Racing Back to Vietnam: A Journey in War and Peace

by John Pendergrass

In 1971, John Pendergrass was seated in the back of an F-4 Phantom, racing across the skies of Vietnam as a United States Air Force flight surgeon. Forty-five years later, Pendergrass boards an altogether different type of airplane and heads to Vietnam for an altogether different kind of race. A veteran of IRONMAN triathlons on every inhabited continent, Racing Back to Vietnam follows Pendergrass as he returns to Vietnam in more ways than one--revisiting a country that, for him, is bound up in a complicated mess of memory and emotion.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 24, 2017

Reviews

[Vishnu Chevli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I talk about this book, I would like to appreciate author John Pendergrass' efforts not just by writing this book but for surviving the bloody war. I avoid biographies or memoirs due to the boring way it is presented to readers. (or maybe I found it boring). But "Racing Back to Vietnam: A Journey in War and Peace" was content-wise nicely formatted which can make readers stick to the last page.

Book or I would say story started with the author being sent to Vietnam as the flight surgeon. He was in Air Force and in Vietnam he was stationed at Da Nag a war sensitive area. Enemy territory was not far from the area where rocket attacks were common. Each chapter in the first half of the book shows different situation or mission or problem of a person going through war. As a doctor, the author was expected to do his medical duty but being an adventurous and fearless personality he also served as co-pilot on war missions.

The reason behind the "Racing to Back" in the title was not only memories of wartime, but the author re-visited Vietnam once again after 40 years. He revisited areas he once knew or visited during the war.

Following things were covered in book apart from authors life
- Background of Vietnam War - In this section starting from end of Korean war to beginning and end of Vietnam war many things were covered in details.
- The strategy of the USA in Vietnam war - The author has strongly shown weak strategy token by the USA in Vietnam war. Apart from that, many personalities (strong/weak/corrupt) were mentioned.
- Social Conditions & Colonization Impact of French drug cartel on Vietnam
- USA's fight against drug cartel and black market syndicate
- Life of a soldier in war. Starting from daily life to spiritual to physical & psychological issues were covered.
- The situation of "Prisoner of war" person or family of "Dead in Action" were mentioned.
Comparison of lifestyle of Vietnamese during war and after 40 years
- Division of old Vietnam into multiple small countries having different way of governing principal

Ideal gift for
- Those who love to read war-related books
- Those who love to read traveling / Adventure / Sport book

A wonderful book covering war era & current era of Vietnam.

Detailed Review Link - http://chevusread.blogspot.in/2017/09...

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written book. As a military Officer who served during the Vietnam era, it brought back many memories.

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

US Air Force flight surgeon John Pendergrass spent a year in Vietnam starting in 1971, and flying 54 back seat missions in an F-4 Phantom. This memoir tells his story of flying out of Vietnam, how he came to be there and what he experienced, and his journey back 45 years later to compete in an Ironman Triathlon. He kept meticulous records of his time based in South Vietnam through his flying log book and the 150+ letters he wrote to his wife to mark the time. Part history of the war, part self-reflection and part musings, John relates how lucky he was to fly those missions and the cultural transformation that took place before he returned. Exceptional flying stories and history, you will keep wanting to turn the page!

[Studebhawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding in Every Way
I can relate to everything in this story. I was stationed in an A.F. Res. unit at Andrews A.F.B. during this war period. Our reserve medical unit was responsible for the flight line reception of inbound casualties during the war. I greatly appreciate the heroic medical staff who cared for our men during the Vietnam War.
The story by the author is a tribute to the duty and dedication of Dr. Pendergrass and his comrades in arms.
This story is a great read.

[Alan Hinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ophthalmologist from Hattiesburg spent 1971 in South Vietnam as a flight surgeon. I enjoyed reading his book about his experiences there and his return to visit 45 years later.

[Philip Shirley]

Pendergrass lays out the facts of his experience in Vietnam as soldier, physician and much later a returning athlete. Powerful and moving recount of a tragic era in America and Southeast Asia. He pulls no punches. He is both patriotic and honest in facing the difficult moral issues that arose from this war. A good read for anyone interested in Vietnam, the war, history and the unique view of a physician warrior.

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review

In Racing Back to Vietnam, author John Pendergrass tells an interesting story about his experiences as a flight surgeon while stationed at Da Nang Air Base in VietNam from 1971 to 1972, and then goes on to relate that experience with his return to Vietnam to participate in a triathlon in 2016.  

As a flight surgeon, the author had the rare opportunity to fly as a GIB, or the guy in the back seat, of F-4 in actual combat operations. In reading the book, I could feel the author's emotions as he recounted these events. The experiences he had in the air are without a doubt memories that will never fade.  The author's work as a doctor in a wartime environment and descriptions of Da Nang and Vietnam are full of detail, but it's his flying that jump out at the reader.  

After leaving Vietnam in 1972 and returning to his medical practice and family, the author thought he had left Vietnam behind him; however, when an opportunity to participate in a triathlon in Vietnam in 1976 arose, he jumped at it. Now in his seventies, he participated as one of three in the relay portion of the half triathlon.  While he had participated in marathons and triathlons before, he knew his real reason to return to Vietnam wasn't for the race, but to revisit the country.  For the last third of the book author John Pendergrass, through his writing, let's the reader see the changes in the country and his impressions of the Vietnamese people.  Impressions that I believe surprised him.  This is a well written book and should appeal to anyone that is interested in the Vietnam war and in seeing today's Vietnam through the eyes of a returning airman.

MWSA Review by Bob Doerr (June 2018)