Book Review: They Called It Naked Fanny
This book is about dangerous Search and Rescue missions flown out of Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base during the early years of the Vietnam War. For the men assigned there, they called it "Naked Fanny."
Initially, the mission of the unit was to rescue military pilots shot down over Laos or forced down to leave their aircraft in the jungle in Thailand. But as U.S. involvement in the war increased, their mission changed to fly into hostile situations, making numerous rescues in dangerous conditions - including North Vietnam.
The stories in this well-written and detailed book brings to life the valor and courage needed day to day out and enliven the cold facts of what it like for pilots and crews to fly dangerous missions in an older model helicopter, the HH-43, which has a range of only 75 miles, no armor, and no self-sealing fuel tanks. This would be repeated time after time over a number of years with the same exhibition of bravery, selflessness, and valor.
Harrington uses an interesting style in his writing. He introduces each chapter with specific details of its content and then allows detailed first-person accounts that bear witness to the enormous dangers and raw emotions displayed by these heroic crews. He then wraps up the chapter with summation details.
One really beneficial feature Harrington added are the appendices at the end of the book which allows readers to refer to names and missions they are reading about as they go along. There is also a detailed glossary of what the acronyms are all about. There is also a postscript written by retired Maj. Joe Ballinger the reader will find most interesting.
This highly detailed, well-researched, well-written book will enlighten and inform those of us who know so very little about this part of U.S. Air Force aviation history.
Reader Reviews
A good friend of mine served at NKP. He just recently passed away. Please read this book. There were a lot of missions that just never made it to the newspapers.
~Tuscan Tom
"Highly readable and informative. If you don't know what it's like to fly a 1950's vintage helicopter with wooden rotor blades and who or what Air America was, They Called It Naked Fanny will tell you. A great read and worth more than the price of admission; check it out."
~Rotor Review by LDCR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)
A well-written and informative book. There was so much that I was not aware of regarding the Viet Nam War; I am glad to learn about this time and these events. The heroism of these helicopter pilots and crew is astounding. What courage and guts they had. Highly recommend!
~Kindle Customer
Interesting early rescues and missions of the early Vietnam era USAF helicopter written about. The HH-43 was a fun to fly, stable in a hover and excellent at higher altitudes. Good to see the early mission finally down in print. Now I can look back at some of the ones I was familiar with and some that happened both before and after I left NKP. Now my wife and son can read about some of the events without my foggy mind trying to relate them. Scott and Joe have done a great service for getting it in print.
I was at NKP in the early months of 1965. We had 3 helicopters and were the only permanent USAF aircraft on the base during the early part of the mission.
~NJM
About the Author
Scott Harrington is a graduate of Southern Illinois University, Class of 1962. He received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force in December 1962. He spent nearly two years as a Weapons Controller in the SAGE System at Sioux City Air Base, Iowa, before being sent overseas to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. In 1965, after spending a brief tour at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam, he was assigned to Nakhon Phanom, Thailand (aka "Naked Fanny"), where he served four months as Senior Director/Weapons Controller of a radar operations crew in support of aircraft flying bombing missions over North Vietnam and helicopter rescue missions originating from Nakhon Phanom. He later assisted with the setup and initial operation of a radar site at Dong Ha, South Vietnam.
Upon his return to the United States, he was assigned to Indian Springs Air Force Station, Nevada (now Creech Air Force Base), in support of the Atomic Energy Commission's underground nuclear test facility at Mercury, Nevada. Harrington then spent eleven years in broadcasting, winning several awards for broadcast excellence as a radio news anchor.
He left the broadcast field in the late '70s and spent the next 26 years with Gulf Power Company in Pensacola, Florida in public relations. Now retired, Harrington and his wife, Jaci, live on 10 acres in Northwest Florida.