Author also examines Navy missile delivery pilots and their certain death if they were to go to war
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Cruise missiles of past wars have meant the death of the delivery pilot. "A One Way Trip To Death" explores the history of how this lethal assault weapon came about, and how it played an impressive role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Author Cmdr. Richard F. Kaufman, USN (Ret.), who was a chase pilot for the Navy's Regulus missile, shares the birth and development of the cruise missile in World War II and how it became an American weapon of immense destruction. He also shares the experiences of a navy missile chase pilot with mixed emotion. On the one hand, living a life of luxury with his family in a tropical Hawaiian paradise far away from the troubles of the real world, while on the other hand, preparing for his death in a nuclear explosion as a missile delivery pilot in the event of war.
"At the time, my mission was a one-way trip to ensure the delivery of a hydrogen bomb," said Kaufman, "with 130 times the explosive power of Hiroshima, to a Soviet naval target."
While visiting the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Hawaii in 2018, Kaufman was approached by veterans who were with him during the Cuban Missile Crisis and asked to write a book to tell their story.
"It had been 56 years since the incident without much published," said Kaufman. "I still had my notes and records along with material furnished by navy sources, so I put it all together for an adventuresome story of our experiences."
"A One-Way Trip to Death: A Survivor's View of Cruise Missiles in the Cuban Missile Crisis"
By Richard F. Kaufman Ph.D
ISBN: 9781665702454 (softcover); 9781665702447 (hardcover); 9781665702461 (electronic)
Available at Archway Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the author
Cmdr. Richard F. Kaufman, USN (Ret.) retired from the Navy in 1970 after twenty-four years of service. He served three combat tours in the Korean War aboard four different aircraft carriers. He holds the Distinguished Flying Cross along with five Air Medals. He earned his M.S. from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1974. He continued his career teaching at Texas Christian University and California State University as a full professor. He's retired and lives in California as a full professor emeritus. He previously authored "Saving the Donner Party," which tells the story of the rescuers of the Donner Party. To learn more, please visit http://www.richardkaufmanphd.com.
Media Contact
Ziggy Goldfarb, Archway Publishing, 4803067065, [email protected]
SOURCE Archway Publishing
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