United States Navy veteran and author Jules Harper joins me on Monday, January 28 at 5 PM Eastern to discuss his book, Flying Warrior: My Life as a Naval Aviator During the Vietnam War:
A Vietnam veteran takes you into the cockpit and shares true stories of his flying career in this compelling memoir.
In this action-packed memoir, Jules Harper recounts the unique process of becoming a naval aviator, revealing his experiences as a brand new pilot in a combat squadron and, finally, a flying warrior.
He survived two combat cruises aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk from 1966–1968, compiled 332 career carrier takeoffs and landings, and was shot at daily by enemy fire while completing 200 combat missions over Vietnam, and shares the views of the aviators who flew along with him on these missions while fighting this unpopular war. A recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, twenty-one Air Medals, and many other accolades, he offers readers a new understanding and appreciation of the warriors who protect not only their comrades in arms, but the defense of the nation as well.
Jules Harper is uniquely qualified to write about combat missions over Vietnam as he personally flew 200 combat sorties from 1966-1968. As the public affairs officer for his attack squadron stationed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, he wrote many articles about his squadron mates’ missions that were published not only in newspapers and magazine but were also used in television shows. As a highly decorated Naval Aviator, after retiring from a major airline with 33,000 flight hours, he has been the President of a Veteran’s club, served on the board of directors for the Naval Air Historical Society in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and given presentations to other clubs. Companies have hired him to give inspirational talks.
You can preview and purchase his book in Kindle and paperback on Amazon.com, where it has received multiple 5-star reviews.
“Jules has captured the stark essence of the air war in Vietnam. I thought I knew what those guys were going through at the time, but I really didn’t. Between December 1965 and May 1966 I served as a flight surgeon assigned to two A-4 squadrons (VA-113 and then a complete cruise with VA-112) aboard the USS Kitty Hawk during combat operations mostly on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. Many of the pilots in this special book were my dear friends. I found several of their names on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. which I visited last year. This book is very readable in a most unassuming and matter-of-fact way. Jules had an amazing career ultimately with two hundred combat missions. Those trips up north had to be terrifying. Not one A-4 pilot ever used me to shirk his duty. I flew as a crewman a good deal in the “Whale”, the A-3 tanker, and rode through several night cat shots and landings. So, I did have an inkling of an idea about naval carrier operations. Maybe that’s part of the reason why this book had such an emotional impact on me. Thank you, Jules, for the book and for your honorable and unassuming contribution in what turned out to be a thankless job. I remember seeing soldiers and sailors during WW-II as a six-year-old in 1943 at Union Station in Chicago that were traveling by train across the country. We were there to see my cousin (US Coast Guard). I remember girls and bands and balloons. There was nothing like that when we came home from Vietnam.” ~ John F. Murphy, M.D., Retired US Naval Flight Surgeon, 1965-1969.
“Jules, I was very impressed! I know you said you had some historical reference material but, even so…I’m totally amazed at how much of the ‘detail’ you could recall. I’m sitting there reading – and can almost ‘hear & feel’ the ‘action taking place around me’. Thank you so much for taking the time and putting forth the effort to do this.” ~ John Lones, Jules’ squadron mate
During the live interview, Jules will discuss his motivation for writing his book and why he waited until now to publish it, the process by which he wrote the book, reader reactions, his best and worst memory of Vietnam, and so much more. We’ll also take your questions from the chat room. Please tune in on Monday, January 28 at 5 PM Eastern to Your Book Your Brand Your Business with Jules Harper.
In the meantime, discover more about this decorated Vietnam veteran and author at his website: www.juleshharper.com.
Author’s Note: I made a correction to the post after publishing the wrong website. I apologize for the error.
