Da Nang Diary: A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Flying with SOG

Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal BEST MEMOIR OF 2014.


Originally published in 1990, this classic work has now been revised and updated with 50,000 words of additional narrative and previously unpublished photos. It is the story of how, in Vietnam, an elite group of Air Force pilots fought a secret air war in Cessna 0-2 and OV-10 Bronco prop planes—flying as low as they could get. The eyes and ears of the fast-moving jets who rained death and destruction down on enemy positions, the Forward Air Controller made an art form out of an air strike—knowing the targets, knowing where friendly troops were, and reacting with split-second, life and death decisions as a battle unfolded.

The expertise of the low, slow FACs, as well as the hazard attendant to their role, made for a unique birds-eye perspective on how the entire war in Vietnam unfolded. For Tom Yarborough, who logged 1,500 hours of combat flying time, the risk was constant, intense and electrifying. A member of the super-secret “Prairie Fire” unit, Yarborough became one of the most frequently shot-up pilots flying out of Da Nang—engaging in a series of dangerous secret missions in Laos. In this work, the reader flies in the cockpit alongside Yarborough in his adrenaline-pumping chronicle of heroism, danger and wartime brotherhood. From the rescuing of downed pilots to taking out enemy positions, to the most harrowing extended missions directly overhead of the NVA, here is the dedication, courage and skill of the fliers who took the war into the enemy's backyard.

Colonel Tom Yarborough, USAF (ret.) served in the Air Force for thirty years in a variety of flying and staff assignments. A command pilot, during his two Vietnam tours as a forward air controller, he earned thirty combat decorations, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He currently lives in Springfield, Virginia, where he maintains ties to the academic community as an adjunct history professor at Northern Virginia Community College.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Prologue: June 30, 1970
Map: Area of Operations

1. Indoctrination of a Rookie
2. Across the Fence
3. X-Ray Mission: Laos
4. Prairie Fire
5. Rescue at Route 966
6. lessons in Judgment
7. Standing Up in a Hammock
8. Outside the Envelope
9. The Covey Bomb Dump
10. All Points of the Compass
11. Valley of the Shadow of Death
12. SAR on the Trail
13. The Year of Fifty-Three Weeks

Epilogue: August 15, 1973
Where are they Now?
Glossary
Bibliography
Index