Basher Five-Two

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From the Inside Flap U.S. Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down in his F-16 over Bosnia while helping to keep the peace. The plane exploded, and Captain O'Grady fell 5 miles to the ground below. In exciting detail, Captain O'Grady tells how he evaded capture and how, with little water and no food, he was able to survive on his own in enemy territory. --This text refers to the paperback edition. From the Back Cover U.S. Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down in his F-16 over Bosnia while helping to keep the peace. The plane exploded, and Captain O'Grady fell 5 miles to the ground below. In exciting detail, Captain O'Grady tells how he evaded capture and how, with little water and no food, he was able to survive on his own in enemy territory. --This text refers to the paperback edition. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. A burst of flames and intense heat spread through my cockpit. I began to pitch and roll wildly. It felt like a giant hand had reached down, grabbed me with brute force, and shook me in a frenzy. What was left of my plane was like a straw in the wind, totally out of control.For all its space-age electronics, its supersonic speed, its defensive-powers, the F-16 is not perfect. In the blink of an eye, it can be turned from the prince of the skies into a burning scrap heap of wire and twisted metal. The missile had blindsided me, coming up through a cloud cover below. It had struck the plane's underbelly, hitting one of the fuel tanks and cutting my F-16 in two. It took me another moment to understand. The nose and cockpit had broken away--and I was now in a free fall to earth.As I spun out of control, I worried about blacking out from the sudden and unexpected G forces. I watched my console break and twist apart before me. My mind was outracing my ability to react. Flames from the exploding gas tank had found a crack between my oxygen mask and visor. They had also reached the back of my neck. Part of me was waiting for the cockpit to explode. Somehow, the heat and the pain and the insanity of the moment focused my thoughts. Dear God, I prayed, please don't let me die now--don't let me die from this. I gazed down, through the flames, and saw a fat yellow handle attached to my seat. The handle pushed up between my legs, bigger than life, staring at me like the miracle I took it to be. The beautiful words stamped across the top were impossible to miss, even in the fire and smoke: PULL TO EJECT.I had no idea how much time had passed since the missile had struck. In reality it had been only seconds. It felt like an eternity. I knew I wasn't waiting much longer. For another microsecond, I worried that my damaged canopy wouldn't open, or if it did, that the seat wouldn't eject. But I really didn't have time to worry.My left hand dropped down to the handle, and I pulled with all my might. --This text refers to the paperback edition. About the Author Scott O’Grady has accumulated more than 1,300 military flying hours, including over 1,000 in the F-16 for the U. Air Force Reserve. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Return with Honor. --This text refers to the paperback edition. From School Library Journal Grade 5 Up. On June 2, 1995, while 29-year-old Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady flew his 47th mission over Bosnia, his F-16 fighter plane was downed by a Serbian land missile. O'Grady relates the events of his six-day, harrowing adventure after parachuting from his disabled plane. Left with minimal supplies and a radio low on battery life, Basher Five-Two (O'Grady's "call sign" for the mission) avoided enemy detection, protected himself from the elements, and subsisted on a diet of leaves, ants, and rainwater. The author effectively communicates not just the details of his miraculous survival, but also how he relied on his love of family and religious faith in dealing with his fear and despair. To create suspense, the narrative is interrupted at the point that the plane is shot down with a chapter that gives details of the soldier's childhood and military training. This break in narrative flow, however, makes it more difficult for younger readers to stay with this inspirational story. Black-and-white photos appear in a 16-page center insert. The memoir ends with a satisfying account of O'Grady's rescue and subsequent treatment as a national hero, even though he claims, "I wasn't really a hero...I was a survivor."?Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San DiegoCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From Booklist Gr. 6^-10. "The Great American Celebrity Machine wanted to make me a hero. As I'd tried to explain to so many people, I wasn't really a hero, I was a survivor." O'Grady, who miraculously survived six days in enemy territory after his F-16 was shot down, returned to find a nation fascinated with his adventure. In minute detail, O'Grady, with help from French, tells his amazing story, from his parachute drop and endeavors to evade hostile Bosnian Serbs to sustaining himself by eating ants and drinking water from rain-soaked socks. Although it must have been tempting to sensationalize the fascinating events, this title is a model of restraint, and with relevant aspects of O'Grady's childhood and military training interspersed throughout the book, readers get a clear sense of O'Grady's strength of character and will to survive. A great hook for reluctant readers. Lauren Peterson --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From the Publisher In exciting detail, U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady tells how he evaded capture after being shot down in his F-16 over Bosnia and how, with little water and no food, he was able to survive on his own in enemy territory. This is a thrilling look at an American hero.Basher Five-Two: The True Story of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain Scott O'Grady by Captain Scott O'Grady with Michael French. Copyright 1997 by Scott O'Grady. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Read more