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(More customer reviews)This story, about the May 1967 attack on a bridge in what was then North Viet Nam by planes from the US carrier Kitty Hawk, grabs the reader from the beginning and doesn't let go to the end. The author skillfully weaves the human story together with fascinating details about the machines and the methods of war in that time. The people involved include the two crew members of the F-4 Phantom of the title, Linfield Two Zero One, who were shot down in one of many attacks on North Viet Nam's Thanh Hoa bridge; how they spent years as POWs in North Viet Nam; and how they were released and then ultimately, and poignantly, returned in 2004 to the site of their capture and imprisonment. Also shown are the Viet Namese who defended the bridge and then dealt with the American captives. The author does not judge the combatants; he only tells us what happened and lets the reader reach his own judgments. Every bit as interesting is the tremendous technical detail the author provides-- on the design of the F-4, the procedures for handling planes on a US carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin, the anti-aircraft defenses at the bridge, and many other aspects of the story. Focusing on those details bring the story to life, and makes the story more real and affecting than a more general description would. This is a fine book, and it is highly recommended for anyone who wants a window to that time and place 43 years ago.
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On May 14, 1967, a US Navy F-4B Phantom II jet, flown by Ev Southwick and Jack Rollins, launched from the USS Kitty Hawk. Their F-4 was rendered disabled while flying a mission against the formidable air defenses of the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. They did not return to their carrier. The two airmen ejected and were taken prisoner.Phantom in the River is the account of the plane's flight and mission to destroy the Thanh Hoa Bridge- a site where air defenses were formidable and quite a few Americans were shot down- and of the two pilots' heroic survival. Also included is the story of the author's trip to Vietnam in 2004. Along with the two Navy airmen, the group reunite with the wreckage of the pilots' Phantom. What results is an emotional visit to the bridge and site of their capture 37 years earlier.These two pilot's have never spoken about their mission before, until now. This is their account of what really happened.
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