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Racing Back to Vietnam: A Journey in War and Peace
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About Racing Back To Vietnam: A Journey In War And Peace
Product Description 2018 GOLD MEDAL WINNER (MILITARY WRITERS SOCIETY OF AMERICA) In 1971, United Air Force flight surgeon John Pendergrass spent much of his time in the backseat of an F-4 Phantom, racing across the skies of Vietnam. Forty-five years later, he boards an altogether different type of aircraft and heads back to Vietnam for an altogether different kind of race—an IRONMAN® triathlon. A veteran of IRONMAN triathlons on six continents, Racing Back to Vietnam follows John’s year in combat and his return to Vietnam, revisiting a country that, for him, is bound up in history, memory and emotion. A memoir of war as seen from the skies and a reflection on life’s high adventure, John tries to reconcile the Vietnam he saw from the backseat of a fighter jet with today’s modern Vietnam. Thought-provoking, heartfelt and gripping, Racing Back to Vietnam is one man’s trip back through time on a journey of rediscovery. Review "This book is a look at life in a fighter squadron in Vietnam from someone focused on saving lives. The flight surgeon is an integral part of a fighter squadron, especially in combat. It's an easy read that brought back some good memories... and some not-so-good." — Chuck DeBellevue, America's top fighter ace during the Vietnam War "A superb, first-hand account of combat flying. Highly readable, this is an informative and honest look at one man's personal experiences during the Vietnam War." — Dan Hampton, New York Times bestselling author of The Flight, Viper Pilot, and The Hunter Killers "This well-written memoir grabs your attention as the author describes his service in Vietnam as a physician and as an F-4 Phantom backseater. His accounts of today's Vietnam, its history and people, ring true and insightful. Honest memoirs of that miserable war are few. This is one of the best. I know; I was there." — Ed Cobleigh, author of War for the Hell of It and The Pilot About the Author Dr. John Pendergrass is an eye surgeon, decorated Vietnam veteran, and six-time IRONMAN® triathlon competitor. A native Mississippian, he graduated from Delta State College and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Mississippi. Pendergrass is the first person over 60 to ever compete in six IRONMAN triathlons on six continents, which served as the inspiration for his first book, Against the Odds. Pendergrass is married with three children and has practiced ophthalmology in Hattiesburg, MS for over 40 years. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Have you ever been to an air show or a football game and watched fighter jets fly over the field in perfect formation? Three or four planes, barely a hundred feet above the ground, wings only a few feet apart. The aircraft arrive almost unexpectedly and quickly disappear into the distant horizon, leaving only the ear-splitting, deafening roar of jet engines hard at work. The whole thing happens in just a few seconds and nearly takes your breath away. The crowd’s normal response is to stand awe-struck and break into applause. It’s speed and power, sound and fury, the likes of which you’ve rarely seen before. You wish you could capture the moment, experience the thrill one more time. I’ve had that feeling, and then some. For a year, I served as a United States Air Force flight surgeon at Da Nang Air Base, flying in the backseat of the workhorse fighter of the Vietnam War: the F-4 Phantom. The backseater served as the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) and got an occasional chance to fly the aircraft. He was a junior partner in the F-4, a sidekick in the rear cockpit. The plane-driving, gun-shooting, bomb-dropping pilot in the front seat was the man in charge—the Aircraft Commander (AC). When it came to being shot down or killed, the two share the risk equally, true partners in every sense of the word. Flying fighters is exhilarating. You are strapped into what seems like the fastest, most powerful machine ever made by man—the top a
