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Post by SeaRat on Jan 20, 2024 23:07:43 GMT -8
Naval Institute Press. They published two books by a friend of mine who was a Marine Corp. pilot in WWII, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam. Mark, I’m actually looking at the Air University Press right now. I think they may be a bit better fit for my Pararescue career field. If I submit, they may not like it because at times I’m a bit harsh on the USAF and USAF reserves, but only by telling what has happened to me. www.airuniversity.af.edu/AUPress/Submission-Guidelines/John
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Post by scubalawyer on Jan 21, 2024 6:57:18 GMT -8
Interesting aside, when my late friend and dive buddy Lt. Col. D.K. Tooker was looking to publish his first book "The Second Luckiest Pilot," he, I and the late Sam Miller, III, (he was a friend of Sam too), were having lunch one day and Tooker was lamenting the fact he couldn't find anyone to do a final look-see edit before submission. Sam says not to worry, that he knew a guy.
The next day Tooker gets a call from Clive Cussler who invited him and his wife out to Cussler's t house in Arizona for the weekend where Clive read through Tooker' manuscript and offered his suggestions. Very cool! Sam and Clive had both worked at the Aquatic Center years before and remained friends. Clive even named a character in one of his books after Sam. Anyway, a bit of trivia. M
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Post by nikeajax on Jan 21, 2024 12:35:00 GMT -8
John, I just asked if my friend if she knows any book doctors who do militaria.
JB
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Post by vance on Jan 22, 2024 17:17:34 GMT -8
I have just returned from SouthEast Asia, where my wife and I visited North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
I was struck by the fact that the people of these countries do not harbor ill will against the citizens of countries that opposed them during the years between 1945-1973.
Like us.
Not sure that would happen here.
We went to the Cu Chi Tunnel system in South VN, and saw an old propaganda video characterizing the US soldier as a "devil". It became easier for me to understand what they felt. I always wondered why we were there, but that's just me.
The world is a complicated place, and there are many perspectives.
Vietnam is now a "Socialist-Capitalist" regime. That's cool. All I care about is that the people are doing ok.
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Post by Fibonacci on Jan 30, 2024 16:51:57 GMT -8
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 19, 2024 10:40:12 GMT -8
I have joined a writers group, Willamette Writers, and attended several of their Saturday morning "Coffee Hour" meetings at 10:00 AM. I'm getting more information and input about getting a "Beta Reader" to look over the manuscript, and also information on the length of the manuscript. Mine is too long, and many publishers won't look at it at the length I have at over 600 pages 163K word +. So I'm revising, and looking at the possibility of splitting the book into two books. The first book takes me through the first almost four years of decision-making, training and actual mission; the second book from my Vietnam experiences through college. That's where it stands right now.
John
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Post by nikeajax on Feb 19, 2024 11:16:39 GMT -8
John, I'm almost up to 64K-words.
Line up a few beta readers, as you may not agree with just one person's opinion, but, when they give you feedback, NEVER GET DEFENSIVE!!! Just shut the hell up and take it, they may be right, but you also might be too, sorta like when you were in the USAF getting chewed out, "Hey, Ratliff, drop and give me fifty...", "Yeah, well, fine then, I'll do sixty--I can take it!"
JB
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 19, 2024 18:26:43 GMT -8
Okay, Between Air and Water, Part 1 is now at 366 pages, and 102,251 words, which is much less than the full book. It ends in June of 1970, with me finally submitting a third volunteer statement to extend my enlistment to go to Vietnam. So this is much easier to handle, and still have a lot of really good stories, such as Billy R. Smith saying after being towed by a boat on a plane board in a search for a lost helicopter: John Heitsch was our NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge) and he made the final decisions. He also was one of the two PJs who jumped on Scott Carpenter's Mercury Capsule, Aurora 7, after Carpenter had landed way down range because of a miscalculation for firing his retro rockets. This seach happened off one of thy Ryuku Islonds in March of 1968. Now, I've just looked up the NASA videos on the flight of Aurora 7, and both videos cut off the sound during the recovery. There is a reason for this. Both NASA and the U.S. Navy were embarrassed that the initial contact was made by U.S. Air Force rescue forces, and that is not acknoweldege in either of these videos. Because the capsule was 250 miles downrange from the recovery area, it would take the Navy at least an hour to get there. USAF PJs jumped very soon after the capsule landed, and got the floatation collar on it. Nor do these video acknowledge the role of USAF Pararescue in the recovery effort, as it was the USAF PJs who put the floatation collar onto the Aurora 7 spacecraft. Because of this, our USAF Rescue forces marked our life rafts with "USAF Rescue" during the Gemini flights, and when we got the Gemini VIII recovery, that was right in the photos. Note that the U.S. Navy and NASA also tried to remove that from the official photos. Gemini 8 ID by John Ratliff, on Flickr Note also that I talk about Eldridge Neal is Book 1, as he was in charge of our Pararescue class in 1967. However, he never talked about his jump onto Gemini VIII. Part 2 will take up my service after that, with my service in Vietnam and then the trials and travails of becoming a college student again as a Vietnam Veteran, working to get my degrees, and then finally, finding my wife Chris. It will include my three major missions, including the saves of Majors Priest and Cubberly during a rescue mission into North Vietnam. Then, my transition to being a college student as well as a USAF Pararescueman with the 304th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (Reserve) out of Portland, Oregon. There will be a lot of diving in this Part 2 too. Rick in Parascuba by John Ratliff, on Flickr John PS, Scott Carpenter never again went into space, as the higher-ups in NASA blamed him for the late retro rocket firing. But, because of that, Scott Carpenter had a very big impact in the U.S. Navy’s SeaLab projects, working on both SeaLab 2 and SeaLab 3 (which was abandoned after loosing one aquanaut due to a rebreather failure).
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Post by nikeajax on Feb 19, 2024 18:47:46 GMT -8
Does this mean you need me to do a second cover for your book? JB
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 19, 2024 18:57:26 GMT -8
Does this mean you need me to do a second cover for your book? JB I may need that too, JB. I'll let you know. I haven't started on the second book yet. But Book 1 is about complete. Note that I updated the post above with a lot more information, some of which won't be in my book (the YouTube videos of Aurora 7). I'll let you know soon about another cover. Thanks, John
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 19, 2024 16:06:19 GMT -8
Well, my book is now two books, and I've sent one of the Willamette Writers' Group participants the book to read. She'll get back to me with her evaluation of the book. This book is now at 364 pages, and goes through my youth to entering the USAF, my training schools in the USAF, and then my first assignments to the 33rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Naha, Okinawa, temporary duty to Osan, Korea due to the Pueblo Incident, my permanent duty station at Kunsan Air Base, Korea, my next transfer to Kingsley Field in Bermuda with the 55th ARRSq, then transfers to Florida. It covers a lot, and is 364 pages. One of my favorite set of passages has to do with my buddy, Bob Means. He was a character; I'm only sorry that he is no longer with us to read these passages. Here's an example, from our training at the U.S. Naval School for Underwater Swimmers, Key West, Florida, 1967: Part 2 of the book will take my experiences from my volunteering for Vietnam duty at the 37th Aerospacer Rescue and Recovery Squadron, DaNang, Vietnam, through getting out of the USAF, going back to Oregon State University, then re-enlisting in the USAF Reserves with the 304th ARRSq, a summer smokejumping, and the missions and problems of studying for OSU while maintaining my currency in USAF Pararescue, flying some missions in Oregon and Washington, and then finally graduating from OSU, finding Chris and our romance, and finally, finally getting married. That was 47 years ago, and Chris and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last February. HH-53 in air B&W by John Ratliff, on Flickr The HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant helicopter I crewed with the 37th ARRSq, DaNang, Vietnam, 1970-71. This helicopter had three miniguns for suppression fire during a rescue mission, and a hoist with 250 feet of line. We used a jungle penetrator to get the hoist through the three layers of canopy in the Vietnam jungle. NCSB Evening Jump by John Ratliff, on Flickr An evening jump at the North Cascades Smokejumper Base, Winthrop, Washington. This is my photo, but not me jumping (I was already on the ground). This smokejumper had just brushed the tree before hitting the ground. Note the tree jump suit we used; we used a similar tree jump suit with the 304th ARRSq. HH-34 Water Pickup by John Ratliff, on Flickr Me and John Pierson, on the end of the HH-34's hoist, practicing a water pickup in the Columbia River, about 1973. John
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 25, 2024 22:37:48 GMT -8
One of the people in the Willamette Writers Group is reading my book, and has already given me some good critiques. She’s only about 60 pages into it as yet (book 1). I wrote back to her to thank her for some really helpful comments, and here’s what she wrote back: “You are very welcome. You are a wonderful writer and you have just super-solid ideas to express. At some point, you will get a copy editor for final tuning. I've used Janis Hunt Johnson of Medford, OR. See askjanis.com/. Very good. Very professional. She makes sure all the little itty bitty things are right and she was also helpful in expressing some things better than I did. “I'm busy with taxes and my own writing this week but will try to get back to your work soon. “Pam” Things are progressing. John
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 13, 2024 18:08:09 GMT -8
In my book, I wrote the following: Well, my Beta Reader, Pam Powell, put a question mark when I mentioned "Mike Nelson." So I decided I needed to write a footnote for those who did not live through the TV era of the mid-1960s. Here's what I wrote: I didn't realize that I had outlived the Sea Hunt era. John
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Apr 13, 2024 20:41:06 GMT -8
At one time, British motorists stopped for speeding would be asked in jest the same question by police officers: "Who do we think we are, sir, (insert famous British racing driver's name here)?" Long ago, that name would have been "Stirling Moss", while "Lewis Hamilton" is perhaps today's likeliest candidate.
When it comes to Mike Nelson, who was Stirling Moss's rough contemporary, it is so sad that there is no Lewis-Hamilton-era equivalent for the person in authority to mention on the topic of mask-wearing etiquette...
DRW
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Post by spirou on Apr 14, 2024 3:20:30 GMT -8
Who remembers in motorcycle, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, or Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts 😭😭😭.
I had one time asked to a student, when I present the regulator, SPG, octo,... "Do you know the name of Cousteau. After a little time. " I heard this name, it is an early ecologist in 60's."
So Mike Nealon in the end of the 50's in a so specific thing like diving ..the note is mandatory.
Time is running and generation with it.🙄
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