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PRELUDE
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This CD-Book is the story of the life of one young pilot during the years 1968 thru 1973.
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In addition to the aviation stories, also included in “Catch The Wind” are descriptions of, and commentary on, many of the political and social problems occurring during that time period and some commentary on some of the political and social problems of today, and how these issues affect aviation.
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The chapters also include descriptions of some other memorable events occurring during that important and turbulent era in American history.
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Although these true stories take place during the years 1968 thru 1973, in order to properly understand the events occurring in this book, and how they affected this writer and many others, it is necessary to skip back to an earlier catastrophic event which was, what many people believe, the end of America’s “Age of Innocence”.
The Day The Music Died
DALLAS TEXAS – NOVEMBER 22 - 1963
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In the 5 years after the death of President John F. Kennedy, political and social unrest increased in the United States as did the American peoples dissatisfaction with this country’s involvement in the War in Vietnam.
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This led us to one of the worst years in the history of America.
1968
A Year to Remember
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I started flying in 1968.
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1968 was the best of times – It was the worst of times . . . .
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Although it was an important year for me, a lot of bad things were happening in 1968.
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It was a year the people of the United States will never forget.
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In 1968 the American war in Vietnam was at its peak.
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In January of 1968, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched the Tet Military Offensive against the US puppet government in South Vietnam, and against the US armed forces there. This massive offensive shocked the people of the United States and convinced most of us that this war was not going as well as we were being led to believe.
First Helicopter War
Massive B-52 Bombing
of Both North and South Vietnam
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- Also, in January of 1968, the USS Pueblo, a United States Navy intelligence (Spy) ship, was captured on the high seas by the Communist government of North Korea.
Its crew was held captive, in North Korea, for almost a year in an incident which humiliated the US Government and its citizens.
USS Pueblo
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In March of 1968, US President Lyndon B. Johnson, upon realizing that his policies regarding this unpopular war in Vietnam were opposed by the majority of the American people, and who many people believed was personally responsible for this war, shocked the world by announcing that he would not seek nor accept a second term as President of the United States.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
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In April of 1968, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the civil rights movement in the United States, was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee.
This event caused widespread rioting and looting in all major US cities.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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- In June of 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, (D. NY), brother of the former President, and former US Attorney General, was assassinated in Los Angles a few minutes after it was announced that he had won the California Democratic Presidential Primary Election.
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Winning this important Primary Election assured Senator Kennedy the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of the United States in the National Presidential Election that Fall.
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
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(As Senator Kennedy was certain to defeat Richard Nixon and win the 1968 Presidential Election, it is my personal opinion that the assassination of Robert Kennedy must go down in history as one of the major single events which most changed of the course of American and World history as much as any one single event could.
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In my opinion, America and the World would be much different places, the lives of all people would be much better, the US Constitution would still be intact, and the American way of life that we loved and miss, would have endured had Robert Kennedy lived and become President).
Another Bad Day For America And ForThe World
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In August of 1968, Vietnam War protesters were attacked by the Chicago police outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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The official report of these events described them as a “Police riot”.
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Pictures of the police beating the young protesters were broadcast around the world, causing considerable embarrassment to the US Government and further eroding international support for the US policy in Vietnam.
Democratic Convention - Chicago 1968
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The United States of America was in turmoil.
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There were civil rights and anti-war demonstrations going on in every major city and on many college campuses throughout the United States.
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Many young American men were being drafted for service in the US military.
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Most of these draftees were sent to Vietnam.
Vietnam
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Many young American men fled to Canada to avoid being drafted and forced to participate in this unpopular war.
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Some men went “Underground” in the US.
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This meant they disappeared into the hippy colonies or otherwise were in hiding.
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Others, such as myself, avoided military service by enrolling in colleges or universities.
Horrific Scenes From Vietnam – Broadcast nightly on US Television -1968
MUCH - MUCH MORE IN CHAPTER 2 . . . .
CD Only $ 7.95 (free shipping)
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