[John Youngs]

I know this is a forum for diecast Armour/FM, etc; having said that, I thought I'd add a little "something" here, given the interest in MiG-15's and MiG-17's.

About 6 months ago, I went to our local Borders Book store and was very pleasantly ("mildly shocked" is perhaps a better term!) surprised to learn that the autobiography (1st edition, first published in 1996) of No Kum-Sok (now known in America as Kenneth H. Rowe), the North Korean pilot who defected to the Americans in 1953 with his then-new MiG-15-bis, is STILL available!! The first edition is still the edition being printed and is for sale ("A MiG-15 To Freedom", by No Kum-Sok - with J. Roger Osterholm; McFarland & Co; Publishers)!!

I was amazed and thrilled at what a GREAT book it really is!! If you like really GREAT aviation books, particularly ones in which the author overcame tremendous odds and succeeded - THIS is it!! I most highly recommend it!! If you ever wanted to really and truly know what life was like under the No. Korean gov't - particularly at that time (not that much has changed, from what I understand...), No Kum-Sok lets you know in no uncertain terms!! Amazingly enough, while the American Gov't had offered a $100K reward for such a plane, No Kum-Sok had never seen or heard of the offer - he just wanted to be free!! He didn't hear of the reward until after he had landed in So. Korea, on an active runway - going the wrong way!! Just simply an amazing story!! JY

[SKUNKY]

Sounds like a real interesting book.....I'll check it out at Amazon.... Thanks, John

His original name almost sounds like something you'd hear from a Vietnamese prostitute....

[mustangdriver]

The Mig he flew that day is the one in the NMUSAF in Dayton.

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

His original name almost sounds like something you'd hear from a Vietnamese prostitute....

You've got a vivid albeit twisted imagination there, Skunky!

I happen to have a coworker named "Phuoc" and boy does he gets hammered everytime some american dude pronounces his name!

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

His original name almost sounds like something you'd hear from a Vietnamese prostitute....

That's disgusting!!!!

[John Youngs]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Sounds like a real interesting book.....I'll check it out at Amazon.... Thanks, John

His original name almost sounds like something you'd hear from a Vietnamese prostitute....

SKUNKY - Perhaps, but when you stop to consider all of his accomplishments (several engineering degrees; plus he's worked for most of the American aerospace industry for several decades now - incl. Boeing...!!!) - You have to admit - funny name or no (by the way, he explains his name in the book), he's one heckuva guy & dedicated to this country!! I'd love to have someone like this as my next-door neighbor...!!! Anyhow, as a result of his years of hard work over here, his autobiography wasn't written until the mid-to-late 1990's... - JY

[Rush104]

Thanks for the heads up on this one, John. Sounds like it would be a perfect compliment for the book that Viktor Belenko wrote detailing his escape from the Soviet Union in the MiG-25.

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

His original name almost sounds like something you'd hear from a Vietnamese prostitute....

Ohh! SKUNKY! Now that doesn't conjur a pretty picture as I sit down to eat lunch!

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by Rush104

Thanks for the heads up on this one, John. Sounds like it would be a perfect compliment for the book that Viktor Belenko wrote detailing his escape from the Soviet Union in the MiG-25.

I read Belenko's book and was hoping for Hollyweird to turn it into a movie.

[John Youngs]

Originally Posted by Rush104

Thanks for the heads up on this one, John. Sounds like it would be a perfect compliment for the book that Viktor Belenko wrote detailing his escape from the Soviet Union in the MiG-25.

Absolutely!! Another excellent book!! - JY