Taking Fire: Saving Captain Aikman: A Story of the Vietnam Air War

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Taking Fire: Saving Captain Aikman: A Story of the Vietnam Air War

Kevin O'Rourke & Joe Peters

Pages: 216 (H/B)

Publisher: Casemate

Publish Date: August 2013

Source: (digital ARC) Publisher via NetGalley

ISBN-10: 1612001262

ISBN-13: 978-1612001265

Rating: Read but Unrated - Not my thing

Synopsis: (Amazon)
"American military special operations forces Rangers, SEALs, and others have become a well recognized and highly respected part of our popular culture. But whom do these elite warriors look to in their times of greatest need: when wounded on the battlefield, cut off deep behind enemy lines, or adrift in the expanse of the world's oceans? They look skyward, hoping to catch a glimpse of their own personal guardian angel: a U.S. Air Force pararescue jumper (PJ) who lives, and sometimes dies, by the motto that others may live.

Taking Fire provides an up-close look into the heroism and mystique of this little known segment of the Air Force Special Tactics community by focusing on one of the most dramatic rescues of the Vietnam War. It was June 1972 and Capt. Lynn Aikman is returning from a bombing mission over North Vietnam when his F-4 Phantom is jumped by an enemy MiG and shot down. He and his backseater Tom Hanton eject from their crippled aircraft, but Hanton lands near a village and is quickly captured by local militia. Badly injured during the ejection, Aikman lands some distance from the village, and there is a chance that he can be recovered if American rescuers can reach him before the enemy does.

Now on the ground and drifting in and out of consciousness, Captain Aikman looks up and suddenly sees his guardian angel in the form of USAF Pararescue Jumper Chuck McGrath. As Sergeant McGrath is preparing to hook the downed pilot to a hoist line, he sees it fall to the ground. Hostile fire on the hovering Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopter has damaged the hoist mechanism causing the operator to cut the line. While circling A-1 Skyraiders strafe the militia to keep them away from Aikman and McGrath, the helicopter crew races to come up with a plan. It's getting dark, and they'll only have one chance.

Taking Fire is an exciting, highly dramatic story of life and death over North Vietnam. Much more than a chronicle the events of 27 June 1972, the book gives the reader an up-close look at the little known world of the U.S. Air Force's elite aerial rescue force.'

My Thoughts:
Taking Fire is written in a military documented style of writing using interviews with the para rescue servicemen. I felt disengaged and emotionally unconnected because of this style of writing and did not really get a sense of who the real men were. The authors do go some way to describe Chuck's life leading upto the main event but felt they were far more comfortable with in-depth details of the various helicopters used during the missions.

There are some horrific incidents described during the course of this book but even so I did not feel any real sense of involvement. I am not heartless it is purely the writing style. I don't think the authors meant it to be a 'tear jerker' or 'feel sorry for' story, and intended it to be a clear, matter of all the facts, military book documenting the rescue missions and the bravery of these little known servicemen during the Vietnam war. They definitely achieved their aim.

I have read many factual books about war but this was just not for me. In my opinion this is a man's book and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in military operations wanting to find out more about these extremely brave men and about the dangerous rescue missions.Thank you to the Publisher via Net Galley for allowing me to review this title.

DUTY TO INVESTIGATE by J W Stone

Duty to Investigate is a military crime thriller set in 2004 at the lead up to the Iraq War. I believe it is an authentic depiction of events and of the effects the war has on those involved, and the repercussions of misinterpretation of events and  actions taken.  It is a story in narrative form from several perspectives, the military, the interaction of troops with civilians and the enemy, and personal relationships.

The protagonist Lieutenant Colonel Mike Beck (USMC reserve) is good looking, highly intelligent with chauvinistic tendencies. He treats women as an R'n'R activity, to be used and discarded, but he is also compassionate, with a great deal of integrity and a strong sense of morality and totally dedicated to his work. Beck is a successful lawyer who is appointed as the 4th Division's Staff Judge Advocate. 

Anne Merrill is a highly motivated newspaper journalist who also works for a tv corporation.  She is beautiful, independent, headstrong and totally driven to get to where, and get what she wants on her own terms with no compromise. After an incident with fatalities taken in an ambush in Fallujah she is determined to provide coverage of the war in Iraq and has no qualms about using her positions to get her there.

Anne stumbles across an 'incident' and takes photographs. She is convinced that she knows what occurred and is determined to report what she has witnessed.  Mike however wants to investigate further but will he jeopardise his integrity in the process to get to the truth.

Haitham Rasheed and his cousin, Ahmed are teenagers wanting to do anything to help their family and make the difficulties of everyday life in a war torn country more bearable. Their actions have disastrous repercussions for all involved.

I particularly enjoyed reading about these characters and genuinely felt empathy, and concern for them.  They  were well drawn out, highly credible with flawed and complex traits, and I'm sure that some of the events and tragic circumstances will not sit well with some readers.  However, I did not fully believe in the relationship between Beck and Anne towards the end as it appeared out of character and rather rushed.  But then again, maybe being in an intense war zone where the threat of death is a possibility, perhaps people do act out of character during that period. I don't know, but the author does, so I asked him if Beck and Anne were based on real people but as yet I've had no response.  I had hoped his reply would give credibility to his characters actions.

'Duty to Investigate' is a thrilling military tale which at times has some harrowing scenes.  It humanises the Iraqi civilians instead of demonising them as a nation.  'DTI' should appeal to anyone interested in military thrillers, and about the Iraq War.

I look forward to reading more from JW Stone.

I received an e-copy from the publisher via NetGalley for an unbiased review. I should like to thank them for the opportunity to review this title.

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