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  Yes, a few books mention the 281st, mostly from the SF community, as Thomas A. Ross's “Privileges of War” describing an episode at an A Team camp in the mountainous reaches of South Vietnam.
  But at least two have 281st members as author. Al Rampone wrote “Silent Birdmen” many years ago about a few battles in the spring of '67 and the personal adventures of a few us. His book remains occassionally available on Amazon.com. See our history section, publications page for other.

  In 2015, a project long in the making will make our story available the public resulted in Will McCollum's compilation of our individual and collective stories in “Above the Best”. Buy it from our PX; as of this writing, it is not the book by the same title on Amazon.com.
front cover   "As a family member waiting at home while my husband served as a pilot in Viet Nam, we really never knew what the guys were doing on a daily basis. The news we received from the media was dismal and letters home were somewhat short. Thanks to the 28lst AHC and this wonderful book, we will now know. The camraderie and professionalism that all the guys practiced on a daily basis was very special and comes through on each person's submission--from maintenance to crew chiefs to operations to pilots, etc. All had a job to do and they did it well. This book is a must read for families of those who served."  -- Karen Forcht

  "During the past few weeks I have had the privilege of proofreading “Above the Best”. Having been familiar with stories of the beginning year with the 281st in Viet Nam, it was fascinating to read the stories of the men who followed. The stories came from the heart and were told as they were experienced by the men, which is a gift they have chosen to share.  The emotions and fears expressed by the men were shared by the wives and families left behind. This is truly an accounting of events that will be read and remembered." -- Linda Lerda

  We offer many thanks to photographer Angela B. Pan for the use of her stunning photo at the Wall in the production of this book. Click here to visit her page and her breath-taking D.C photos.

Will McCollum's book "Above The Best" covering the life and times of the men who served in the unit will be available in the association PX.

Tom Ross, a great friend of the 281st AHC and author of the book “Privileges of War”, has prepared two YouTube videos to help us promote the sale of our book“Above the Best”. We have short and long versions of the videos. The long video contains live CBS news footage of the 281st in action in the Valley of the Tiger. If nterested in purchasing a copy of our story, “Above the Best”, please click on the links below to watch the videos.

Click here for the short video.                            Click here for the long video.



  Orders may be made by contacting Jay Hays or use this pre-order form.

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