Essential, But Expendable

About the Book

How much can a nation ask or expect from one man.  Adam Hunt gave his country far more than could ever be required and certainly more than he should.  He was essential in two of the most pivotal cold war intelligence operations and learned just how expendable he and his crews were.

Adam and Kate had the most special relationship and knew they were meant for each other for all time.  They enjoyed a year of great times at a small junior college and partying at swimming holes, nightclubs and special places.  They had to go on to four-year colleges, but Adam was sick of being a student.  He felt he could do much better in the military, so entered cadets to get his commission and wings so he and Kate could get married when she graduated from college.  

Adam wound up assigned to a very secretive unit, known as the ‘Black Knights’, flying high altitude RB-57 spy planes.  While operating from a secret underground base in Turkey, Adam was selected to fly a special mission for the CIA.  The mission was flown over the Soviet space missile launch and test complex at Kapustin Yar.  The Russians committed the most flagrant violation of nuclear weapons agreements by attempting to put nuclear bombs in orbit.  But something went wrong and the thermonuclear device detonated shortly after liftoff – destroying the entire complex and badly damaging Adam’s aircraft.

Blast damage and radiation spelled doom for the RB-57 crew.  They did their best to avoid the potent defenses along the Caspian Sea, but the pilot died as a result of a massive dose of gamma-ray radiation.  Damaged control surfaces caused the spy plane to descend enough to put it into the lethal envelope of the surface-to-air missiles.  The RB-57 was shot down over the south portion of the Caspian, but Adam managed to eject.  His shoulder was dislocated during the ejection, causing him to go into and out of consciousness as he floated in the sea.

Adam was found by a band of marauding Kurds, who helped him avoid the Russians.  They did so more to get even with the Soviets than to help Adam.  He and the Kurds battle the Soviets until reaching the Kurd camp (inside the USSR).  The Russians find the remains of the RB-57 and realize one man ejected and may be alive.  They cannot afford to let him tell the story of what happened at Kapustin Yar, so the order goes out to kill Adam at all costs.

Adam becomes very close to the Kurds and fights elbow to elbow with them against the Russians in several fierce fights.  When Adam and the Kurds cross into Iran, the Soviets send Spetsnaz teams deep into Iran to eliminate Adam.  U.S. intelligence detects the fighting and puts the pieces together, resulting in support for the Kurds from strike and intelligence units in Turkey.   Adam is wounded, exhausted, in a great deal of pain and highly pissed, but is beginning to enjoy the combat as much as the Kurds.  Fighter-bomber aircraft wipe out the remaining Soviet troops and Adam is airlifted out of Iran.  

Adam is interrogated at an intelligence listening site in northern Turkey and secretly drugged.  He is then flown to a secure medical unit in Beirut and held prisoner and interrogated over and over by high-ranking civilians.  He is kept drugged most of the time and under heavy guard.  The government announces his death and keeps him captive for seven months (in Beirut and Virginia) while a high level political war unfolds.

The report of Adam’s death destroys Kate and she nearly dies before her mother snaps her back to reality.  In a desperate effort to again find any meaning in life, Kate elopes with a guy from college.  When Adam is released from the Virginia confinement, he makes a beeline for Kate, but finds only an empty house.  He locates her folks in Texas, goes there and learns the bitter truth.  

About the Author

After getting kicked out several colleges, I found a home in the military. I learned of a weird outfit flying very secretive missions in strange-looking aircraft – it was a perfect match. For the next 22 years I was involved in what was commonly referred to as “Spy Flights”. I was assigned to the well known ‘spy planes’, such as the RB-47, U-2, SR-71 and RC-135, plus many one-of-a-kind and still unknown aircraft. I became known as ‘the authority’ on enemy capabilities and the methods of extracting intelligence on them. I spent an entire career working underground or in buildings that had no windows. Wherever my group went, we were isolated from all others and were referred to as ‘Brand X’. After military retirement, I remained in the intelligence business as a civilian. Now that the veil of secrecy is being lifted, I have begun writing about some of my experiences.