Mike Jackson (2)

Having spent 366 days as a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam, USAF veteran Mike Jackson does a masterful job of conveying the stress and boredom that characterize the combat experience. A gifted storyteller, he weaves the gallows humor military aviators of all stripes are known for with vivid descriptions of the war as he saw it through the windscreen of his O-2. The chapter that inspired the book's title absolutely had me in stitches as it captures one of those ludicrous moments many of us show more find ourselves in when we're far from home and living in extremes. While he made a tremendous contribution to the fight during his time in South East Asia and went above and beyond on countless occasions, Mike goes to great pains to remind the reader that he was an everyman and a quiet professional like so many others who served. Well worth the read. show less

An excellent book by someone who was there, in Vietnam, doing a tough job. Understated and well written by a kid from Ohio that became a man, of courage and dedication, during an ugly unpopular war,
Mike Jackson flew the O-2 Skymaster (also known as the "Oscar Deuce" or "The Duck") a military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster which would seek out the enemy in the jungles and forests in order to call in interdictory air strikes. His book vividly portrays the role of the FAC, Forward show more Air Controller, during a critical year of that war. show less