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A Navy A-7 Fighter Pilot's Gripping Tale of Escape and Rescue during the Vietnam War! On 31 May 1968, Navy Lt. Kenny Fields catapulted off USS America, in his A-7 Corsair II on his first combat mission. His target was in Laos, which at the time was ""officially"" off-limits for U.S. attacks. Fields?call sign Streetcar 304?was the first to roll in and destroyed the target with a direct hit. Three AAA guns began to fire, but, following his wingman, he rolled in again. This time many more AAA guns opened up and Fields was shot down ?hitting the ground with enemy troop in hot pursuit. The Rescue of Streetcar 304 is Fields' exhilarating narrative of the 40-hour ordeal that followed, in what turned out to be one of the largest and harrowing air rescues of the war. Before it was over, the U.S. Air Force had flown 189 sorties to rescue Fields, and in the process four pilots had ejected, seven planes were lost or heavily damaged, and one pilot became a POW for five years. This tale of a Navy fighter pilot's escape and rescue is a gripping story of courage and brotherhood during the Vietnam War. AUTHOR: Kenny Wayne Fields flew 139 combat missions in the A-7 during two combat tours in Vietnam and served as a flight instructor and as the active duty officer in charge of a reserve A-4L and A-7B squadron. After 22 years he retired from the Navy with 3,350 flight hours and 475 carrier landings. A native of West Virginia, he now lives in North Carolina. REVIEWS: "An extraordinary story, superbly told. I predict that The Rescue of Streetcar 304 will become an instant military aviation classic." ?Stephen Coonts "As an infantryman in Vietnam, I sometimes looked up to see our warbirds soaring overhead and wondered who was in the cockpit. It turns out a high school friend of mine, Kenny Fields, was one of them. Not only that, he was shot down and had a most remarkable wartime adventure, told now in one of the best books set in that era I've ever read. I'm proud of Kenny's service, prouder still that he has written a most remarkable book that deserves a huge audience." -Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys "Kenny Fields is the ultimate survivor. For forty hours he evaded the enemy as we Sandy A-1 Skyraider pilots tried to pluck him from the hostile jungle. Here is the riveting account of his escape from Laos . . . fasten your seatbelt!"
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