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by Lee F. Walters (Author)
Rescues from the Sky features the true stories of the US Coast Guard Aviation Medical Rescue Service as seen through the eyes of a wet-behind-the-ears flight surgeon fresh out of training. The events it recounts took place during the author's experience while stationed at US Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco from 1971 to 1973. The rescues are described in detail and include, among others:
- The crash of a 747 on the runway on the author's first day of work
- The hijacking of a 737 by two Bulgarians
- The rescue of a woman bleeding from an abortion performed on a Russian submarine
- Saving the life of a sailboat owner in Half Moon Bay who had a heart attack and fell unconscious while sailing in thirty-mile-per-hour winds toward a rocky shore
- Rescuing a Czech crewman who developed appendicitis fifty miles at sea in a storm with fifty-five mile-per-hour winds
Intersecting the dramatic rescues is a love story between the author and a young nurse and how their medical careers get in the way of their growing need to be together. The book also traces the author's training that led to his becoming a flight surgeon prior to his tour of duty.
Though written under a pseudonym for personal reasons, this is a work of non-fiction that has been approved by the Motion Picture and Television Office of the United States Coast Guard. Several of the incidents recounted are also well documented in newspapers from the era. This book is ideal for anyone who likes adventure, excitement, humor, emergency medicine, aviation adventure, a tender love story, or all of the above
