Cheating Death: Combat Air Rescues in Vietnam and Laos

Marrett, George J.

ISBN 10: 1588341046 / ISBN 13: 9781588341044

Published by Smithsonian, Washington, D.C., 2003

About this Item

Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian, 2003. 1st edition, inscribed by author on half-title, NF/NF. Book has light wear to spine ends, a sticker has been removed form the FFE, leaving a rough texture. DJ has some light edge wear. Illustrated with b & w photos and three maps. Marrett flew 188 combat missions during the Vietnam War and became a test pilot on more than forty types of aircraft after the war. Air rescue combat missions were for the very few and the constant threat of death was unrelenting. Nice copy.

Seller Inventory # 003555

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Cheating Death: Combat Air Rescues in Vietnam and Laos
• Publisher: Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1588341046
• ISBN 13: 9781588341044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

They flew low and slow, at treetop level, at night, in monsoons, and in point-blank range of enemy guns and missiles. They were missions no one else wanted, but the ones all other pilots prayed for when shot down. Flying the World War II-vintage Douglas A-1 Skyraider, a single-engine, propeller-driven relic in a war of “fast-movers,” these intrepid US Air Force pilots, call sign Sandy, risked their lives with every mission to rescue thousands of downed Navy and Air Force pilots.

With a flashback memory and a style all his own, George J. Marrett depicts some of the most dangerous aerial combat of any war. The thrilling rescue of “Streetcar 304” and William Jones's selfless act of heroism that earned him the Medal of Honor are but two of the compelling tales he recounts. Here too are the courages Jolly Green Giant helicopter crews, parajumpers, and forward air controllers who worked with the Sandys over heavily defended jungles and mountains well behind enemy lines.

Passionate, mordantly witty, and filled with heart-pounding adrenaline, Cheating Death reads like the finest combat fiction, but it is the real deal: its heroes, cowards, jokers, and casualties all have names and faces readers will find difficult to forget.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About the Author

George J. Marrett flew 188 combat missions on the Douglas A-1 Skyraider in Vietnam and tested more than forty types of military aircraft in twenty-five years as a test pilot for the Air Force and Hughes Aircraft Company. He lives in California.


From the Trade Paperback edition.