The Rescue of Streetcar 304: A Navy Pilot's Forty Hours on the Run in Laos
On May 31, 1968, Lt. Kenny Fields catapulted off USS America in his A-7 for his first-ever combat mission. His target was two hundred miles away in Laos. What the planners did not know was that Fields and his wingman would soon stumble upon a massive concentration of anti-aircraft artillary (AAA) gun sites amidst an entire North Vietnamese division. Fields call sign Streetcar 304 was the first to roll in, and he destroyed that target with a direct hit. Three AAA guns began to fire, but, following his wingman's run, he rolled in again. This time many more AAA guns opened up and Fields was shot down. Soon, a rescue pilot suffered the same fate. The Rescue of Streetcar 304 is Fields' exhilarating narrative of the forty hours that followed and what turned out to be one of the largest and most spine-tingling air rescues of the Vietnam War.With both humor and drama, he draws on Air Force radio logs, after action reports, and extensive interviews with all participants - including wives at home - to tell the story. The result is a gripping tale of courage and brotherhood on both battlefield and home front. 311 pages
Hardcover with dust jacket
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