The pinnacle
Subtitle: a memoir
By: H.W. Bingaman
Edition: Rev. date: 11/18/2014.
Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
Published: 2014
Place of publication: [United States]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 254
ISBN-13: 9781483401119
Subjects: Biography; Officers; Fighter pilots; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; American Personal narratives; American Aerial operations; Armed Forces; Military Aeronautics; Aerial Military operations; American; United States. Air Force; United States
Description: "Bingaman returns to his Iowa roots in this collection of anecdotes, reminiscences, and close calls among fighter pilots and their peers. Recounting first his time in England as an American airman in a NATO squadron, the narrative covers his time in Oregon, the Midwest and Vietnam, detailing the operations -- particularly the idiosyncrasies and frustrations -- of military programs and the officers that oversaw them. In the Cold War shadows cast by Eisenhower and Khrushchev, Bingaman changes locations multiple times, taking his family with him. In Vietnam, as the war unfolds, he finds himself caught between the dangerous requirements of his occupation and an American bureaucracy with strenuous demands but too little regard for the human costs. A careful combination of career savvy and compassion helps Bingaman keep his wits sharp as friends disappear around him and the political situation grows thornier; he manages to survive a war he judged to be 'a complete misfortune' and in which the White House wasted arms, effort and men"--Back cover.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: 1950s : the NATO years. A spitting image; title: Mushrooms and little feet; title: The wagon train; title: The voodoo; title: Pitch up; title: 1960s : air defense. Aircraft maintenance; title: The trail to Oregon; title: Maintenance & managers; title: Sawyer Air Force Base; title: Prelude to combat; title: Thailand; title: The pinnacle; title: Homecoming; title: Hamilton Field; title: Farewell to wings.