Rolling Thunder – Kindle ebook by Mark Berent



Rolling Thunder – Free Kindle ebook by Mark Berent



Rolling Thunder is an historical fiction novel of war and politics during the Vietnam air war.

Tom Clancy calls it "a taut, exciting tale of good men in a bad war." W.E.B. Griffin calls it "a novel of exceptional authenticity that hits like a thunderclap." Dale Brown calls it a novel of "great authority and utter realism". It is all of that, and more: an electrifying novel of men at war in Vietnam, the White House, and the Pentagon.

With over 200 reviews, Rolling Thunder has a 4.6 rating. 

Mark Berent is admirably suited to write these five historical fiction novels for he lived each story. He served four years and one day in Vietnam during the period from November 1965 until August 1973. 

As a captain he flew 265 missions in the F-100 in 1966 from Bien Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam. While off duty he flew with FACs in their O-1 aircraft to better understand the war. He also spent much time with the Special Forces' III Corps Mike Force including going on patrol with them in the Loc Ninh area. 

His next tour was as a major flying F-4Ds out of Ubon Air Base in Thailand. He flew over 200 missions, first as a flight commander in the Night Owl Squadron then as commander of the famous Wolf FACs. Both units flew over North Vietnam and all of Laos. Berent spent hundreds of hours over the Ho Chi Minh Trail both as a night strike pilot and as a fast FAC controlling strikes against guns and trucks he found on the Trail. 

As a lieutenant colonel he served from July 1971 to August 1973, first as assistant air attaché then as air attaché, in the US Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (the Khmer Republic). While there, besides flying hundreds of hours in the U-10 and C-47 gathering vital intelligence, he also logged time with the Khmer  Air Force in their T-28, 0-1, UH-1, and AC-47 aircraft.

Additionally, he spent much time with Khmer ground forces teaching them to use air power. In January 1973 when the war was over in Vietnam for U.S. forces, all of the massive air power resources were made available for use in Cambodia to support the Khmer Army until August 15th when the last mission was flown. Due to a fluke in timing, the USAF command post in Saigon was unable to immediately shift full command to its new site in Thailand. During that period, Berent and his team ran the air war in Cambodia from a most unusual place.

Mark Berent had three tours of combat in Southeast Asia and is the holder of the Silver Star, two DFCs, the Bronze Star, 25 Air Medals, Legion of Merit, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Cambodian Divisional Medal.