Tony Jacobs, American Hero

The story of Tony Jacobs, American Hero follows the tradition of late night stories which are told around a camp fire. It is meant to be told when the air is cold and the sky is dark and quiet. The mysterious tale of Tony Jacobs will bring you back to that time when you were a child listening to scary stories…

Book Excerpt

Chapter 1

About 10 Clicks Outside of Denang, Vietnam

The year was in 1967, and America was at war. Tony Jacobs was a young fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy. On May 12, Tony was shot down approximately 10 clicks outside of De’Nang. This is what happened…

Radar! Radar!

Tony looked at his control panel. The flashing red light indicated that he had an enemy fighter right behind him. Tony Jacobs was a skilled and highly regarded pilot and after having shot down 12 North Vietnamese MIG aircrafts, he was fearsome at the helm of his F-14 Tomcat.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

The enemy released its missile. Tony could see it in his rear mirror screaming towards him against the blue sky.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

In a last minute maneuver, he pulled the plane sharply towards the sky but it was too late.

The missile crept under the plane’s wing and detonated.

The cock pit shook as Tony lost control of the jet.

Alert! Alert!

“Mayday! Mayday! This is Eagle One! I’ve been hit! I repeat! I’ve been hit!”

The plane turned upside down and pinned Tony to his seat. Below he could see the dark jungle racing by through holes in the wet grey clouds. He pressed the eject button, and with an explosive blast he shot through the cockpit’s dome. A moment later his ejector seat’s secondary blast propelled Tony downward and away from the fireball of the crashing fighter jet.

His parachute ejected quickly, but he was already close to the canopy tree top. Plunging into the jungle from above, he witnessed the remains of his jet detonate against the trees in an enormous fire ball. Flocks of birds jumped from the leaves. Tony crashed through the foliage getting whipped and pulled by his snagging canvas lines.

He hit the floor hard with a thump. His could feel his arm, it was seriously injured … He could feel vision growing fuzzy… his mind going numb…

Tony Jacobs, American hero. Shot down 10 clicks outside of De’Nang, injured, and alone… Surrounded by the enemy, in the middle of a vast jungle, wounded…

Chapter 2

Injured and Alone in the Jungle

When he awoke, he had no idea where he was, how long he’d been out. It took him a minute for his vision to clear, and to make out what he was seeing. He was on his back, staring at tangled trees, covered in vines and moss. The air smelled of smoke and jet fuel, and his arm was burning in pain. He looked over and realized he had a piece of wood jammed deeply into his shoulder. Soon the wound would become infected, and if not captured, or rescued, he would die a horrible slow death. He needed help.

He managed to pull himself to his feet; he picked up a stick with his other arm, and using that he hobbled along the forest floor. What little supplies he had in his vest he used up almost immediately, and soon he was very, very thirsty.

Tony didn’t remember how long it had been, but in the deep steaming forest of Vietnam, he crept along; unaware if it had been hours, or minutes. His mind was a blur, ravaged by dehydration and heat, and he thought he saw the enemy everywhere. Every sound and every motion plunged him deeper into panic. Infection in his arm set in, and the wound began to attract flies….