"Austin, where did you learn to fly?" Mario Russo asked from the backseat of Jon O'Meara's Phantom.
"We're going to have to get out," Brad replied, feeling the F-4 enter a prestall buffet. He saw 6,800 feet on the altimeter. "The nose is going to fall through when we go inverted again."
"Brad," O'Meara radioed, "we've got a SAR flight on the way. Red Crown has been notified."
Watching the horizon tilt, Brad shot a look at the rapidly unwinding altimeter, then keyed his mike. "Thanks. Have you seen Nick and Harry?"
"Negative," O'Meara answered, searching for Brad's wingman. "Maybe they cleared the beach."
Inverted and hanging from his restraints, Brad smoothly shoved the control stick all the way forward. "How far out are the SAR — "
His statement ended when the F-4 suddenly departed and entered a poststall gyration.
"EJECT! EJECT!"
Nick Palmer slumped in his seat, feeling the light-headed sensation of being semiconscious. He could hear Harry Hutton talking to him, but his reactions and thinking ability were in slow motion. His dazed mind could not comprehend what had happened to him.
Taking stock of the situation, Nick looked down at his control stick. He had a hold on the grip, reacting to a primordial instinct for survival.
The SAM shrapnel had penetrated the F-4 inches below the canopy rail. The high explosive had ripped into Palmer's right arm, shoulder, and chest. He could move his arm, but he was bleeding profusely from his gaping chest wound. Miraculously, his oxygen mask and hose had survived the blinding explosion.
"Nick," Harry soothed, "how are you doing?"
Palmer inhaled, then felt an excruciating pain. He ventured a few words. "Not so good. If I pass out, command eject us."
"Hang in there," Harry said, working the radios. "We're over the gulf, so you're doin' great."
"Yeah," Palmer gasped, trying to focus on the instrument panel. "Where's the boat?"
Harry looked out at Dan Bailey's Phantom. The CO was in the process of having the Air Boss erect the massive nylon barricade. "Straight ahead, eighty-three miles. The old man is escorting us in."
Palmer moved his eyes without moving his head. "I don't… see him."
"He's off our right wing," Hutton answered, prepared for an ejection, "in loose deuce."
The cockpit remained eerily quiet as the Phantoms cruised at 18,000 feet. The CO, fearing Palmer might have oxygen problems, did not want to climb any higher.
"Harry," Palmer gasped, staring at the altitude indicator, "we can't land. I can't focus my eyes."
Hutton inhaled and spoke reassuringly. "We're going into the barricade — piece of cake."
"Great," Palmer replied, then looked down again. He was sitting in a pool of blood. "I don't know, Harry."
"Come on, for Christ's sake," Hutton cajoled loudly. "You're a goddamned fighter pilot — a tail hooker. You can do anything."
Palmer instinctively flew the damaged Phantom straight and level at 240 knots. He blinked several times in a futile attempt to clear his vision. "You'll have to talk me down. I can't focus."
Harry closed his eyes a second, asking God for divine guidance, then opened them. "Shit, Palmer, I could give you a fifty-cent piece, then talk you out of a dollar's worth of change."
Chapter 21
Brad saw the earth and sky spin a split second before the violent explosion rocketed him out of the cockpit. The windblast almost ripped his oxygen mask loose.
He tumbled through the cloudy sky, then snapped straight out when the main canopy popped open. He swung below his parachute and looked around. Russ Lunsford was slightly below him, seventy to eighty yards away.
Peering around and below, Brad was unnerved to see people staring and pointing up at them. He could see that they were Vietnamese farmers, but some of them were armed with rifles and scythes. He could also hear dogs barking amidst the shouting and clamoring on the ground.
Becoming aware of a screeching sound, Brad twisted his head in time to see his wounded Phantom hit next to the village. The thunderous explosion cartwheeled the F-4 through the village, setting the inhabitants and their dwellings on fire.
The gruesome scene was incomprehensible to the stunned pilot and his RIO. They watched in agony as people screamed in terror when the blazing jet fuel rained down on them.
In desperation, Brad surveyed an area to the east of the village. He steered his parachute toward the slight incline. If he and Lunsford could make it over the tree line, they might have a chance for rescue.
Dropping his survival gear on the cord attached to his parachute rigging, Brad pulled out one of his emergency radios. He had altered his personal equipment to carry two survival radios and a second revolver, complete with an extra clip of ammunition and a box of.38-caliber ammunition. He placed the radio securely in his torso harness and felt for his service revolver.
Watching the approaching trees rise to meet him, Brad heard the howl of an F-4 Phantom. He turned to see Jon O'Meara, who had dispatched his wingman to the carrier, streak low over the farmers who were crossing the field. They were running toward their burning village.
In the last few seconds of his descent, Brad could see that he was not going to clear the wide span of trees. He crossed his right arm under his chin, gripping his left shoulder. He placed his left arm under his crotch and crossed his legs.
Seconds later, Brad plummeted into the tall trees. The impact knocked the wind out of him. Gasping for air, Brad looked down. He estimated that he was twelve feet above the ground.
Recovering his breath, Brad hung suspended from his parachute canopy. His mind reeled from the sudden transition. Only a minute ago he had been in his plane; now he was dangling from a tree. He heard some of the shouting villagers racing toward the trees. He might as well have dropped a bomb on their families.
Harry Hutton could see the carrier in the distance. The strike group, far ahead of the two Phantoms, was recovering in an orderly flow. They had lost three aircraft during the attack, including the skipper of the A-4 Skyhawk squadron.
Weak from his massive loss of blood, Palmer heard Dan Bailey radio the carrier. The Air Boss confirmed that they would be able to take Palmer's damaged Phantom aboard in ten minutes. The barricade was almost in place.
"Okay, Nick," the CO said in a quiet, comforting voice, "let's dirty up. Power back… and I'll call for flaps and gear. You just keep the wings level."
"Copy," Harry Hutton answered for his wounded pilot, then keyed the intercom as Nick pulled the throttles back an inch. "Hang in there — we're going to make it." Palmer remained quiet, barely conscious.
Harry continued to give his pilot small heading changes as the two aircraft flew downwind toward the carrier. Abeam the ship, Dan Bailey radioed for Nick to lower his flaps and landing gear. Palmer would not be using the tail hook for the barricade arrestment.
The Air Boss called when the flight was three miles astern of the carrier. "Joker Two Zero Seven is cleared for a barricade arrestment."
"Roger," Hutton replied, coaching Palmer into a left turn. The gravely wounded pilot let the nose drop too far as he initiated the turn.
"Back pressure," Harry reminded. "Get the nose up."
"Joker Lead," the commander in Pri-Fly radioed, "we're shooting a tanker. Should have you on board in twenty minutes or less."
"Copy," Bailey replied, nervously watching Palmer lose altitude in the turn. "Nick, keep your nose up… doing fine, but get your nose up."
Brad released his Koch fittings, dropping twelve feet to the dense undergrowth. He hit hard, then staggered sideways to regain his balance. He raised the tinted visor on his helmet and looked for Lunsford. "Russ, can you hear me?"