Photos
A working archive from the book — Cold-War alert duty in the Hunsrück, forty-three days over the desert, and the squadron that bracketed both. Click any plate to enlarge.
Hahn Air Base · Germany
Cold-War alert duty in the Hunsrück. Ramp inspections at dawn, four-ships over the Mosel, and weekend escapes to vineyards a half-hour from the wire.
A pair of 10th TFS Vipers, tail code HR, over the Hahn Air Base.
Jeff "Boom Boom" Paulk with HR-377 in the hangar at Hahn — early winter, 1989.
"Achtung! diesseitiges Ufer Grenze." Translation: "Warning! This riverbank is the border." Undaunted...JD and Mak on the West German bank of the Elbe River.
Hail & Farewell Party with Hans und Franz pumping up the Sabres
Riesling country: terraced slopes above the Mosel, a thirty-minute drive from the flight line.
A 10TFS Viper banking over the Mosel — tail proudly displaying the squadron heraldry.
Desert Storm
Forty-three days of combat operations from Al Minhad. Saudi divert charts in the kneeboard, ordnance loaded and signed, the ramp at sunrise.
What a selfie!
"Hey Saddam, feel fortunate. Barney wanted to string you up on the F-86." CBU-87, 27 Feb 91.
CCIP solution captured on gun-camera tape — STPT 8, 13:03:19 local.
Saudi divert fields, January 1991.
Eight Sabres post Tanker-in-the-Dark mission, 22 January 1991.
Mutt flight, Abner, Ivan, BA, and Boo Boo, on the ramp in Al Dhafra.
Cat, Snuffy, Ivan, and Biff enjoying victory at The Mother of All Parties!
The Squadron
The 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron Sabres
Desert Storm Sabres, Al Dhafra, 1991.
Scrap lumber, two-by-fours, and a desert sky — the squadron building its own quarters at Al Dhahfra. Shwabu Dhabi!
Hand-painted street signs — German precision applied to a Tent City.
The squadron bar, the Viper's Pit. at Al Dhafra
Doug "Frenchie" French
Cat and Dewey getting a Randy Travis autograph on the flightline during a USO tour
A presentation sword for the outgoing commander, Julio, in June 1991.
The Doodle Trophy — black-and-white print of a tradition older than the squadron itself.
Spring 1991 — flight suit, flowers, a Polaroid in someone's hand, and three small arms holding on.
More photographs, flight logs, and squadron memorabilia continue to surface as the book moves toward its release.