Palace Cobra: A Fighter Pilot in the Vietnam Air War (ISBN 0312353561)

Written by a Warrior for Warriors:
Outstanding commentary of a two tour aerial war veteran of the Vietnam War. We were winning every time he and I left Nam.

The Flight Of Arnold The Pig:
After writing the superlative "When Thunder Rolled" about his early F-105 tour in Vietnam, Ed Rasimus, one of the most literary of all pilot-authors, turns his attention to his second tour flying F-4's. The result is "Palace Cobra" and it is another masterwork of first-person combat narrative plucked from the skies of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Although I prefer "When Thunder Rolled" (mainly due to my affection for the F-105, an affection Rasimus shares), this still needs to be high on the reading list of anyone interested in the air war in Southeast Asia. "Palace Cobra" is good at differentiating changes that occurred in the six or so years between his two combat tours. The war became more managed, and Rasimus makes the case passionately for the warrior class to be in charge of combat operations rather than the careerist administrators that so often were. In the conclusion he summarizes the lessons that were learned (at least partially) by the military in the wake of the Vietnam debacle, and thoroughly discredits Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara's idiotic "gradualization" and managerial policies that eventually allowed the ultimate North Vietnamese subjugation of the nominally less corrupt south. This book is somewhat more personality-driven than "When Thunder Rolled" and talks more about off-duty exploits as well. Some of this information is interesting, and all of it is very unvarnished. To be candid, I would have preferred fewer unseemly details of the Thai nightlife, and more of tactical operations, but that's nitpicking a heartfelt and honest book. Rasimus is a very intelligent man, and frequently presents relevant quotations as introductions or summaries of important concepts. The quotes vary from well known to obscure, but they all are perfect enhancements to his own words and artistically set the tone for what follows. My favorite two are likewise representative of the obscure and the well known: "The aircraft G-limits are only there in case there is another flight by that particular airplane. If subsequent flights do not appear likely, there are no G-limits." -Frank Chubba, fighter pilot "War is an ugly thing, but it is not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by better men than himself." -John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) There is no wonder why Ed Rasimus chose that quote to begin the book's final chapter. This is a great book, and I highly recommend it.

More great stuff:
Once again the author goes into combat above North Vietnam. This time in an F-4 Phantom. Although the plot is similar to his earlier book, "When Thunder Rolled", this one's different enough not to feel like a warmed-over rehash. The only thing the same is his fantastic ability to "tell it like it is". Chronologicaly, the events described came after his other book but you need not have read it to enjoy this. Along with Ken Bell's "100 Missions North" this has to be one of my favorites. You come away from it with a much better understanding of the complexities of the war from a strategic as well as tactical view. The mundane day-to-day stuff balanced with the terror they must have felt flying over the most heavily defended airspace known to man. The aircrews involved did a great job in spite of the adversities and this book tells one brave pilot's story superbly!

Highly recommended:
Whilst putting you very much in the cockpit Mr Rasimus has at the same time managed to produce a thoughtful, insightful, and instructive book that gives an excellent view of the experiences, feelings and thoughts of what it meant to be a fighter pilot in the later years of the Vietnam war. An excellent sequel to his earlier book. Highly recommended.

Great Read:
Rasimus returns to Vietnam for a second tour after transitioning to F-4's. We are indebted to Rasimus for his courage and his intellect. The book is superb. The book covers the air war from the height of air war against North Vietnam and the massive B-52 raids to the dog days near the end of the war when the REMF's came to get their tickets punched. Rasimus captures it all, from the sweaty, terror filled minutes of endless Sam killing missions deep over North Vietnam to the days near the end of the war when US planes did not venture into North Vietnam. The friendly skies of South Vietnam brought out those who had avoided the air war in various Pentagon burrows to get their 201 files filled with combat flying. Rasimus sorts out the good guys like Robin Olds from the slackers with a sharp knife. What differentiates this book from many other fine books is Rasimus' intellect and writing skills . Highly recommended.