Independently Published Tears and triumphs: tales of loyalty and betrayal from a military life, paperback/john r. black

The story of Vietnam veteran, quality consultant, and musician John R.

Black, who rose from his childhood on a rural homestead to serve his country in the United States Army, including two tours in Vietnam.

After a subsequent career at Boeing, Black became a globally recognized quality and Lean production consultant, most notably transferring the proven techniques of manufacturing quality improvement to revolutionize healthcare in the United States, Canada, and internationally.

With frank language and humor, he reveals the hidden stories behind his professional success, tracing his earliest influences-from the joys of a close-knit family to abuse by a Catholic priest-through his family life, his wartime experiences, his return to music as a means of healing Vietnam wounds, and his current focus as a performing artist with an international following of fellow Vietnam vets.

Read an excerpt: A pilot who was a friend of mine was replaced by an Air Force captain who drank a fifth a night.

His hands shook every morning, and one day that seemed to catch up with him.

He went to the airfield for a flight over the province but forgot to gas up his plane, an L-19 Bird Dog.

How could a trained Air Force pilot flying in Vietnam in 1967 forget to make sure his airplane was fueled before taking off on a mission? Well, the military had given Cessna a challenge: The plane had to be capable of taking off and landing over a 50-foot obstacle in less than 600 feet at its maximum allowable gross weight.

The plane that resulted from these specs, Cessna's Model 305, became known as the L-19 Bird Dog.

During the Vietnam War it was used mostly for reconnaissance, finding targets or adjusting artillery, escorting convoys, and providing forward air control for tactical aircraft such as bombers.

It would later be renamed the O-1, with the O standing for observation, until the Army officially retired it in 1974.

The Bird Dog was aptly named.

I flew a number of those flights over Go Cong province.