Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail

"Bury Us Upside Down" came as a real surprise. Although I am of the Vietnam era, I am not a Vietnam veteran. (I lucked into No. 366 in the draft lottery and, frankly, was relieved that I wouldn't have to go.) Nor am I an avid reader of military histories of the war. But this book grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let me put it down. The story of "The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail" is compelling on its face and not well known to the general reader. Here it gets a taut telling in tightly constructed, thoroughly researched chapters packed with detail and drama. The accounts of the Misty pilots' attempts, successful and otherwise, to rescue downed aviators are especially gripping and, I'm not ashamed to say, made me proud to be an American. It's amazing to think that fully one-fourth of the Misty pilots were either shot down, captured, or killed. The risks they took were stunning. We may now associate American air superiority with precision-guided weapons that allow our forces to dominate from a great distance, but this flying was up close and personal. One author of "Bury Us Upside Down" is a seasoned magazine writer, and the other is a former Misty who became an Air Force general and now is a TV commentator. It's a winning combination. They give the Misty pilots, incredibly skilled aviators and men of unquestioned courage, their due without glossing over their human foibles and occasional lapses in judgment. The Misty pilots come alive as men in these pages, and you get to feel you know them. The authors also provide a pilot's view of the war that is often a portrait in frustration and a case study of the limits of air power. The unremitting flow of men and materiel down the Ho Chi Minh Trail is awesome in its own way. Finally, the authors round out the story by showing the effects of the war on Misty families on the home front, both during the war and after. I saw an otherwise glowing review of "Bury Us Upside Down" in the Wall Street Journal that criticized this aspect of the book, but it couldn't have been more wrong. That kind of storytelling is what makes "Bury Us Upside Down" more than just a military history. It's truly a slice of American history and will richly reward even the reader who comes to it unawares, as I did.

In 1967 I got my F100 "dollar ride" at Cannon AFB in New Mexico. I was an Air Force Academy cadet who only knew about the Misty pilots through the USAF grapevine and references to "fast FAC" programs. Those F100 fast FAC pilots and the POWs, like Lance Sijan (read "into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam"), were real heros to us. Cadets who were my upperclassmen knew many of the pilots. Their brothers, cousins and friends were in my squadron. All of us lived the Vietnam war every day. This book is a fantastic story and well structured around the story of Howard K. Williams. His experiences as a Misty pilot are a foil for the telling of the history of the entire program. Not just the Misty program but the entire nightmare of the MIA experience for the families of all those missing is covered in this book. The POW experience in Hanoi, Laos (short and deadly) and south Vietnam is well covered and tied into the Misty program. Misty was a finished program by the time I graduated and went on active duty but Vietnam was not. I worked the Igloo White program, the instrumentation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Misty pilots did not have a lot of use for the "pinball wizards" at NKP/TFA. That is another story but one that will one day be told. We worked closely with the successors to Misty. All of us in Southeast Asia came away with different views of the "elephant" that was the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The one thing upon which we could all agree was that the Washington politics over shadowed the technology, the bravery and the efforts put in by those "on the ground" to make an attempt to win a politically un-winnable war. Let's hope that after three years Iraq doesn't end up this way.

I am a good friend of Don Shepperd, but that didn't bias my review in the least. I read his first book.."Misty," and was absolutely mesmorized by the stories and the familiar names. After all, I flew the Hun also, out of Tuy Hoa in 1970 as the Mysty's were ending their glorious life.Many of them still guided us into the same dumb locations in Laos, but it wasn't the same. This second book shows a lot more polish and skill as one would expect, after having done one before. Give credit to Rick Newman here. The rough edges have definitely been honed smooth.Together these two men, and all their helpers did one fine job of sewing a piece of time with all the players together.Not easy by a long shot. Some of the stories are the same as before, but too good to leave out. Those are precious. So are the heartbreaks. That's what makes this book such a wonderful read. You can feel the emotion, whether you are the fighter jock, or the wife thousands of miles away. Some might say I'm biased because I did fly the F-100 in combat,and have known "Shep" for about 30 years now, and also know many of the people in the book. I say..."what's that got to do with it?" My opinion is the story is very real, and very well written, told better than most of us would like to believe. It's reality, it happened, funny at times, tragic at others. So is life. Damn good read. Don't pass on this one. Tony Bulat,LTC,USAF(Ret)

This is a superb book about brave aviators who flew one of the most dangerous missions of the Viet Nam War, and their families who agonized when their loved ones were killed or went missing. The F-100F pilots who performed as Fast Forward Air Controllers (FACs) along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in northern South Viet Nam and Route Package 1 in southern North Viet Nam made Misty FACs into combat aviation lore which has been largely ignored until this book. While the stories of Medal of Honor winners Lance Sijan in "Into the Mouth of the Cat" and Bud Day in "Return With Honor" give tantalizing glimpses, this book tells the complete and compelling story in comprehensive detail. From 1967 through 1970 there were 157 Misty pilots; 34 were shot down-two of them twice, three were captured and imprisoned in Hanoi and seven were listed as Missing In Action (MIA), later to be declared Killed In Action (KIA). Only those of us who flew over the Ho Chi Minh Trail can completely appreciate how brave and resolute these men where as they controlled mostly F-4 and F-105 fighter/bomber strikes against truck parks, antiaircraft batteries and other targets on and along the trail, but this book goes a long ways toward giving the reader the full picture. Author Shepperd, who retired as a Major General, was one of the Misty pilots and his narrative is fast paced, authentic and exceptionally entertaining reading. The authors also delve deeply into the horrors visited on the families of those missing and dead, as they battle an often intransigent US Air Force and bureaucratic officials. The uncertain fate of shot down or missing pilots in one of the most inhospitable areas on earth led to long and often unsuccessful searches, occasional violent rescue missions and interminable waits for the families. The struggles of the wives to find the truth makes for some of the best, yet disturbing, reading as over time the US government provides the answers to most of their questions, but not all. The reader will be left, as are some of the families, to wonder. This is a wonderful book written by one who was there, and it is highly recommended for anyone who has any interest in combat aviation and the war in Viet Nam.

After 27 years and 6,000 hours of flying fighters for the USAF.USN, USAFR and the Kansas ANG and 110 missions over Viet Nam, I have been there and done all that. But, I could not put the book done until I finished it. Extremely well written and documented. Tells the story from the Jock's point of view and from the sad life of all those left behind to wait. Brought me tears and laughter. You will love it very much. This really is a 10 star story! Ronald K. Williams, Fighter pilot, Colonel USAFR