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

Praise for Bury Us Upside Down "The stories . . . are vivid and timeless:: the North Vietnamese gunner who was so inept that the Mistys had a standing order not to shoot him; the pilot who dissuaded his new commander from launching night Misty missions by taking him on a night flight and surreptitiously switching on the outboard lights over heavy ground fire; the Misty custom of igniting their afterburners over POW sites, sending out a familiar booming noise that told the downed airmen they were not forgotten. [A] gripping narrative. . . . It's a fabulous read."-The Washington Post "This is a true story about real warriors-both those who came home and those who did not-and the legacy they left. The story of the Misty pilots fills a gap in our understanding of the Vietnam War, and reminds armchair tacticians what the true cost of war is, and who pays the price."-Joseph Galloway, co-author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young "Rip that Nintendo out of your kid's hands and hand him Bury Us Upside Down! This outstanding book will give him insight into what real aerial combat, flown by real heroes, is like. Undoubtedly the best book of its type," "Bury Us Upside Down is the truth writ bold and simple-the story of the men who fought the war flying the toughest missions imaginable, and their families. It is a book of heroes, and just reading it gives you insight into what a true hero feels."-Walter J. Boyne, former director, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution "With its great in-the-cockpit stories of the first jet-fighter combat forward air controllers, Bury Us Upside Down is an incredible account of how it all started. The reader will feelthe G forces, the strain of avoiding ground fire, the satisfaction of a completed rescue, the black humor of combat-hardened pilots, and the effects on the families of those who didn't return. But most of all the reader will feel proud America can produce such men."-Mark Berent, author of the Rolling Thunder series "[A] thoroughly readable, absorbing history . . . a distinguished addition to Vietnam War aviation literature."-Publishers Weekly

Bury Us Upside Down is the story of the men who had one of the most dangerous jobs during the Vietnam War. Named after their radio call sign, the Mistys were pilots from a top secret unit officially known as the Commando Sabre Operation. Formed in 1967, its aim was to fly dangerous, low altitude missions to find targets along the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop the flow of supplies to South Vietnam. If all went well, the Misty pilot would find a target and mark it with a rocket for the bombers. Unfortunately, their missions rarely went well. With a survival rate of lower than 30 per cent, the Misty missions were extraordinarily dangerous. Rick Newman is a senior writer at US News& World Report who covered the Pentagon for seven years, which included US missions in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Don Shepperd (Misty 34) reported for duty at Phu Cat air base on 19 December, 1967 and flew fifty-eight missions as a Misty during his four-month tour. He flew a total of 247 combat missions in Vietnam, and retired from the Air Force in 1998 as a two-star general and head of the Air National Guard.