I Always Wanted to Fly: America's Cold War Airmen

Contents

Contents Foreword xi Preface and Acknowledgments xv Part 1: The Berlin Airlift, 1948 1 1. Men of the Airlift 12 Colonel Howard S. ‘‘Sam’’ Myers Jr. First Lieutenant Leonard W. Sweet First Lieutenant Marshall M. Balfe Colonel Harold R. Austin Lieutenant Colonel Edward Gorski Lieutenant Colonel Joseph F. Laufer Colonel Robert S. Hamill 2. The Bomber Boys 56 Colonel Joseph J. Gyulavics 3. ‘‘Ramp Rats’’: The Men Who Kept Them Flying 72 Master Sergeant Thomas W. Etherson Part 2: Korea, 1950 87 4. The F-51 Mustangs from Dogpatch 95 Colonel Charles E. Schreffler vii Contents 5. Night Interdiction in the B-26 Invader 104 Lieutenant Colonel Byron A. Dobbs Jr. Colonel Richard G. ‘‘Dick’’ Schulz 6. The B-29 Bomber War 119 Colonel Joseph J. Gyulavics 7. B-Flight out of Kimpo: Special Operations 126 Colonel David M. Taylor Part 3: Strategic Reconnaissance 145 8. Taming the RB-45C Tornado 152 Colonel Harold R. Austin 9. Recon to the Yalu and Beyond 160 Colonel Howard S. ‘‘Sam’’ Myers Jr. Master Sergeant Arthur E. Lidard 10. More Secret Than the Manhattan Project 175 Colonel Marion C. Mixson Lieutenant Colonel Francis T. Martin Jr. 11. Challenging the Russian Bear 196 Colonel Harold R. Austin 12. Flying the Top of the World 215 Colonel Charles L. Phillips Jr. 13. The Last Flight of 3-4290 230 Major George V. Back Captain Henry E. Dubuy Lieutenant Colonel Joel J. Lutkenhouse Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Rogers viii Contents Part 4: Vietnam, 1965 257 14. Hambone 02 267 Colonel Ralph L. Kuster Jr. 15. Lincoln Flight 300 Colonel Kevin A. ‘‘Mike’’ Gilroy 16. Yellowbird 323 Major Fred E. ‘‘Ed’’ Rider The Magic of Flying: Concluding Thoughts 341 Glossary 345 Bibliography 349 Interviews, Letters, and Tapes 353 Index 355 ix This page intentionally left blank ...