Misty: First Person Stories of the F-100 Fast FACs in the Vietnam War

This is a fascinating book. These men should have a movie made about their mission. The stories are Patriotic, moving and heartbreaking. The courage of these men was off the charts.

The only problem with this book is putting it down! I enjoy reading military history written by the people who saw it firsthand, and this book is an excellent example of a group of men who put together their stories and published them using a print-on-demand publisher, enabling them to preserve this history that may have gone otherwise forgotten amid the big publishing houses that are only focused on the big-name stories and opinions.The FAC pilots flew a tough mission, trying to find SAM missiles and other targets and them mark them so the fighters with the big bombs could come in and take care of business. Sounds easy, but it isn't when you're in a slightly out-of-date plane with everyone and their brother shooting at you. These pilots would come in low, "jink" around to avoid ground fire (and often they didn't!), and mark the targets with a smoke rocket.The Misty pilots used the F-100 2-seater jets, which were faster than older attempts with the O-1 birddog (basically a Cessna prop plane) and there were many close calls, bail-outs, captures, and some losses, but these guys kept at it until they could see a totally camoflauged ammo dump in their sleep.This huge volume covers personal stories from many pilots, with Shepperd collecting the information and writing his own tales. It tells of the persecerence of these brave men, how they missed their loved ones back home, how they joked around on their time off, and how they did their job at 110%. I know this was all before my time (my dad actually worked on the older O-1 planes when he was in Vietnam) but I am amazed at the stories of what happened and that any of these guys made it back. This is an excellent book and well worth the time it takes to read all of the information, especially since you can't put it down once you start!

A must see book about a small group of fighter pilots that had a big part in reducing enem6 supplies coming down from north vietnam

This is the companion book to "Bury me Upside Down". Any complaints that you might have about that book not staying on message are immediately dispelled in the more than 600 pages and 81 personal "stories" by the Misty pilots. The stories would seem fantastic if fictional, but these are real life stories. From the training in the US to the POW camps in Hanoi, from the multiple ejections to the "Mig sweeps" at the officer clubs, you will be fascinated by each person's stories. The references in the back are beyond useful. I found myself constantly flipping back to see what this pilot was doing today or who the other pilots were in his "generation" at Phu Cat.And the ultimate farce of war is also present. Joseph Heller did not even com,e close to the truth in "Catch 22". When Colonels from Saigon would complain about the FACS getting their F-100 "damaged" by ground fire and write up the pilots and maintenance people for not taking better care of the US Government equipment, you had to wonder how we ever made any progress in that war.If you want a read on what the "real" war was like for the US Air Force in Vietnam get this book and read it. You will not be disappointed.

Not sure all readers will be able to wade through all of the war stories in this book, but they should try. If you have any interest at all in the Vietnam war, this book should be a part of your library. I never flew the Hun but I flew in and out of Vietnam for 3 1/2 years and then spent my own tour there. These stories are riveting (not all, but most) and will have you marveling at some of the activities that went on. Since the war I have actually met and talked to several of the players and found that although this book has a lot of info, there's a lot that is yet to told.

It was a gift for my husband. He is VERY impressed with the books and says he would give it more than five stars.Great Job!

I really enjoyed reading the accounts of the Misty participants and all of the follow-on data assembled by the author. I have started looking for some of the sites referenced in the book on Google satellite view based on data quoted in various accounts. I wonder if the quoted map coordinate data is available somewhere today; I plan to do some research on this. These men are really heros and their stories are priceless, both in the terms of the human experience and sacrifice and how the missions were conducted. The after-war follow-up and statistics added a tremendous amount to the book. Shepperd did a wonderful job with this book.

I was an F 100 crew chief in 1967 stationed at Bien Hoa. I knew several pilots that flew with MIsty, a top secret operation back then. The pilots flew the HUN on low and fast missions. 22% were lost or captured Bud Day MOH was the commander and was shot down and spent 5 1/2 years at the Hanoi Hilton. All of the stories are by individual pilots. You cannot make this stuff up. I read the book twice. The accounts are real and will pull you into the back seat for a wild run through Cambodia,Laos and North Vietnam. Fasten your harness and enjoy the breath taking journey

Not got far into this yet, but I'm becoming an F-100 fan, and this is about possibly their most enduring work as Forward Air Controllers in Vietnam. As others have said, you need a bit of background knowledge, but after that, it's the real deal for Vietnam air war buffs.