"If you're shot down and bail out, your fight is just beginning. And bailing out over Laos is about as bad as it gets."
Hamfist Down!
Evasion, Survival and Combat in the Jungle by G. E. Nolly Nolly Productions, Inc.
book review by Annie Laura Smith
"If you're shot down and bail out, your fight is just beginning. And bailing out over Laos is about as bad as it gets."
American troop Covert Ops in Laos during the Vietnam War in 1969 were involved extremely dangerous missions. Those secret missions were not even identified as being in Laos, but reported to be in North Vietnam. This story of evasion, survival, and combat explores the dangers faced by American troops on the ground and in the air over the Laotian jungles.
The reader sees these operations through the eyes of 1st Lt. Hamilton Hancock, known in his squadron with the military nickname, Hamfist. His stark realization of the dangers he faces, especially if his plane is shot down "in country," is vividly described as he thinks about his .38 pistol. To avoid capture, he plans to save the last bullet for himself, and although Hamfist is wounded and faces death a number of times, he does survive. He was not one of the 58,000 who died during the War and whose names appear on The Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.
The author expertly portrays the harsh realities of this War. His experiences as an Air Force pilot, who flew 315 combat missions during two successive tours in Vietnam, provide exceptional background information. Descriptions of the geographical areas, combat and recovery scenes, military terminology, and dialogue all reflect an in-depth knowledge of the Vietnam Era. The dates shown at the beginning of each chapter keep the reader engaged in the timeframe of events. This novel is part of a Hamfist novel trilogy which also includes: Hamfist Over the Trail and Hamfist Over Hanoi.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review