Skyhawk : the Slide for Death

After seven years of brutal fighting, the North Vietnamese Army and Viet-Cong guerillas have massed hundreds of thousands of battle-hardened fighters in the north near the big South Vietnamese city of Da Nang and to the south, the capital city of Saigon. Enormous pressures have been placed upon the men, women and equipment of the South Vietnamese army. This is not only the story of the Marines who flew and maintained the A-4 Skyhawks, a light, extremely fast and maneuverable attack/dive bomber and the CH-46 Marine helicopter/Sea Knights in America's final days of this brutal war, but also the story of the North Vietnamese gun crews who fired their 37 millimeter, anti-aircft artillary attempting to drive the attacking Marine aircraft and helicopters from their skies. Incredible feats of valor, on both sides, were not uncommon. In addition, the narrative begins with one of the great rescue attempts in U.S. aviation history of a downed Marine pilot and the gut-wrenching attempts on both sides to rescue or capture him. This is a stunning portrayal of one of the highest decorated Marine combat pilots in history who flew over one thousand combat missions and the recipient of 53 combat air medals during two tours of duty flying the A-4 Skyhawk and the Boeing-Vertol, CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. Strap in and prepare yourself for an uparalleled look into the life of a Marine, combat aviator.