Stormrider

This is a historical novel which chronicles the Vietnam War and its effect upon the individuals who fought in the war and those who chose not to serve. It is definitively a first-hand account of what it was like to enter manhood in the shadow of this unpopular war. The book covers the psychological costs of combat visited upon those who fought and the damage to the psyche of those who decided that the war was not worth risking their lives to serve their country. This novel covers 12 years of military service. The last active-duty mission of the main character, Blake, was the aborted attempt to rescue 53 hostages held by Iran in April 1980. The book will inform the reader of exactly what happened in the Iranian desert on that fateful day. Finally the book describes the main character's struggle to overcome posttraumatic stress in a year's worth of combat. The fact that 40 members of his squadron have their names etched in the Memorial wall in Washington never leaves him.

This is a historical novel which chronicles the Vietnam War and its effect upon the individuals who fought in the war and those who chose not to serve. It is definitively a first-hand account of what it was like to enter manhood in the shadow of this unpopular war. The book covers the psychological costs of combat visited upon those who fought and the damage to the psyche of those who decided that the war was not worth risking their lives to serve their country. This novel covers 12 years of military service. The last active-duty mission of the main character, Blake, was the aborted attempt to rescue 53 hostages held by Iran in April 1980. The book will inform the reader of exactly what happened in the Iranian desert on that fateful day. Finally the book describes the main character's struggle to overcome posttraumatic stress from a year's worth of combat. The fact that 40 members of his squadron have their names etched in the Memorial wall in Washington never leaves him.

Gordon L Bocher served 11 1/2 years in the Air Force. He flew 177 combat rides as a Fire Control Officer (FCO) aboard the AC –130A Gunship. As a rescue navigator, Bocher participated in the abortive attempt to rescue the 53 hostages held in Iran. Throughout his service, Bocher was awarded two Distinguished Flying Cross medals, eight Air Medals, the Purple Heart, the Conspicuous Service Award from Gov. Mario Cuomo (NY) and two nominations for the Silver Star. The author's personal story was chronicled in two front-page stories in Newsday, People magazine, the Colorado Star, the Veterans of Foreign Wars magazine and was featured in "The Book of Man" (pp 417-424) by William Bennett (9/29/11). This story provides an accurate history of the end stages of the Vietnam War and has been placed in the Oral history section of the Library of Congress. Mr. Bocher also worked as an air-traffic control specialist for 27 years.