Preview
  • Da Nang Diary

  • A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Flying with SOG
  • By: Tom Yarborough
  • Narrated by: Sean Runnette
  • Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (613 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Da Nang Diary

By: Tom Yarborough
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Da Nang Diary is the story of how, in Vietnam, an elite group of Air Force pilots fought a secret air war in Cessna 0-2 and OV-10 Bronco prop planes - flying as low as they could get. The eyes and ears of the fast-moving jets who rained death and destruction down on enemy positions, the forward air controller made an art form out of an air strike - knowing the targets, knowing where friendly troops were, and reacting with split-second, life-and-death decisions as a battle unfolded.

The expertise of the low, slow FACs, as well as the hazard attendant to their role, made for a unique bird's-eye perspective on how the entire war in Vietnam unfolded. For Tom Yarborough, who logged 1,500 hours of combat flying time, the risk was constant, intense, and electrifying. A member of the super-secret "Prairie Fire" unit, Yarborough became one of the most frequently shot-up pilots flying out of Da Nang - engaging in a series of dangerous secret missions in Laos. In this work, the listener flies in the cockpit alongside Yarborough in his adrenaline-pumping chronicle of heroism, danger, and wartime brotherhood. From the rescuing of downed pilots to taking out enemy positions, to the most harrowing extended missions directly overhead of the NVA, here is the dedication, courage, and skill of the fliers who took the war into the enemy's backyard.

©2013 Thomas R. Yarborough (P)2020 Tantor
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Da Nang Diary

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    534
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    471
  • 4 Stars
    54
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    485
  • 4 Stars
    50
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book

This is a great listen after you've read the other Mac V Sog staple books. This one is (obviously) aviation specific which was a very interesting perspective to have on this war, would recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Read this bloody great story...pure gold.

Tom went to Hell, through & back again.. several times. This is another great action- packed true story that conveys the amazing bravery and innovative fighting inteeligence of the MACV-SOG soldiers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great audiobook!

One of the best aviation warfare books I’ve read/listened to. Gripping right from the start and hard to stop listening too! Would highly recommended to anyone with Allison of aviation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great

it was amazing hearing the other side of from the Fava facs that flew over and controlled the package

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

tales you never know

loved the book lots of things you never know about the war, couldn't stop listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A thoughtful and introspective look at the most dangerous jobs

Mr. Yarborough's memoir serves as a touching and exciting retelling of a very impressive flying career over some of the most dangerous place's to ever exist. Filled with heartache, humor and valor this book stands well above almost every other book on the first true multimedia war.

and as always, Sean Renette could read the phone book and make it sound great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great detail from a SOG pilot

An excellent view of SOG recon, one that is seen from a whole new perspective

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story ,but needed a better narrator

The story was great but the narration didn't fit the subject line too dry no emotion

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Captivating Biography of Intense Air Combat

In his book, Air Force flyer Tom Yarborough relives his years of flying as a forward air controller (FAC), mostly in support of MACV SOG teams secretly operating inside Laos during the Viet Nam War. While overhead in his small plane, Captain Yarborough repeatedly flew through intense groundfire to coordinate countless insertions, recoveries, and close air support for small Special Forces teams that were usually surrounded by superior-sized units of NVA and Pathet Lao. With exceptional skill and bravery, he adapted to and soon became immersed in an intense life and death struggles of his 'Prairie Fire' work. Miraculously, he survived.

This story places the reader inside the cockpit, right next to Captain Yarborough, to the point that one can feel the G-stresses as he pulls tight turns to outrun groundfire. It's a story that many of us have wondered about, seeing FAC aircraft, along with SF teams suspended beneath choppers on rope ladders, returning from missions "over the fence" on the other side of the DMZ. The book is a valuable companion to Nick Brokenhausen's books "We Few" and "Whispers in the Tall Grass" in which he describes the top secret ground operations of the MACV SOG SF and indigenous teams he operated with during the Viet Nam War. All three books are extremely intense, to the point that they may trigger some vets.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

I liked the book, it kept me interested and helped me learn things about sog and facs that i never knew.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!