From February 1967 to April 1968, David Vaughan flew the C-130 Hercules in Southeast Asia. Vaughan's Airlift missions took him to more than fifty fields in the Southeast Asian theater, carrying food, mail, supplies, ammunition, and soldiers both alive and dead. Among his most harrowing duties was the resupply of the Marine base at Khe Sanh during the most intense action of the 1968 Tet offensive.

In This Memoir, Vaughan describes his progression from inexperienced flyer to veteran crew member and his coming of age under combat conditions.