My Secret War by Richard S. Drury is his personal account of flying combat missions over Laos during the Vietnam War piloting the A-1 Skyraider. This book is an especially timely read because of the recent release of the 1:32 scale kit of the A-1 Skyraider by Zoukei-Mura.

If you are a modeler who likes to have inspiration to go along with your builds, then this book is a great companion to building an A-1 Skyraider…though the bigger the kit the better, after all the Skyraider is a big plane and packs a big load.

In a time when most pilots preferred the latest of complex jet aircraft as their mount of choice, Richard Drury and others who wanted to experience “Real Flying” opted for the least appealing…the Skyraider. Jump forward a couple of decades and you’ll find a parallel of those who picked the A-10 Thunderbolt over those all electric jets, a simple aircraft which still is serving today. Like the A-10, the Skyraider was planned to be phased out but instead put into service to fight and serve in a role which only it was  perfect to do…Search and Rescue!

I won’t give away the whole story line, but Richard Drury flew every mission possible assigned the A-1 Skyraider. He flew some 230 mission during his tour which ended with his last on May 6, 1970. The battles were not only fought in the air, but also on the ground…Richard’s secret war.

This book is special for two reasons. First it was a gift from a friend who knows Richard and got the book from him which also included a personalize message to me and autographed. Thanks Greg! Second, my father was station at the same base as Richard, Nakhon Phanom aka NKP. Richard’s tour ended two years before my father arrived. It is always interesting for me to read what others thought and how they lived at bases he was stationed.

My thanks to Richard Drury for his book as well as his service!

Published by St Martin’s Press

Copyright 1979/1986

ISBN: 0-312-90503-3  Canada ISBN: 0-312-90527-0