Flying Blind

Flying Blind chronicles the adventures of gifted aviator Jean-Louis Thibodeaux in Indo-China during and after the Vietnam War. Following the novel The Train by Tony Jordan, Flying Blind finds the young protagonist, who is assigned the mission of rescuing downed aircrew members, struggling to survive a 365-day tour of duty in a combat squadron during the Vietnam War. Thibodeaux has joined the US Air Force intent on becoming a jet pilot...but sabotage and injury lead to a different fate. A skilled nighttime helicopter pilot, Thibodeaux flies a specially equipped aircraft that allows for operations in low-level environments under the cover of darkness-taking spies deep into North Vietnam and then returning to bring them back. He and his crew must disguise these missions as night training flights and keep them secret from everyone, including other members of the squadron. The story speaks to the uncertainty of combat, the rivalries among the squadron, and the heroism of flying life-threatening rescue missions, as well as to the horrors and the pain of losing friends. This riveting novel also speaks to another kind of heroism-heroism that goes unacknowledged by the CIA.