War for the hell of it
Subtitle: a fighter pilot's view of Vietnam
By: Ed Cobleigh
Edition: 2nd edition.
Publisher: Check Six Books
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Paso Robles, California
Language: eng
Number of pages: 266
ISBN-13: 9781629670713; 9781523680726; 9781629670720
Subjects: Fighter pilots; Biography; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; American Aerial operations; American Personal narratives; Aerial Military operations; American
Description: Ed "Fast Eddie" Cobleigh served two tours of duty during the Vietnam air war, logging 375 combat sorties in the F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber. In War for the Hell of It, Cobleigh shares his perspectives in a deeply personal account of a fighter pilot's life, one filled with moral ambiguity and military absurdities offset by the undeniable thrill of flying a fighter aircraft ... Cobleigh vividly recounts the unexplainable loss of his wingman, the useless missions he flew, the need to trust his reflexes, eyesight, and aggressiveness, and his survival instincts in the heat of combat. He discusses the deaths of his squadron mates and the contradictions of a dirty, semi-secret war fought from beautiful, exotic Thailand. This in an unprecedented look into the state of mind of a pilot as he experiences everything from the carnage of a crash to the joy of flying through a star studded night sky, from the illogical political agendas of Washington to his own dangerous addition to risk. Cobleigh gives a stirring and emotional description of one man's journey into airborne hell and back, recounting the pleasures and the pain, the wins and the losses, and ultimately, the return"--Back cover
Table of contents: title: Pre-mission briefing; title: Sewer doer; title: MiG night CAP; title: In the absence of fear, bravery is not required; title: Firecans and spectres; title: Trouble in paradise; title: And to all a good night; title: Steve Canyon and me; title: The wild blue yonder; title: War for the hell of it; title: The king of Venice; title: Laser pilot and cosmic GIB; title: A nickel on the grass; title: Sailing, sailing; title: There's no business like show business; title: Test hop; title: Amazing Grace.