Kracek

Vito Tomasino

Description

Kracek is a fighter pilot as capable of destroying his rivals with words as he is with bullets, a man as courageous on the ground as he is in the air, who sees his enemies not as faceless inhuman beings, but as good men and women on the other side of a war none of us want.

His encounters with a guerilla leader of equal resolve and intellect raise more questions about the war than answers. Despite its horrors, the two men never lose their humanity and realize an unsettling truth–they are not the enemy.

Sujets

• Military
• War
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 10 janvier 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456606817
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 28 Mo

Extrait

KRACEK
 
A Novel
 
VITO TOMASINO
 
 
© Copyright 2018, Vito Tomasino. All Rights Reserved
4 th Edition
 
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
 
Published by E-BookIt
 
 
Cover photo is a self-portrait taken by the author as he was flying an F-100 over the Pacific Ocean, enroute to Vietnam in 1966. The picture of the four aircraft in diamond formation, superimposed on his helmet, are of the USAFE Skyblazer Acrobatic team, taken by the author eight years earlier at Wheelus Air Base, Tripoli, Libya.
 
ISBN: 9781456606817
 

 
 
Books by Vito Tomasino
 
Non-fiction
Close Calls and Other Neat Stories
Sabre
 
Fiction
Kracek
 
THE REVIEW
“I met the author at a restaurant where I work as a server. He and his wife are wonderful, friendly people.
“After reading his novel, I must say, that ‘Kracek’ is a book so detailed and poignant, that only someone who lived and experienced the subject matter could ever write with such deep understanding for the human condition during war.
“The detail involved in writing this is astounding, and speaks volumes to the author’s memory and imagination. It is probably the most poetically written book on war that I've ever read, and although I am no expert, I can say with some certainty that I don't think I'll ever read such a nuanced and detailed depiction of war and the range of human emotions that comes with it.
“Not only is the writing and detail brilliant, but this book does something that most war books don't normally do, and that is bring in a serious level of humanism and understanding of both ally and ‘enemy.’
“The story is one that begs the reader to understand that all human life is precious, and although the media machine always paints the enemy as some sort of sub-human savage, especially during the Vietnam War, that couldn't be further from the truth.
“On the back sleeve of the book the author describes Kracek as: ‘…a man as courageous on the ground as he is in the air, who sees his enemies not as faceless inhuman beings, but as good men and women on the other side of a war none of us want.’
“No truer words were ever spoken. In this era of senseless terror and conflict all throughout the world it would be wise to remember such poignant and empathetic words, for we would all benefit from having compassion and understanding for each other.
“Thank you to Vito and his wife, Ezdy, whose name graced one of the planes he piloted in big, painted letters.” Jeffrey Canzani
 
 
“Kracek” has received some thoughtful reviews, but none that capture the essence of the story and its underlying message like that written by this young man. Jeff earned his bachelor’s degree since penning this review and will no doubt be moving on to doing more challenging things in his life; perhaps, write his own book. The author
 
EXCERPTS
“The guerilla leader I faced in that rice paddy demonstrated a level of dedication and bravery I’ve seen in few other men. If there are many more like him out there we are in for a long, hard battle”
 
“Despite the tired rhetoric of our politicians and generals, who profess to see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ all I see is more tunnel.”
 
“Regardless of whether you stand for or against our involvement, we are there. American lives are at risk! So, continue your debate if you must; it is in fact an affirmation of our democratic ideals. But, do not forget those of us whose lives hang in the balance.”
 
“…the Middle East…a region fraught with complex political problems, made almost impossible to resolve, because they are driven by the intractable positions of two major religions, Islam and Judaism.”
 
“They may all worship the same God, but it’s not Allah, or Yahweh, or the father of Christ, it’s the almighty dollar.”
 
“…unlike that little theater in Bellmore you went to as a boy, the only movie playing in their neighborhood is war. They were born into it. There’s a good chance they will die in it.”
 
“When this war is over—just like every other before it—we’ll go back to our homes and families to resume our lives, diplomatic relations will be reestablished, trade between our two countries will be resumed, and old enemies will become new friends. That’s the way it’s always been, and it will be no different this time.”

 
 

For Fannie and Joe

CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
1
Dual in a Rice Paddy
2
Tactical Approach
3
Renee
4
Commander’s Meeting
5
Whitfield’s Revelations
6
Bien Hoa Hospital
7
Incident at the “O” Club
8
Reflections of War
9
Dinner with Renee
10
First Kiss
11
Commander’s Reprimand
12
Whitfield’s Advice
13
Pilot’s Lounge
14
Flight Briefing
15
The Mig Kills
16
A Hero’s Welcome
17
General’s Debrief
18
Tan San Nhut Terminal
19
A Day To Remember
20
Departing Saigon
21
Pan Am Flight 816
22
Once a Marine
23
Guam Coffee Shop
24
Hawaii Leg
25
L.A. International
26
Washington D.C.
27
The Jefferson Hotel
28
Joint Session
29
The Oval Office
30
Dinner With Anil
31
A Fateful Decision
32
New York – Vietnam
33
The Capture
34
The Waldorf
35
Not My Enemy
36
Face of the Enemy
37
Pentagon Briefing
38
Kracek’s Surprise
39
The Rescue
40
Formation Recovery
EPILOGUE
Preview of author’s next book:
1
The Hits Kept Coming
 
 

 
 
KRACEK
 
 
 
 
 
“That’s the whole point, Viktor, war is war. They’re all the same. Good men get killed while others grow richer.”
PROLOGUE
The world watched uneasily as Hitler was given near dictatorial power by the German Reichstag. Their vote, on that auspicious day in 1933, would be the last democratic act in Germany until the end of World War II. The Nazis burned books, established concentration camps for political prisoners, and set the stage for the “Final Solution.” But would the chancellorship be enough for the Austrian corporal?
From neighboring Czechoslovakia, Vilos and Katerina Kracek, professors at Charles University in Prague, followed Hitler’s rise to power from their perspectives as a political scientist and as a historian. When they were informed by their German friends that the Nazis were rebuilding their war machine, it became clear to them that he wanted more than Germany.
“It is time we left Czechoslovakia,” Katerina said in measured tone, as she and Vilos sipped their breakfast coffee.
“But, Katerina, this is our home...our country. Our work is here. We cannot just leave.”
“We can, and we must!” I am two months pregnant, and I do not want our son, or daughter, to be born under the swastika of Nazi Germany. We must leave now, while we still can.”
Three months later, with the help and influence of an American colleague, they were offered teaching positions at New York’s Columbia University. Newly issued visas in hand, they left their beloved Czechoslovakia to begin a new life in America. Four months later, Katerina would give birth to a son—to whom they would impart their beliefs and values, but whose destiny would be shaped by “The Great Depression” and World War Two.
Only eight years old when the United States entered WWII, Viktor’s youth denied him a role in the war. He was old enough, however, to admire the heroism of the men and women who served, and harbored a personal guilt for those who did not return. He vowed then to be a part of the next conflict in which his country was involved.
Less than six years after VE Day the Korean War broke out. Still in high school at the time, and unable to get his parents to sign a waiver, he graduated with his class in June 1951. In January of the following year, one month after his eighteenth birthday, he joined the United States Marine Corps.
He chose the Marines, because he believed them to be the best fighting unit in the world and the fastest path to the front-lines. He was partially right.
It took more than a year of constantly badgering his commanders for him to get a combat assignment. The war was drawing down even before he could complete advanced infantry training at Camp Pendleton. He arrived in Korea on July 4, 1953 and was assigned to the 7 th Marines. On July 27 th , just three weeks later, the truce was signed—effective ten o’clock that evening.
The next thirteen months would be dedicated to rebuilding defensive positions along the newly established DMZ, guard duty, and never-ending training. Even with all that, there would still be time to ponder the future; and, as he watched the sleek Marine and Navy Panther jets make their low passes over Able Company’s campsite, he knew what that would be.
 
* * *
 
Five years later on the other side of the world, in a small hamlet carved out of the jungle in South Vietnam, another youngster faced his baptism of fire. He was the only survivor of an attack by South Vietnamese fighter aircraft—a mission ordered by his own government in the mistaken belief that the people of his village were harboring the Vietcong.
Were it not for the courageous action of his father, mother, and older brother, he would have perished with the others. When the first bombs hit, and the screams of the people in the square filled the air, Nguyen Van Thanh’s father pushed him into a hole in the floor used to store vegetables and, with his wife and eldest son to help, covered it with straw mats, dirt, and their own bodies seconds before the napalm incinerated the village and every living thing in it.
When the earth ceased to shake and the heat of the fires subsided, Thanh pushed aside the mats, dirt, and bodies of his family with a strength he didn’t know he had, and emerged amidst a smoldering landscape littered with charred bodies—human and animal. “If there is a hell then