Phantom Reflections: An American Fighter Pilot in Vietnam

by Mike McCarthy

Overview

• Hair-raising descriptions of aerial combat as seen from the cockpit of a fighter jet • Thoughtful reflections on what it meant to fight in Vietnam As the Vietnam War raged thousands of miles away, Mike McCarthy completed his flight training in the United States, eager to get into the war and afraid it would end before he could participate. He needn't have worried. By 1967, he was flying his F-4 Phantom II fighter with the U.S. Air Force's 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, also known as Satan's Angels. Before his tour ended, McCarthy completed 124 missions during the intense air war over North Vietnam and Laos and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. His memoir recreates the horror and exhilaration of air combat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811735544
Publisher:	Stackpole Books
Publication date:	12/23/2008
Series:	Stackpole Military History Series
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Mike McCarthy retired from the U.S. Air Force as a colonel in 1990, finishing his military career as chief of staff at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. He currently teaches aviation at Arizona State University and lives in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

1 A Very Restless Night 1

2 Clouds Gather 7

3 The Long Wait 12

4 The Die Is Cast 22

5 First Mission 32

6 Christmas and New Year's 1967 40

7 "You're OK!" "No, I'm Not!"

8 A Typical Mission 51

9 MiGs 64

10 The Threat Unseen 76

11 The Ops Clerk Kid 81

12 Lead's Hit! 84

13 It's Sunday! 91

14 A Very Memorable Mission 97

15 Sydney 103

16 Slippery when Wet 110

17 Dean St. Pierre 116

18 "Shillelagh" 122

19 The Roman 2 Episode 127

20 Good Bye Ubon 135

21 Saigon 142

22 Heading Back Home 148

23 Final Reflections as Time Goes By 154

Appendix A 171

Index 187