Warren A. TrestAir Commando One: Heinie Aderholt and America's Secret Air Wars

I had the opportunity to befriend Heinie Aderholt in the fall of 2009 and he promised to give me his book when we came up to Pamama city to share dinner with he and his wife, (we were going to by some furniture in his furniture store as well). I could not wait, I bought the book and consumed it quickly. Afterward we had a lot of time on the phone talking, about "stuff" that happened in Laos and all. I wanted to do a book about Bill Lair, but after reading his book and learning so much about him (Heinie) and his world, I just wanted to share Heinie's memories.Reading "Air Commando One" was like hearing it straight from "the man" himself. He was quite a story teller, he could really "spin a yarn"...Warren A. Trest has brought back this time I had with Heini Aderholt. (as I re-read Trest's book) Mr. Trest brings back to the dinner table the discussions of the adventures of Heinie's life and the account of a professional military man who stayed under the radar due to his clandestine work of a great man.The story should be told now that Heini is gone, it should be yelled from the roof tops. But just like so many great men who fought in secret wars doing the dirty work "Under the radar" so to speak, they will never get the recognition they deserve.This book; "Air Commando One" by Warren A. Trest is one of the best biographies I have read. I highly recommend this book, for it is very instructive and historically correct, interesting, amusing and will leave you smiling, sad, and scratching your head wondering what the heck does our government think they are doing? No matter where you stood on the Vietnam war politically speaking, in retrospect, we can now see perhaps, that just maybe the wars should be fought by those men who know what the heck they are doing, like Heini Aderholt. God bless all those guys who lived, died and fought by General Heinie Aderholt's side in World War II, Korea, Tibet, Thailand, The Golden Triangle, and Laos especially. Great job Mr. Trest, Great Book, Get the book and read it, you will be glad you did. I give it ten stars... (JRH)

I once had an autographed copy of this book but General Aderholt is gone so no chance of getting another one. A story about an amazing man from WW2 through Korea and Vietnam. I was at Nonkhom Phanom just before we pulled out. Great read.

While it is the story of one of the best combat leaders I have read about in history, the book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the history of the Viet Nam War. I don't know of any book that covers the behind the scenes intrigue that was exhibited between the CIA and the Air Force as well and with some humorous sections because of the directness of Aderholt. It is so easy to see why men followed him and did his bidding.

Still reading this one its a good read and explains some of the wheeling and dealing for the CIA Air America etc and makes me wonder who's doing this now.

Excellent, Heinie Aderholt was by far the finest commander I ever served under. The book is excellent, well researched, and written. Heinie endorsed my performance reports, I treasure those documents. He was compared to the famous Claire Chenault. I would also compare him to Billy Mitchell. He led fearlessly from the front and nothing would deter him. He was loved by the Air Commandos, and he loved them.