# Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin author Eileen Bjorkman pub 2020



## Tony Kambic (Sep 13, 2020)

From a review:

_Rarely does one come across such a detailed and personal account of the Naval Air War in Southeast Asia. One day in November 1965, Willie Sharp rode his parachute into the waters of the S. China Sea after ejecting from his wounded F-8E Crusader.
Eileen Bjorkman’s new book is a homage to the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) crews who plucked Willie from the waters of the S. China Sea so many years ago. It’s also so much more. In the literary tradition of John S. McCain III, James Stockdale, and Jerry Denton, Willie Sharp’s story takes us across the skies of Vietnam in his F-8, wing to wing with some of the finest aviators ever to walk this planet.
Finely written as only the daughter of a USAF F-100 pilot can, Eileen weaves her literary magic once again to tell Willie’s story against the backdrop of a violent war in the air over Vietnam.
The story centers around the F-8 Crusader, one of Vought Aircraft’s finest fighters (right after the F4-U Corsair) and the exploits of VF-191 “Satan’s Kittens” embarked on the USS Bonhomme Richard (the Bonnie Dick). Shot down and rescued Willie will eventually go on to serve out his 5 year hitch as a Naval Aviator, fly for United Airlines, and retire as a Boeing 777 Captain in 2000. Now in his early 80s he is a docent in the Bay Area on the USS Hornet.
You can feel the pop of the 23mm AAA guns, the diddle- diddle- diddle of the RAW gear in Willie’s ear in his F-8 , and the pounding of the jets on the deck of the Bonnie Dick each trap in this marvelous tale of bravery at Sea.
Whether you are a landlubber pilot like me, or a Naval Aviator you will enjoy this quick paced and detailed ride into aviation history. Spads , UH-2s, Crusaders, and Scooters fill this book with life and etch a story of the heroism and war in SE Asia from long ago._

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