by Dan Hampton
First published 2012
Lt. Col. Dan Hampton opens with his record as the most lethal F-16 Wild Weasel pilot in American history. From 1986 to 2006, he flew the most dangerous missions in modern air combat, deliberately drawing fire from enemy surface-to-air missiles and artillery. Hampton led the first flight of fighters into Iraq in 2003, striking Baghdad and later saving a Marine unit near Nasiriyah. His father was inside the Pentagon during the 9/11 attacks, and Hampton scrambled into American skies with orders to shoot down unidentified aircraft. He also flew missions in the first Gulf War and survived the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist attack. With 608 combat hours in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and 21 confirmed kills on missile sites, Hampton earned four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor and a Purple Heart. This memoir captures the closed world of fighter pilots as manned combat missions give way to drone warfare.
Genres: history, military-fiction, action, biography-memoir, military-history, aviation
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir, military
Setting: Iraq, Khobar Towers, Nasiriyah, Pentagon
Period: 1986-2006, 1996, 2003, 9/11
336 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow