Info Sheet - CW2 Richard D. Spaulding
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Richard D. Spalding was born in the Northeast United States. His parents were the unlikely pairing of a Kentucky coal miner's daughter - who never went to school a day in her life, and whose ancestors included Jesse James, as well as a very smart high school graduate New Jersey truck driver, turned Air Line Pilot, with family heritage going back to Francis Scott Key. His first book, "Centaur Flights", told Richard's personal story as a Vietnam War attack helicopter pilot and sold out its production run. He has incorporated lessons learned from that writing in his newest book, "Car Flights", which tells the story of one family's thrills, chills, and frustrations in owning, operating, and repairing the American Dream - automobiles. In between writing books, Richard had a very successful career as a software and systems engineer and manager in both Fortune 500 and small companies.
Richard's book Centaur Flights is available at Amazon
Book Reviews:
Charlie Johnson: I also flew gunships in D Troop, 3/4 Cav, callsign "Centaur 40" but in the UH-1C "Charlie Model" gunships prior to the period of time that Richard Spalding was in the unit flying Cobras. We flew in the same AO (area of operations) it appears. I enjoyed reading of his experiences and found that they were not much different than mine. The book appears to be a compilation of intensely recalled events and some genuine but not so life threatening events which, it seems, is common in war. I thank Richard for writing the book and suggest he check in with the 3/4 Cav Assn website to renew the kinship all us old Centaurs have as a result of our shared experiences
Jack Dickson: I too was a Centaur. Brought back a lot of memories. Some not quite like I remember them, but did not distract from a good read.