Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Vietnam, Medal of Honor
    Vietnam, Medal of Honor
    Vietnam, Medal of Honor
    Ebook95 pages1 hour

    Vietnam, Medal of Honor

    By C D Wilson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Vietnam,Medal of Honor

    Reg O’Brien dreamed of being a Navy Pilot. He achieved his dream and flew directly into the Vietnam War, in his Phantom F-4B fighter. Shot down over North Vietnam by a Surface to Air Missile S.A.M., he fights for survival in the jungle while aiding his wounded Radar Intercept Officer. Will they survive or die in a fight to the death?

    View F4 Phantom on YouTube.

    In the Vietnam War, young men went to the other side of the world to fight in a small county most Americans had never heard of before the daily news started to report American soldiers killed in battle. Those that survived came back either physically or mentally scarred for life. The Medal of Honor is a portrayal of ordinary Americans, doing their duty, under extraordinary circumstances; some survive.
    The description of the intense horror of their experiences and unflinching courage to duty, for both their country and their fellow man is outstanding.

    Sample random paragraphs follow:

    “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY! Saber Tooth hit! Right wing damaged! Fire indicator is on! Feet wet in Halong Bay, ETA twelve minutes!" Chuck transmitted continuously in a clear calm voice that did not exemplify his true inner turmoil.
    “EJECT, EJECT!” shouted Reg. He waited for Chuck to clear the plane. He gripped his ejection seat handle and pulled. Everything happened in a flash as the canopy flew off. The seat shot up the rail. At that speed, the force threw his body back into the seat. The screaming air blocked out all other sounds. His eyes bulged! His vision blurred as he tried hard to focus. Dizzy, from a momentary blackout, he had trouble isolating a focal point.
    Reg climbed the tree, secured Chuck’s chute with his own harness; he then cut Chuck’s parachute cords with his survival knife. The combined chute harnesses allowed him to lower the semiconscious Chuck from the tree. Chuck had a slash across his cheek through the eye area into the scalp. Flies gathered around the wound area; seeing that made Reg nauseous. Blood from the face injuries had solidified into a scab, which would help protect the wound. Reg’s main concern was Chuck’s eye. He applied first aid bandages from his first aid kit.
    The Indianapolis’s mission was secret; therefore, no one knew that she had gone down. Nine hundred men went into the water, most of them with only life jackets; many were nude not having time to put on their clothing. They floated for five days locking arms together in a square. Every few hours each man had to work his way to the outer edge of the square to act as shark bait.
    The Tiger sharks had a weeklong feast. One hundred and eighty men survived but none of them would ever forget the horrors they went through. Every sailor gets the chills when you mention the sinking of USS Indianapolis in 1945, and how the sharks disseminated the crew piece by piece.
    Reg felt he was going to die as he looked into the barrel of the rifle, seeing the abyss of death, just as a blurred image caught his peripheral vision, hitting the soldier from behind, knocking him off balance, as his finger pulled the trigger. The bullet creased Reg’s forehead, causing him to drop his weapon and fall backward onto the deck. Reg then saw a young, black pajama clad adolescent, who was on all fours beside him. He heard the soldier cursing the kid. It had been the youngster who had rushed the soldier a moment before.
    The soldier turned his gun toward Reg, just as Chuck screamed from between the two boats. The VC soldier looked down for a split second, giving Reg the opportunity to reach for his Colt. The soldier saw Reg move and pointed the rifle at him. Reg’s reaction was a split second faster as he shot the Vietcong soldier pointblank in the face. Part of the face disappeared in a gruesome spray of bloody grey matter that flew from the top of the soldier’s head.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherC D Wilson
    Release dateDec 17, 2009
    ISBN9781452376073
    Vietnam, Medal of Honor
    Author

    C D Wilson

    I spent the last several winters in Florida and have become friends with many American Veterans of World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam. We spent relaxing afternoons, having drinks, discussing their stories, which have become the basis of my novels. The Pacific, World War 2 The Battle of Bloody Ridge, Vietnam, the Medal of Honor To Hell and Back The novels follow the O’Brien family from New York City through three generations from 1939 to the present. The O’Brien’s are a family that defends America.

    Read more from C D Wilson

    Related to Vietnam, Medal of Honor

    Related ebooks

    Thrillers For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      BAILOUT At 70,000 Feet

      Aug 18, 2020

      BAILOUT At 70,000 Feet
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Attack

      Feb 26, 2020

      The Attack
      8 min read

    • Article

      Night Jump Into Normandy

      Jan 10, 2023

      Night Jump Into Normandy
      7 min read

    • Article

      In The Clouds

      Apr 1, 2019

      In The Clouds
      3 min read

    • Article

      Crusader down

      Sep 4, 2018

      Crusader down
      10 min read

    • Article

      Thunderchief At War

      Dec 15, 2020

      Thunderchief At War
      10 min read

    • Article

      First Kills!

      Aug 18, 2020

      First Kills!
      9 min read

    • Article

      In Search Of ...

      Apr 1, 2019

      Fifteen-year-old Tay lives on Rannoch, a distant planet covered with water, where undersea pods or living chambers provide life support for up to three people—usually two adults and one child. Tay learns that her parents are expecting another child a

      8 min read

    • Article

      Killer Corsair

      Oct 17, 2023

      Killer Corsair
      11 min read

    • Article

      King Island

      Dec 13, 2020

      King Island
      2 min read

    • Article

      Yellow Scorpions

      Dec 15, 2020

      Yellow Scorpions
      9 min read

    • Article

      Into The Cold Blue

      Jan 23, 2024

      Into The Cold Blue
      4 min read

    • Article

      First Bridge

      Dec 13, 2022

      First Bridge
      13 min read

    • Article

      Pearl I Harbor Fly For Vengeance

      Sep 1, 2021

      Pearl I Harbor Fly For Vengeance
      4 min read

    • Article

      Gunfighter Of the Rising Sun

      Nov 17, 2020

      Gunfighter Of the Rising Sun
      8 min read

    • Article

      ‘Scrambled For Bogies’ An Incident At Raf Sek Kong

      Feb 25, 2021

      As a young man, Michael Forrest (1931-2018) spent 20 years as a fighter pilot flying Vampire, Meteor and Javelin jet aircraft for the RAF in Europe and the Far East. The strangest experience of his entire life happened in 1954 when he was based at RA

      2 min read

    • Article

      Last Man Out

      Apr 5, 2022

      Last Man Out
      5 min read

    • Article

      Harry Mount

      Jun 1, 2022

      LANCASTER (PG) Well, that’s the 2023 Oscar for Best Original Score sorted out. The opening credits of this exemplary documentary show a Lancaster bomber, flying over a lake and dam. The background tune isn’t The Dam Busters March, as you might imagin

      3 min read

    • Article

      Tigercat Driver

      Dec 19, 2023

      Tigercat Driver
      4 min read

    • Article

      Lightning ACE!

      Nov 17, 2020

      Lightning ACE!
      11 min read

    • Article

      Warfare Without Weapons

      Sep 3, 2019

      Warfare Without Weapons
      10 min read

    • Article

      Samurai SURVIVOR

      Oct 11, 2022

      Samurai SURVIVOR
      10 min read

    • Article

      Worry Aboard Ole Worrybird

      Sep 29, 2020

      Worry Aboard Ole Worrybird
      11 min read

    • Article

      Flying For “DEVOTION”

      Dec 13, 2022

      Flying For “DEVOTION”
      11 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Vietnam, Medal of Honor

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Vietnam, Medal of Honor - C D Wilson

      Dedicated to my wife Lynda.

      Vietnam, the Medal of Honor

      Copyright © 2009 by Clark Wilson

      All rights reserved.

      Cover design by CDW

      Smashwords Edition 1.0, December 2009

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only this ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Vietnam, the Medal of Honor

      Phantom Down

      Chapter One

      MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY! Saber Tooth hit! Right wing damaged! Fire indicator is on! Feet wet in Halong Bay, ETA twelve minutes! Chuck transmitted continuously in a clear calm voice that did not exemplify his true inner turmoil.

      EJECT, EJECT! shouted Reg. He waited for Chuck to clear the plane. He gripped his ejection seat handle and pulled. Everything happened in a flash as the canopy flew off. The seat shot up the rail. At that speed, the force threw his body back into the seat. The screaming air blocked out all other sounds. His eyes bulged! His vision blurred as he tried hard to focus. Dizzy, from a momentary blackout, he had trouble isolating a focal point.

      Reg felt the drogue chute on his ejection seat open. The seat stabilized. He started to orientate himself, trying to get his bearings as his surroundings came into perspective. The altimeter monitoring control on the seat module commanded the seat straps to release, which restrained his arms and legs. His main parachute opened at 1,500 feet, which yanked him out of the seat with amazing force.

      The main parachute deployment stopped his downward velocity with a gut wrenching tug making him struggle for breath. Within moments, his hammering heart started to calm. He attempted to search the horizon from the swaying action of his body, hanging at the end of the parachute harness. ‘You are still alive, so quiet down! Be cool man!’ he told himself. As he floated down, he thanked God, the chute packers hidden in the bowels of the USS Intrepid, were bona fide professionals.

      An instantaneous memory flashback, forced him to rationalize everything. He recalled what had just happened as though he was re-running a movie in his mind. An SA-2, surface to air missile fired from a Viet Cong mobile launcher had tracked his exhaust and closed in on them. He heard J.J. his wingman scream, Break hard left SAM on your tail. Next, he heard the warning alarms in his cockpit. He swerved at the last instant, but the missile hit his right wing. The Phantom F-4B started to roll to the left, but he still had control, for the moment. He kept correcting the roll every few seconds, as he headed for the Gulf of Tonka. He kept repeating as he tried not to panic, We must get clear of the God damn jungle no matter what!

      He fought for control of the mortally wounded Phantom, his mind operating at lightning speed, computing data he had absorbed through force-feeding, while attending flight school. In his minds eye, it was as though the words he had read flashed by at supersonic speed, yet he was capable of comprehending them. Two General Electric J79 turbojets, each with 17,000 pounds of thrust power, enabled the Phantom to maintain flight on one working turbojet.

      He remembered J.C., his flight instructor saying, For Christ sakes, you people must remember, the Phantom F-4B can fly inverted if necessary. Reg almost laughed to himself because he could not recall anyone explaining, how the Phantom would react with a quarter of the right wing missing!

      Then he remembered J.C. telling all the new pilots on graduation day, after J.C. had consumed half dozen beers, You so called gentlemen officer pilots had better treat your Phantom with respect, just like a lady. She is very capable of treating you well because these Phantoms are extraordinary. They had all roared in laughter. At the time, he laughed to himself, when he thought what his sister Lynda would have said. All of you fighter jocks are just a bunch of macho assholes, worried about your masculinity.

      Then in a flash, the message his brain was trying to pull out of its deepest memory bank, clicked in like a string of data telling his brain to function as trained and convert that data to action. Thanks J.C. I owe you one if this works.

      The controls got very sluggish as the airframe started to shake. Reg resolved to let his Phantom slowly roll over to the left onto her back. The blood rushed to the head as Reg continued to work up side down. They maintained the bearing as they closed in on the coast, but they also continued to lose altitude. Finally, the alarm horns screeched as they passed the two thousand foot mark.

      Sensors showed extreme heat on the right wing. He knew, at one thousand feet, they would be at a point of no return. They may not have time for emergency ejection, allowing the chutes to open fully, for a safe landing. Reg’s Radar Intercept Officer and best friend, Lieutenant Chuck Walker, was calling out a Mayday, giving the latitude and longitude coordinates as Reg fought for control. They heard the USS Intrepid (CVS-11) crew acknowledge the Mayday; they communicated, the rescue choppers were air borne.

      Reg smiled again, despite the dire predicament, at the way Chuck was giving out the Mayday, at the same time telling the Intrepid, they would have feet wet, in minutes. ‘Christ’, he thought, ‘Chuck has been reading too many of those positive thinking books.’ Without closing his eyes, he prayed, ‘Please God, only a little bit longer, then we will be over open water. Another fifty miles, then they can find us, when we eject, once we clear the coast.

      Then, Chuck cried out a warning as flames flashed like a disco strobe light on the damaged wing. Suddenly, a section from the right wing fell. It went catapulting into the night sky leaving a trail of sparks. The vibrations increased drastically.

      Then, the whole jet frame shuddered violently, as though she was tearing herself apart. The Phantom had severe damage to the hydraulic systems. Reg was barley able to control it. The once sleek aerodynamic design, now altered by the SAM explosive force, threw the Phantom into 360-degree flat spins. Eject or die!

      He rolled upright, reduced airspeed to two hundred and fifty knots. The USS Intrepid crew heard the excited adrenalin pump in the pilots voice, as he shouted the order to eject.

      In real time, Saber Tooth, continued her downward plummet, like an uncontrollable asteroid smashing into earth. A blinding explosion of light, followed by a hollow blast in the distance, as Saber Tooth plunged to her death in the jungle. Three million American dollars vanished in a flash of power, with a lingering column of black smoke.

      Reg let his training take over; he immediately checked that his chute had opened fully. He lifted his right hand in a salute, a final farewell to Saber Tooth, his Phantom F-4B, she had held together way beyond the laws of physics. Once the Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) had hit her, he knew that only one chance in a million

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1