Phantom in the River

On May 14, 1967, a US Navy F-4B Phantom II jet, flown by Ev Southwick and Jack Rollins, launched from the USS Kitty Hawk. Their F-4 was rendered disabled while flying a mission against the formidable air defenses of the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. They did not return to their carrier. The two airmen ejected and were taken prisoner.Phantom in the River is the account of the plane's flight and mission to destroy the Thanh Hoa Bridge- a site where air defenses were formidable and quite a few Americans were shot down- and of the two pilots' heroic survival. Also included is the story of the author's trip to Vietnam in 2004. Along with the two Navy airmen, the group reunite with the wreckage of the pilots' Phantom. What results is an emotional visit to the bridge and site of their capture 37 years earlier.These two pilot's have never spoken about their mission before, until now. This is their account of what really happened.

Gary Foster of Muscatine, IA

Gary Wayne Foster is the author of Phantom in The River: The Flight of Linfield Two Zero One. He has also written and copyrighted numerous articles and stories. A comprehensive account of his experiences in India has been translated into the Bengali language and published internationally. He has been a contributor to Red Clay magazine, the official publication of the Khe Sanh Veterans Association. His professional assignments have taken him to many countries including India, Vietnam, Bosnia, Jamaica, Cambodia, China, Bolivia, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Liberia and Congo, as well as other parts of Africa, and Iraq. He holds a BS degree from the University of California at Davis, an MS degree from the University of Alaska and an MBA from The George Washington University. In addition to his years living in India, he has also lived in Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Australia, Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) and France. The President’s Sandbox is his first novel.