Ridge

Ed Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost–the highest loss rate in Southeast Asia–and many pilots were killed, captured, and wounded because of the Air Force's disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus's one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis, and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war.

"A story that reflects the bravery of the men who flew over enemy territory in a perilous time."
–The Baltimore Chronicle

"[A] MODERN-DAY RED BADGE OF COURAGE ."
–JOHN DARRELL SHERWOOD, author of Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience


Look for these remarkable stories of American courage in the Vietnam war

DOWN SOUTH
One Tour in Vietnam
by William H. Hardwick

LOST IN TRANSLATION
Vietnam: A Combat Advisor's Story
by Martin J. Dockery

MEDIC!
The Story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam War
by Ben Sherman

WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE . . . AND YOUNG
Ia Drang: The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (February 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588341038
• ISBN-13: 978-1588341037
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,042,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Thing, March 11, 2003

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam (Hardcover)

I believe that I have read every F-105 related book ever printed. Of all the books I have read I always liked 'Thud Ridge' by Jack Broughton best...until now. While I still put Broughton right at the top of my list, and certainly at the top of my list of heroes along with Leo Thorsness, Ed Rasimus has written the definitive F-105 pilot memoir with 'When Thunder Rolled'.

I loved it from beginning to end; I only wish it had been longer. His recollections rang true as a scared young man who flew fighters in the beginning to a mature veteran fighter pilot at the end. I understood him better than I have other authors as I can totally understand the overwhelming fears of going to war compounded by being the new guy recently qualified a very intimidating machine flying into the worst conditions ever known.

Ed, if you read this: thanks for my new favorite Thud book and thanks for your service under the most trying conditions I can imagine. For everyone else: go buy this book NOW! You will not be disappointed!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best combat memoir I've ever read, February 17, 2003

By 

Daniel Ford (at danford dot net) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam (Hardcover)

This is the best combat memoir I've ever read--any nation, any war, any service. "Raz" sweeps the reader along, from his terror-plagued flight to the war in the coach seat of a 707 jetliner, to the still-terrifying but now-routine flights over North Vietnam in a Republic F-105 Thunderchief. These were missions so perilous that by some measures a pilot had a 50/50 chance of not completing his tour. Raz doesn't blink at any of it--not his own fear, not the bone-headed rules of engagement--and in the end he goes back for another tour. Why? He loved it. I especially liked the dustcover photo: Raz is a more handsome man now than he was at 23, and his "bulletproof" mustache is fuzzier. This is a wonderful book. Buy it. You won't be sorry. -- Dan Ford

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Corrosive candor, April 22, 2003

By 

John Joss (Los Altos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam (Hardcover)

Few who have not done it can imagine what it is like to fight, kill and risk death, most particularly in military aviation, a small, close-knit and relatively closed community. But Ed Rasimus takes us there, all the way inside, and reveals his weaknesses and strengths with corrosive candor. Admission of fear is supposedly unmanly, but he has the courage to admit it and becomes more in our eyes, not less, by seeing it through anyway. How many others were there with similar emotions? How many, or how few, came back to talk about it with such humility?
"Raz" asked his wife to read this book for comprehension and made sure that she 'got it' into the core. That alone should stand as a mark of humility and excellence, for both of them. The naked facts are that F-105 drivers in 'Nam faced horrific odds, and fought a war--without flinching--hampered by political decisions and ignorance. The content takes you by the throat, including revealing passages about the rest of the gang, from brave to, um, somewhat less than brave, and from charismatic to, um, a little more stupid that capable. If you doubt the horror, go to the Appendix and read the F-105 Combat Theater Losses, April-November 1966. Over 100 brilliant and brave pilots lost, just in that six-month period. Read it and weep.
War is hell. The war fought by the Thuds and recounted by Rasimus was one of the most difficult ever. North Vietnamese IADS (Integrated Air Defense Systems), provided by the Soviets, faced Air Force and Navy attacks conducted under some of the most restrictive and dangerous ROE (Rules of Engagement) strictures imaginable, imposed by armchair politicians and generals safely ensconced in Washington. If anything, Rasimus doesn't press these issues, which were in fact much more difficult and dangerous than he describes.
This book should be required reading, because it captures the era before PGMs (Precision Guided Munitions), when flying skill and courage made the difference between mission success and failure, and when pilots had no choice but to go down into the heart of darkness to do the job properly.