Sherman Lead

Flying the F-4D Phantom II in Vietnam

By: Gaillard R. Peck Jr., Lt. Gen. Walter D. Druen - foreword, Gen. Richard E. Hawley - foreword

Narrated by: David Marantz

Written by a pilot who flew near-daily combat missions, this engrossing book is the story of one man, his colleagues, and his machine, the mighty F-4 Phantom II, at war.

Sherman Lead is the gripping story of a year flying the F-4 in combat during the Vietnam War, told through the eyes of a fighter pilot. Operating out of Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand in 1968-69, Gail Peck and his squadronmates in the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing were tasked with flying combat missions into North Vietnam and Laos at this time as part of Operations Rolling Thunder and Steel Tiger.

The F-4 was heavily involved in the air-to-ground mission at this time, with targets being well defended by enemy anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. Gail Peck's arrival in-theatre coincided with the beginning of electro-optical and laser guided "smart" bomb combat operations. There were periods of fierce combat interspersed with lulls, and the fighting was intense and unforgettable to those who participated. Some men lived through it, and others died without a clear understanding of why.

©2019 Gaillard R. Peck, Jr. (P)2019 Tantor

No continuity. His story frequently jumped topics.

As the title of the review suggests, the author could not remain on topic. He frequently abandoned one story to begin another story that was unrelated. The technique coupled with the monotone, slow droning voice of the narrator did not make for a pleasant listen.

Sherman lead good book

Sherman lead is a good book not bad. . . . . . . .

Story of a Patriot

As a fellow fighter pilot who longed for combat experience and found none, I always listen to the tales of my fellow battle hardened airmen with awe and envy. Was I lucky..... I'll never know it seems. But a great story we'll told!

Informative text book, not an exciting tale

I found that I had to think of this as a text book on what it was like to train with the USAF in the sixties and then to fly combat missions with F-4Ds in Vietnam.

I say this because it has extreme detail on the weapons and procedures used. You very rarely get this much detail on how they prepped for night missions, or how they would actually do dive bombing, how the weapons worked, etc.

But... this comes at a cost; the writing isn't great and all that detail doesn't make for a good story. In fact, I often lost the story with the plethora of details coming our way.

The narration is terrible and dull beyond belief. His complete inability to convey emotion takes the dull writing and ruins it further. I guess that Sean Pratt can't be available to narrate every audiobook that needs rescuing, but someone of his talents would have significantly improved this.

i met this man as a child… so glad to hear his story

not a fan of the narrator… very boring… like he is literally read it out of the book… no emotion what so ever… tales so much out of this book

enjoyed the accounts at times made you feel like you were there… a better narrator would make a world of difference !!