Word: risner
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...such equipment successfully requires the highest degree of human ingenuity and precision, and despite all his experience, Risner spends most of his waking hours perfecting his skills. "You never get good enough," he says. "A complacent pilot gets killed...
...What I Had Been Taught." Only a few weeks ago, Risner almost got killed. But his professionalism saved him. He now describes the experience with almost clinical detachment: "The target that day was a radar station in North Viet Nam. I was janking [changing altitude and direction continuously] when I got hit by ground fire. They got me four feet behind the cockpit, in the engine. I had to make a 180° turn to get out over the sea. When I got to the coastline, I figured I was safe. But in the water was an enemy gunboat...
...afraid? Not so that you could notice it. "Fear," says Risner, "is a luxury one can't afford." Anyhow, he has faith. "I believe in God. I'm already at peace with myself. If death comes, I only hope that it comes quickly and that I won't be sorry...
...unlikely he has any sorrow about how he has lived his life. For Robbie Risner considers himself "the luckiest man in the world to be doing what I'm doing...
Like almost every other American combatant in Viet Nam, Risner feels strongly that most American citizens fail to understand the nature of the war - and the extent of the U.S. effort. He would be the first to agree with Admiral Moorer's statement that "this war is being fought by a very few dedicated, hard-working people in a peace time atmosphere." On the ground, at sea and in the air, those dedicated people daily risk the ultimate sacrifice (see casualty box, p. 25). In the experiences and attitudes of a few can be told the story of most...