Toward The Unknown

The memoirs of Colonel Charles (Chuck) Maultsby who was one of the finest and most accomplished fighter pilots the United States has ever produced. His story begins with an unsettling boyhood, then describes the trials and tribulations related to becoming an Air Force fighter pilot; then harrowing experience of being shot down during combat in the Korean war; the experience of being a Chinese POW for 22 months; the experience of being recognized as one of the best of the best fighter weapons experts in the world at the conclusion of the 1957 "William Tell" fighter weapons competition; the highs and lows of being a member of the USAF THUNDERBIRDS; and the experiences of 216 combat missions during the Vietnam war. The foreword to the Colonel's memoirs was written by his friend, author Martin Caidin (author of "Cyborg" that became Television's "Six Million Dollar Man," and "Marooned" which became a movie starring Gene Hackman, Gregory Peck and Richard Crenna).

The memoirs of Colonel Charles (Chuck) Maultsby who was one of the finest and most accomplished fighter pilots the United States has ever produced. His story begins with an unsettling boyhood, then describes the trials and tribulations related to becoming an Air Force fighter pilot; then harrowing experience of being shot down during combat in the Korean war; the experience of being a Chinese POW for 22 months; the experience of being recognized as one of the best of the best fighter weapons experts in the world at the conclusion of the 1957 "William Tell" fighter weapons competition; the highs and lows of being a member of the USAF THUNDERBIRDS; and the experiences of 216 combat missions during the Vietnam war. The foreword to the Colonel's memoirs was written by his friend, author Martin Caidin (author of "Cyborg" that became Television's "Six Million Dollar Man," and "Marooned" which became a movie starring Gene Hackman, Gregory Peck and Richard Crenna).

Col. Chuck W. Maultsby was a United States Air Force fighter pilot who was shot down during his 17th combat mission during the Korean war and spent 22 months as a Chinese prisoner of war. He became an instructor pilot at Nellis AFB and was a member of the 1957 Nellis AFB Fighter Weapons Team that swept every event at the "William Tell" world-wide gunnery meet of 1957. He was a member of the USAF THUNDERBIRDS aerial demonstration team from 1958 untill 1960 flying the right-wing position in the diamond formation. Col. Maultsby was a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft pilot from 1960 until 1963 and was the pilot detected over Russian airspace at the height of the Cuban Missle Crisis of 1962 (which almost touched-off World War III). He flew 216 combat missions during the Vietnam War (a full one-third of those missions were conducted in North Vietnam) and recievd the Silver Star for gallantry in action. Following the Vietnam war the Colonel again returned to being a pilot-instructor at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona and then became a staff officer at Tactical Air Command headquarters at Langley AFB, Virginia. He finished out his 28 year military career as the Standards and Evaluation officer for NATO Forces South in Naples, Italy.