Overview

"In early 1966, Dr. Guy Clark received orders to go to Vietnam, and upon arrival that June was assigned to be a flight surgeon at Cam Ranh Bay Air Force Base, on the South China Sea. Thus began a year-long assignment that would find Clark flying more than ninety bombing missions over Vietnam in the Phantom F4-C, plunging deep into the Viet Cong-infested jungle with a gaggle of Republic of Korea Marines in search of the remains of two lost Phantom pilots, and tending to the medical needs of the pilots he flew with. Sharkbait, A Flight Surgeon's Odyssey in Vietnam tells these stories and more, including Clark's survival of ""Jungle Survival School"" in the Philippines, and temporary assignments at Vung Tau (the ""Riviera"" for servicemen in Vietnam), Binh Thuy, and other Air Force outposts in Vietnam. Along the way, Clark introduces readers to arrogant and clueless military brass, and courageous pilots who day after day fly into the danger and uncertainty of a war that was becoming increasingly unpopular at home. Guy Clark's experiences as flight surgeon and doctor to the pilots who flew bombing missions every day were very different from the ground troops and helicopter pilots, many of whom have written eloquently about their own war experiences. Clark was a physician who dreamed of high adventure, and flying with the Phantom F4-C pilots was the ultimate high."

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From Kirkus Reviews: A thorough memoir of a flight surgeon's adrenaline-filled experiences in the Vietnam War. Debut author Clark describes himself as a man with a great thirst for knowledge and passions for high adventure, characteristics that led him to pursue medicine and become a flight surgeon for the United States Air Force. During the Vietnam War, he was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay in 1966 and experienced more adventure than most men experience in ten lifetimes. As a flight surgeon, in addition to his regular medical duties on base, he flew more than 90 missions in a Phantom F4-C, which strafed, bombed, and napalmed targets. Clark details these missions, such as destroying way stations along the Ho Chi Minh Trail over Laos: The scenarios of anti-aircraft artillery reaching skyward to destroy us with red and white fingers of liquid-lead and explosives were typical and characteristic of every mission. He shares his informed perspective on the political circumstances of the time, including some of the major flaws of administration as well as the destitute conditions of the Vietnamese and the spirit of both camaraderie and occasional tension among Air Force personnel. Clark eloquently recounts tending to pilots' injuries and handling the aftereffects of disastrous crashes. He writes intelligently, illuminating events and the insights they evoked. Long stretches of dry, technical descriptions, however, may overwhelm readers (e.g., his 10-page introduction to the history and capabilities of the Phantom F4-C). This isn't a fast-paced memoir; instead, it's more of an excavation of the many particulars of military life and is interspersed with thrilling adventure in the skies of Vietnam. Heavy on the technical details but rich with vividly recalled episodes of aerial warfare. Reviews from Amazon: This guy has a total understanding of the whole war thing. No one really wins and we had lost again. I wish I were as fortunate to eat and live as he did. Guy writes in a very readable and personal style and includes so much day-to-day detail and background that I feel as though I am there amidst the steamy jungle and in the cockpit of the attack fighter. Exceptional read for those interested in more than the combat action of the men who served in Vietnam. Chapter 28 is about the F4 accident report on the incident starting in Chapter 26. It is odd that the USAF official accident report lays the blame for the F4 loss on tower controllers when the true cause was pilot error. An amazing story by a gifted author, this captures his probably unique Air Force experience in a fighter squadron. Highly recommended.

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