Cleared Hot!: The Diary of a Marine Combat Pilot in Vietnam

Every day, every mission, he took the war to the enemy’s heart. Only his quick wit and steely nerves could bring him through alive.

As a Marine pilot in Vietnam, Col. Bob Stoffey led a life that was constantly under siege. Flying SAR—Search and Rescue—helicopter missions at treetop level over enemy-held territory, he quickly learned how to dodge raging storms of enemy fire—and how to fight back with deadly accuracy.

Volunteering for the most dangerous air missions of the Vietnam conflict, Col. Stoffey later came back for more: taking on a second tour of duty as a forward air controller who directed naval gunfire, artillery, and thunderous air strikes from the cockpit of his OV-10 Bronco. Saving men from certain death, flying at impossibly low levels, Stoffey used his M-60 machine guns and 2.75-inch rockets—and he always shot to kill.

In this remarkable memoir, Bob Stoffey chronicles his four-year-long war—and brings to life the special exhilaration of flying into heart-stopping danger and coming back alive.

Includes eight pages of heroic photographs.