Flying Through Midnight: A Pilot's Dramatic Story of His Secret Missions Over Laos During the Vietnam War

by John T. Halliday

Book Overview

In 1970, a young American pilot arrived at a dusty, half-deserted U.S. air force base and found himself on a battlefront he'd never heard of: the secret black-ops war in Laos. John T. Halliday was instructed to fly a retrofitted C-123 transport to direct night-time air strikes along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The mission sent Halliday, his plane, and his fellow men into the teeth of enemy fire--and required breaking every rule he had ever learned about...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312942036
• ISBN13: 9780312942038
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 468 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Wearing his Captain's Bars...............

Certainly not what I expected ! I consider myself a hobby historian of sorts when it comes to the 'Nam war, having worn my own "Blue Suit" for 22 years, 3 months and 4 hours. This book was far outside the usual "I was there and...." Think one part Kerouac and one part Kafka and be prepared to relive an individual's night time journeys through his personal darkness and self discovery in the skies over Laos. Definitely recommended ! !

Flying Through Midnight is my all time favorite book.

I learned so much about the Vietnam war I would have never known had I not read Flying Through Midnight. The details were so vivid that I actually felt like I was there. I highly recommend this book to everybody, young and old. It will not disappoint.

Think outside the box

Finally, a book about flying in the Vietnam War that actually goes into some detail about flying! "Flying Through Midnight" is the story of a young airforce pilot who flies an obsolete cargo plane on missions over the Ho Chi Minh trail. Its written from an interesting point of view. The pilot is reminiscing over his tour of duty while taking a break from flying on a mission. All the different memories he recalls are rocks in a stream which he picks up and examines. But don't let that unusual aspect scare you off. It works well with the story. In the essence of "Chickenhawk" (the best helicopter book to be written about the Vietnam War), "Flying through Midnight" captures the spirit of flying an ancient World War II designed cargo plane with a top speed of only 200 knots through anti-aircraft fire and enemy territory at night. I felt like I knew how to fly a C-123 after I read this book.

Alleycat Reading Candlestick

After reading a favorable review of Flying Through Midnight I bought a copy and thoroughly enjoyed reading and rereading the vivid account of a fellow pilot's experience flying C-123's and the "Candlestick" mission over Laos during the Vietnam War. During the time that John Halliday was flying "Candlestick", I was flying "Alleycat", a C-130E that carried the Airborne Battlefield Combat Control Center(A B Triple C). Coincidentally, I was assigned the night time orbit that flew the Barrel Roll (Laos and the PDJ - Plain of Jars), and I can recall the steady and continuous illumination of flares as the "Candlesticks" flew their night time missions. This is a novel about the Vietnam War, aviation, the C-123, the "Candlestick Mission", and of course the Air Force and careerism. It is not an accurate anthology of combat losses, correct call signs, and the vacillating intrigue of military and political decision making. It is a singular story of (forgive me) an old pilot's recollection of extraordinary events and extremely unique characters. This story is not meant to be criticized for authenticity. It should be understood as a memory carried in one man's soul more than 35 years after he left Southeast Asia. For those of us who loved the music, the accompanying lyrics were a special addition to a personal recollection of the hit records we remember from our combat tour in 1971. John Halliday obviously cared deeply for the characters he developed in his book. The dialog was believable, and I felt I could pick many of them out of a crowd after reading about them. I recommend this novel as a narrative that will make us reflect on a time long ago where world events and dear friends determined the course of our lives. A time when young pilots were designated Aircraft Commanders and they built their experience on missions flown with navigators and enlisted flight engineers and loadmasters that were wise beyond their years. It is satisfying to read John Halliday's book and realize that one of those young pilots flew airplanes for a lifetime, and became . . . . . . an old pilot. JAMES P. HANNY, Colonel, USAF, Retired

FTM - Not Just Another War Story

An evocative, thoughtful page turner. A unique story that transcends the war over Laos - this is not just a war story! John Halliday takes the reader with him on a journey that many might not have had the courage to do otherwise. He not only captures the poetry of flight, but gives you a good taste of the whipsaw emotions of combat and the "brotherhood" of the men that flew with him. When I first saw the book I wondered how exciting can a book about cargo planes be? Sit down and strap yourself in for a ride that you would expect from a "fast-mover" on afterburner. A definate "must read".

Flying through Midnight is a FANTASTIC BOOK!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! My name is Britney, I am 14 years old and I read this book for a project at school. So I just wanted to show everyone my report and maybe it will convince you that this book is fantastic! 8 ) "Flying Through Midnight" by John Halliday Recommendation for Summer Reading list Reading this book is one of the best things that have ever happened to me! It expanded my imagination and created a whole new world in my mind. I really enjoyed reading this book, the author's writing style, and I especially loved the many analogies he wrote. I feel that it should be on the summer reading list for 11th graders. More people would value their life and not take it for granted if they read this book because they would realize how easy it is to lose your life. "Do I follow my intuition, turn left, corkscrew down to the V lights, and hope I find the canyon entrance at the southeast corner? Or do I fly straight ahead northwest, make a 180-turn back in, try to find the keyhole, and land heading southeast as Charles and Rich say? WHICH WAY?" This quote shows that even the littlest thing or decision can get you killed. John didn't know if he should trust his own instincts and land where he thought the runway was or should he trust his crew and take the way they said to land? It almost seems easier to just take the crew's way so if he does live he won't feel like he killed them, but of course his strong instinct is pulling on him in the other direction, to go his way. Reading about all the life and death experiences that he has been threw makes readers thankful that they are safe at home and have people that are willing to fight for freedoms we now enjoy in the United States. This story can help people value their lives more. This book also shows that in war you have to trust each other with your lives. For example, "If I can still hear Rich's voice, that means...we're not dead! There's still hope!" This quote shows that they trusted each other and the pilot pulled them threw, but he couldn't have done it with out the rest of the crew. They have to work together and trust one another. So I wonder, if the crew didn't trust each other and work together like they did, would they still be alive today? Another reason this book should be on the summer reading list is because of the knowledge it holds. You get the behind the scenes information of what it is really like at war; the good, bad and the ugly. "They found him later that day. In pieces. The bad guys tied him to their truck bumpers and pulled him apart. Alive. Now stop right there. Think about that image for a moment. Hold it in your mind. Don't push it away the way you want. Now put the face of someone you love on the image: your husband, father, brother, favorite uncle, best friend, or sweetheart. Study the terror on his face. We figure they pulled him trampoline-tight, revved their engines to add to hid terror, and then sloooooowly pulled him apart. He had lots of time to thin

Review by a Candlestick FAC

John did a good job in describing our great outfit that no one knew about and that includes most members of the DOD .His description of arriving at NKP "International" really brought back old memories. I was one of very few Candlesticks who landed at Long Tien , but it was all day light work. When I later heard that someone made a night landing there, my reaction was that he had to be really hurting or lost his mind.This is updated after my second reading.The enemy fire that we faced was really small compared to the rest of the A-1s, B-26s, Nails and rescue faced on a daily basis. I left there in June 1970 and was Chief of Standardization. We did have a tactics manual and during my tour, I believe that I knew very few non professional aircrew. Most of the Pilots were graduates of AFIT, staff college etc and had thousands of hours in command. Indeed we were very fortunate to have several B-26 pilots join us after the B-26s were grounded in the Fall of 1969. After many TDYs and a remote tour before that, I thought that the quarters really beat many other locations. Again, I appreciate his work in describing an operation that our own families were not privy to.Thanks John! (...)