- Hardcover: 512 pages
- Publisher: Presidio Press; First Edition edition (15 Jun 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345465377
- ISBN-13: 978-0345465375
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 4.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,138,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
The stories . . . are vivid and timeless:: the North Vietnamese gunner who was so inept that the Mistys had a standing order not to shoot him; the pilot who dissuaded his new commander from launching night Misty missions by taking him on a night flight and surreptitiously switching on the outboard lights over heavy ground fire; the Misty custom of igniting their afterburners over POW sites, sending out a familiar booming noise that told the downed airmen they were not forgotten. gripping narrative. . . . It's a fabulous read.' ---The Washington Post
'This is a true story about real warriors-both those who came home and those who did not-and the legacy they left. The story of the Misty pilots fills a gap in our understanding of the Vietnam War, and reminds armchair tacticians what the true cost of war is, and who pays the price.' --Joseph Galloway, co-author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young
'With its great in-the-cockpit stories of the first jet-fighter combat forward air controllers, Bury Us Upside Down is an incredible account of how it all started. The reader will feelthe G forces, the strain of avoiding ground fire, the satisfaction of a completed rescue, the black humor of combat-hardened pilots, and the effects on the families of those who didn't return. But most of all the reader will feel proud America can produce such men.' --Mark Berent, author of the Rolling Thunder series
'This is a true story about real warriors-both those who came home and those who did not-and the legacy they left. The story of the Misty pilots fills a gap in our understanding of the Vietnam War, and reminds armchair tacticians what the true cost of war is, and who pays the price.' --Joseph Galloway, co-author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young
'With its great in-the-cockpit stories of the first jet-fighter combat forward air controllers, Bury Us Upside Down is an incredible account of how it all started. The reader will feelthe G forces, the strain of avoiding ground fire, the satisfaction of a completed rescue, the black humor of combat-hardened pilots, and the effects on the families of those who didn't return. But most of all the reader will feel proud America can produce such men.' --Mark Berent, author of the Rolling Thunder series
Product Description
Named after their radio call sign, the Mistys were pilots from a top secret unit officially known as the Commando Sabre Operation. Formed in 1967, its aim was to fly dangerous, low altitude missions to find targets along the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop the flow of supplies to South Vietnam. If all went well, the Misty pilot would find a target and mark it with a rocket for the bombers. Unfortunately, their missions rarely went well. With a survival rate of lower than 30 per cent, the Misty missions were extraordinarily dangerous.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
44 reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Bury me upside down: The Misty Pilots and the secret battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail
3 Mar 2006
Format:Hardcover
After 27 years and 6,000 hours of flying fighters for the USAF.USN, USAFR and the Kansas ANG and 110 missions over Viet Nam, I have been there and done all that. But, I could not put the book done until I finished it. Extremely well written and documented. Tells the story from the Jock's point of view and from the sad life of all those left behind to wait. Brought me tears and laughter. You will love it very much. This really is a 10 star story!
Ronald K. Williams, Fighter pilot, Colonel USAFR
Ronald K. Williams, Fighter pilot, Colonel USAFR
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
You Don't Have to Be a Vietnam Vet to Enjoy This Book
10 May 2006
Format:Hardcover
"Bury Us Upside Down" came as a real surprise. Although I am of the Vietnam era, I am not a Vietnam veteran. (I lucked into No. 366 in the draft lottery and, frankly, was relieved that I wouldn't have to go.) Nor am I an avid reader of military histories of the war. But this book grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let me put it down. The story of "The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail" is compelling on its face and not well known to the general reader. Here it gets a taut telling in tightly constructed, thoroughly researched chapters packed with detail and drama. The accounts of the Misty pilots' attempts, successful and otherwise, to rescue downed aviators are especially gripping and, I'm not ashamed to say, made me proud to be an American. It's amazing to think that fully one-fourth of the Misty pilots were either shot down, captured, or killed. The risks they took were stunning. We may now associate American air superiority with precision-guided weapons that allow our forces to dominate from a great distance, but this flying was up close and personal. One author of "Bury Us Upside Down" is a seasoned magazine writer, and the other is a former Misty who became an Air Force general and now is a TV commentator. It's a winning combination. They give the Misty pilots, incredibly skilled aviators and men of unquestioned courage, their due without glossing over their human foibles and occasional lapses in judgment. The Misty pilots come alive as men in these pages, and you get to feel you know them. The authors also provide a pilot's view of the war that is often a portrait in frustration and a case study of the limits of air power. The unremitting flow of men and materiel down the Ho Chi Minh Trail is awesome in its own way. Finally, the authors round out the story by showing the effects of the war on Misty families on the home front, both during the war and after. I saw an otherwise glowing review of "Bury Us Upside Down" in the Wall Street Journal that criticized this aspect of the book, but it couldn't have been more wrong. That kind of storytelling is what makes "Bury Us Upside Down" more than just a military history. It's truly a slice of American history and will richly reward even the reader who comes to it unawares, as I did.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Kick the tires, light the fire, wheels in the well!
3 May 2006
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
In 1967 I got my F100 "dollar ride" at Cannon AFB in New Mexico. I was an Air Force Academy cadet who only knew about the Misty pilots through the USAF grapevine and references to "fast FAC" programs. Those F100 fast FAC pilots and the POWs, like Lance Sijan (read "into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam"), were real heros to us. Cadets who were my upperclassmen knew many of the pilots. Their brothers, cousins and friends were in my squadron. All of us lived the Vietnam war every day.
This book is a fantastic story and well structured around the story of Howard K. Williams. His experiences as a Misty pilot are a foil for the telling of the history of the entire program. Not just the Misty program but the entire nightmare of the MIA experience for the families of all those missing is covered in this book. The POW experience in Hanoi, Laos (short and deadly) and south Vietnam is well covered and tied into the Misty program.
Misty was a finished program by the time I graduated and went on active duty but Vietnam was not. I worked the Igloo White program, the instrumentation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Misty pilots did not have a lot of use for the "pinball wizards" at NKP/TFA. That is another story but one that will one day be told. We worked closely with the successors to Misty. All of us in Southeast Asia came away with different views of the "elephant" that was the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The one thing upon which we could all agree was that the Washington politics over shadowed the technology, the bravery and the efforts put in by those "on the ground" to make an attempt to win a politically un-winnable war. Let's hope that after three years Iraq doesn't end up this way.
This book is a fantastic story and well structured around the story of Howard K. Williams. His experiences as a Misty pilot are a foil for the telling of the history of the entire program. Not just the Misty program but the entire nightmare of the MIA experience for the families of all those missing is covered in this book. The POW experience in Hanoi, Laos (short and deadly) and south Vietnam is well covered and tied into the Misty program.
Misty was a finished program by the time I graduated and went on active duty but Vietnam was not. I worked the Igloo White program, the instrumentation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Misty pilots did not have a lot of use for the "pinball wizards" at NKP/TFA. That is another story but one that will one day be told. We worked closely with the successors to Misty. All of us in Southeast Asia came away with different views of the "elephant" that was the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The one thing upon which we could all agree was that the Washington politics over shadowed the technology, the bravery and the efforts put in by those "on the ground" to make an attempt to win a politically un-winnable war. Let's hope that after three years Iraq doesn't end up this way.
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