Dedication
To the 33 United States Air Force Academy graduates
who were Southeast Asia Prisoners of War;
their goal and motto was to
“Return with Honor.”
Acknowledgements
I’ve received much help from reviewers, contributors of anecdotes, historians, former cadets, faculty members, editors, agents, friends, and a host of other people … but all factual errors in the novel are entirely mine, and if not unintended, then were purposely inserted only as embellishment. Thanks to Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Vivian Trask, Don Erbschloe, Vickie Erbschloe, Matt Bialer, Lori Peterkin and her book club, Lisa Ice, Ken Zeringue, Don Shepherd, Elizabeth Muenger, Joe Gross, Craig Hendrickson, Mike Heil, Bill Sabol, Jeff Dotur, Harald Dogliani, Gary Ganong, Jim Parsons, Bob DeBerry, Hugh Gordon, Deane Burbank, Dick Halloran, Phil Gronseth, Curt McIntyre, Jim Mateos, Chris Jaremko, Yvonne Kinkaid, John Paul Fraser Fisher, Don Cole, Ron Furstenau, Tom McNish, and Beast Beason. The editorial team: Mia Kleve, Holly Smith, Bob Vitas and Michelle Corsillo. Thanks also to my USAFA classmates for reviewing the flying scenes: Robert Massey, Lou Michels, Rick Sowers, George Patterson, Kevin Kenkel, Jack Casey, Kevin Roll, and Bill Ramsay. And of course, without whose love and support this series would never have been possible, Cindy Beason.
Author’s Note
Although this is a book of fiction, it is based on historical figures, events, and locations that are real. However, it is impossible to precisely reconstruct the thoughts and motivations of these historical figures and their actions. In addition, the author has taken liberty to dramatically embellish historical events. For example, although Soviet Ilyushin Il-28s were present in Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis, Chinese Il-28s were not. As another example, although I received pointers on the POW scenes in Vietnam, not all events herein occurred in the manner depicted. I did this not to denigrate, but only highlight and humanize the significance of these actions. In addition, although the cheating scandal of 1965 did occur, the discovery of the scandal did not happen in the manner depicted; “call signs” for Air Force pilots were not widely used in the 1960s and early 1970s, but for continuity I used them throughout the book; and High Country Construction, Colorado Technical Associates, and the USAFA’s Department of Theoretical Mechanics did not exist. Finally, only to dramatize the novel, some anecdotes may be out of chronological order (such as an F-105 going supersonic over the Terrazzo, the Vietnam protests at the Cadet Chapel, etc.), the sole purpose being to not make this novel a dry chronicle of historical fact, but rather to show the true excitement of the evolution of a major American institution, the United States Air Force Academy.
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