Combat Pay

By: Curt Messex

Narrated by: Kevin Foley

Few civilians realize the immense role the brave pilots in C-130 aircraft played in the Vietnam War. Now, Major Curt Messex tells the hair raising tales he experienced piloting a C-130.

Imagine flying a boxcar with four engines, loaded with high explosive fuel, at night, low, over a jungle with numerous Viet Cong shooting at you with 23mm, 37mm, and 57mm guns.

You'll "see" tracers zooming by so thick and so bright they light-up your cockpit with an eerie red glow. And in spite of it, you'll have to drop supplies on a postage stamp to needy troops below.

©2009 Curt Messex (P)2009 Books In Motion

Fair memoir, mediocre narration

I was hoping for 80% flying and 20% other, but got 33% flying, 33% military life, and 34% family life.
I think the narration bothered me the most. The biggest problem was that he never varied from his hard-bitten, sarcastic, slowly delivered semi-drawl. That may have been appropriate when the writer was dealing with a military snafu, but not when describing the stars in the night sky. And there were more than the usual number of mispronounced words, but the worst was ailerons, pronounced AIL-yur-ons.
Overall, the book was not horrible, I did finish it, and I learned some things I didn't know, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Combat Pay (unabridged)

This was one of the best books I have listened to. It was told in a matter of fact way that understated the seriousness of the situation the author was going through. A very good listen!

Excellent

I really enjoyed this book. Having worked in aviation, I thought I knew some of the people that the book was based on.