CALL SIGN RUSTIC
The Birth of a BookCALL SIGN RUSTIC actually started at the first Rustic reunion in 1997. There, the Rustics learned that there was no official air force history of that operation. At the time it happened, it was so secret that no history was kept. Some of the Rustics, particularly the interpreters, had never received the decorations they had earned and never would if there was no record of what they did. The Rustics decided that a record would be created and recognition would be sought for those who had earned it, but never received it.Individual military records were searched and all known Rustics were urged to submit documents, maps, photographs and stories. Cambodians who had worked with the Rustics and were living in the United States were located and interviewed. The Air Attaché at the United States Embassy in Cambodia, 1971-1973, was located.The final manuscript was written to the standards of the Smithsonian Institution Press. That took about a year and it relied heavily on the advice and guidance of Mark Gatlin, Aviation, Space, and Military History Editor of Smithsonian Institution Press.Writing the book was an interesting experience for me. The Rustics existed for a little over three years, but I was only there for the first nine months of it. I was fascinated to learn all that had happened after I left. I hope you enjoy reading about this small and unrecorded bit of American history. It is one of the few positive stories to come out of the war in Southeast Asia.Richard Wood (Rustic 11)