Flying Through Midnight: A Pilot's Dramatic Story of His Secret Missions Over Laos During the Vietnam War

A powerhouse fusion of pathos and humor, brutal realism and intimate reflection, Flying Through Midnight is a landmark contribution to war literature, revealing previously top-secret intelligence on the 606th's night missions. Fast-paced, thrilling, and bitingly intelligent, Halliday illuminates it all: the heart-pounding air battles, the close friendships, the crippling fear, and the astonishing final escape that made the telling of it possible.

Review :
"In 1970 a twenty-four-year-old pilot flies over Laos with no identifying papers or patches. His commander in chief -- Richard Nixon -- denies his existence. Now for the first time, John Halliday takes you into the cockpit as he flies his dangerous top-secret missions. A gripping read." -- James Bradley, author of "Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys" "Halliday superbly conveys the complex thoughts experienced by combat pilots and writes vividly of combat flying over Laos." -- Col. Bob Stoffey, author of "Cleared Hot!: The Diary of a Marine Combat Pilot in Vietnam" "This is a riveting first-person account of a pilot and his crew flying night missions in a C-123 over Laos during the Vietnam War. This book must be read by anyone interested in the Vietnam War. The air war over Laos was a crucial though secret sideshow to Vietnam, but it was just as brutal. I hated to put the book down because the story was so good." -- Bob Kerrey, former United States senator, president of The New School, and Medal of Honor recipient "This book goes right to the heart of how a pilot takes responsibility for an aircrew flying secret night missions over Laos during the Vietnam War, and it describes the catch-22 craziness of that war. This book is destined to become one of the great books about the Vietnam War." -- Frederick Downs, author of "The Killing Zone: My Life in the Vietnam War" "This true story should be required reading for every citizen who ever ventures to comment about war. Don't categorize this work as a 'Vietnam book.' Instead, "Flying Through Midnight" is an eternal story that transcends any war." -- John J. Nance, author of "Fire Flight" ""Flying Through Midnight" is a no-holds-barred account of the secret air war over Laos. John Halliday paints a compelling cockpit view of the action, but he also immerses his readers in layer upon layer of sensations and emotions associated with those dangerous nighttime missions. He takes us on a hell of a ride!" -- Col. Tom Yarborough, author of "Da Nang Diary: A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Combat in Vietnam"