One Hundred Stingers: A Novel of the Air War Over the Ho Chi Minh Trail

by Peter Adams Young

Before the first American bombs were dropped in North Vietnam, a clandestine air war was being waged in nearby neutral Laos. Almost immediately after the French were driven from Indochina, the regime of North Vietnam invaded their neighbor to establish a supply route that covered most of southeastern Laos. The infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail was the lifeline connecting the ports and supply centers of North Vietnam with the Communist forces in the South. Every night, the web of trails and roads came alive with troops and truck convoys - all heading for the battlefields of South Vietnam. The challenge of cutting off this flow of men and materiel eventually pitted the technology of United States air power against the implacable resourcefulness of the North Vietnamese regime. The fast-paced narrative follows a young US Navy flier as he experiences combat for the first time. His initial adrenalin rush from the thrill of close combat is quickly tempered by the loss of friends and a nagging sense of the deadly consequences of their mission. Convoluted Rules of Engagement often hinder their effectiveness and add to the young warrior’s ambivalence and frustration. Key settings move between Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf, day and night combat missions over Laos, and a few rowdy liberty periods in the Philippines. Combat scenarios are not limited to the standpoints of American fliers. Most integrate the actions and perspectives of a diverse array of adversaries on the ground – anti-aircraft gun crews, truck drivers, road workers, and foreign advisors. Between 1964 and 1973, US aircraft flew nearly 600,000 sorties against the Trail, dropping in excess of two million tons of ordnance on Laos—more than half of the total tonnage dropped by Allied forces during World War II. Nearly 500 fixed-wing aircraft and at least 200 helicopters fell to North Vietnamese guns over Laos. By the end of the so-called “secret war” nearly 600 Americans were listed as missing in the Laotian jungles. Today that number stands at 291. This breakthrough novel brings the costs of this conflict into personal terms.

813 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2021

Reviews

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review

One Hundred Stingers: A Novel of the Air War over the Ho Chi Minh Trail by Peter Adams Young is a well told story for both sides of a portion of the Vietnam War: American Navy fliers and North Vietnamese battery operators on the ground in neutral Laos. In spite of all the detail and all the dialogue, the story moves along nicely. The characters are fully defined with lots of back stories on both Vietnamese and American characters. The reader gets the full effect of being on an aircraft carrier with all of its discomforts, the carefulness of the fliers in the air, the struggles of being in the batteries with poorly trained gunners, and the pressures on their superiors at various levels. Both sides were well aware of their respective goals: get supplies to the south from North Vietnam; stop the flow of enemy combatants and war materials on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The book shows the many levels of support in the air for the American fliers from spotters, to intelligence, to overhead directions to keep the fliers safe from ground fire and from friendly fire shooting by various Navy and Marine fliers. The fleet of support on deck is also well described. There is lots of action, and the action is often described from multiple points of view. One also senses the repetitiveness of flights that could be deadly if not for the professionalism of air and ground personnel. The Epilogue mainly follows navigator/bombadier Davis but also circles back to his Laos years. Well worth reading.

Review by Nancy Kauffman

[Colonel Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping “You Are There” Novel

I really wasn’t expecting what I experienced reading this book. A gripping tale of life in a ship-based Navy A-6 squadron, one experiences the life of an A-6 Bombardier/Navigator (B/N) in the skies over the Ho Chi Minh Trail after President Johnson’s 1968 bombing halt of North Vietnam. I was an Army Attack Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam 1971-72. A flood of memories came back while reading this. I felt as though I was in the cockpit with the protagonist. The description of life on board an aircraft carrier brought back another set of memories, those of being a Marine Attack Helicopter on board helicopter carriers. This book captured me and did not let me go until the end of the epilogue. It is outstanding in every respect.

[Beannie Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome and exciting read - If you served anywhere in WESTPAC during the Vietnam era, all of Pete's terminology will jump off the pages and resurface as memories that you may have forgotten long ago. In addition to the great writing about combat ops, he did an outstanding job of pumping vigor into the otherwise mundane events of "Navy life" and made every bit of this book believable and downright exciting. Since Amazon limits me to only 5 stars, I am unable to rate the book A-6, but would if I could. Great job Pete - Bill (not Beannie)

[Roy Szweda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read c/o Kindle Unlimited - this proves the quality of books to be found there.
It reminded me of Coonts' Intruder books since it is an A6 crew in action from a carrier.
Technically it is nigh on perfect as far as this armchair warrior thought and the prose is excellent, heartfelt sincerity and enthusiasm come across very well. But then they say you should write about what you know and Mr Young certainly does! An excellent tribute to all the brave aviators and support crew in those terrifying times.

[TIM · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well paced adventure following the experience of an A-6 Intruder bombardier/navigator during the Vietnam War. The characters are believable and the authenticity is such that it's easy to image being in a jump seat during the flights. If you enjoyed Steven Coont's "Flight of the Intruder", you should give this book a read. A great first effort by Peter Young; I enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it!

[Barney Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

From deployment, to missions, to coming back home, author Peter Young takes you right there. You feel almost that you are in the cockpit or in the ready room of the swaying aircraft carrier, as Young takes you back to Vietnam and the “secret” air war in Laos. Young was there and he brings those days back alive, preserving these moments in American history.

[Jeffrey Philips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read