The Contrail Chronicles

by Dick Nelson

Overview

"Contrails" are those silvery white tracks left in the sky by the engine exhaust condensation of high-altitude aircraft. They show where the airborne traveler is going, as well as where he has been. They define the journey, conducted at high speed, where the air is thin and danger is always lurking. This was the harsh testing-ground for a father and his son, from a family of Swedish immigrants---unlikely participants in the armed conflicts that would consume the world in their respective lifetimes.

The saga of the Nelson family contains joy and sorrow, triumph and tragedy, and ample quantities of humorous stories. It is a case study in how wars cut deeply into a family's heart and soul, and often destroy the bonds that normally exist.

The book traces Wendel Nelson's idealistic quest to become a World War II fighter pilot and defend democracy from fascism. As an American volunteer in the RAF, his exploits range from the Battle of Britain to the North African campaign against Rommel, and then fighter sweeps into Europe in the final years of the war.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013176317
Publisher:	Outskirts Press, Inc.
Publication date:	08/31/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	307
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Dick Nelson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1964. He has served as a politico-military liaison with the Peruvian Navy and the American Embassy in Peru, and as an F-8 fighter pilot. Nelson has been honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, 13 Air Medals, the Navy Unit Citation, the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross and other decorations. After Vietnam, Dick was a commercial pilot with Continental Airlines for 14 years, and then became a successful lawyer in California, and then serving with the federal government. He currently lives in Punta Gorda, Fla., with his wife, Janet.

Editorial Reviews

Dick Nelson has a bittersweet story to tell, and he tells it well. As he notes, he grew up much like Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump," seemingly destined to follow his father's fate--a WW II fighter pilot killed flying with the 8th Air Force in England. Dick's path to combat was long and arduous, including academic battles at the U.S. Naval Academy, but he graduated in 1964, just in time for flight training early in the Vietnam War. Unlike Lt. Wendell Nelson, Dick survived his war, flying the de

Barrett Tillman

An intriguing story of the author from childhood through his years at the U.S. Naval Academy, pilot training and his missions as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. It has the drama of an unhappy family life as a child and the insight of dealing with that part of his life; the humor of some of his escapades during the years at the academy; the tragedy of losing fellow pilots during the war years. Also, the reader gets the true feeling of this young officer wanting to make his late father (a Navy pilot)

Cynthia Clark

A great read on life in the Navy, the Academy, war and its aftermath on families and loved ones. I give this book a real high five for its accurate portrail of how things really were back in those days. It was a time of great upheveal both abroad and at home as nothing split this country as much since the Civil War.
In a lot of ways it was the old saw 'best of times, worst of times'. The best flying ever balanced by the worst of stress, friction, hatred, all the emotions of living in 'inter

Dudley Moore

As an "administrative-type" for most of my 22 years of naval service I was required to read tons of material. Consequently, I now literally hate to read for any purpose other than fun, and I just finished reading one of the absolutely most entertaining books I have ever read. When Hot Dog Nelson (I KNOW Hot Dog) fessed up to his sordid past, beginning with his childhood, spanning his internment at the Naval Academy, and continuing until present day, then put it all down in the Contrail Chronicle

JB Souder

Have you ever wondered_"What does,or even, what did it take to become a top ranked U.S. Navy fighter pilot?" I am sure if anyone could quantify the attributes, or sketch a verbal picture of what it takes__it would be the author or this book__Hot Dog Nelson.

Several former Air Force and Navy fighter pilots have written books that have described their "adventures" in great detail, vividly describing the thoughts that cross their minds while risking their lives dueling with a surface-to-a

Jerry Pearson