A thrilling eyewitness account of the secret humanitarian mission in 1970 by one of the pilots who flew the amazing C-130 aircraft on the edge of a stall at night while leading six helicopters in close formation deep into North Vietnam for a daring rescue attempt of POWs being held in the shadows of Hanoi.
As a two-part story, it also describes the same raider-pilot's return to Son Tay prison 24 years later, in broad daylight with camera in hand, including his high-anxiety confrontation and arrest by North Vietnamese police.
It includes 64 rare pictures and diagrams, most never declassified and published until now.
William A. Guenon, Jr, a Pennsylvania native, has spent the majority of his aviation career covering many facets of the transportation industry for both military and civil applications on a global basis. Bill served in the U. S. Air Force as a Command Pilot and Senior Air Traffic Controller.
A bit of an adventurer, Bill finished third in the Great Atlantic Air Race starting from the top of the Empire State Building in NYC and ending atop London's Post Office tower building. Although self-sponsored, his commendable time of 7 hours, 39 minutes, and 42 seconds was accomplished in 1969, well before the supersonic Concorde went into commercial service.
Currently, when not involved with consulting chores for his company, Omni-Alliances LC, Bill can usually be found mingling at air shows, aviation exhibitions, and aerospace museums.