The Ten Thousand

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the following for their assistance in making this book possible:

To Gerry Carroll, who is an author in his own right, for taking valuable time away from his own projects, family, and self-inflicted home improvement projects to look over my rough draft and comment on all that aviation stuff. Thanks, Gerry.

To Chet Burgess, one of Ted Turner's originals at CNN, for doing likewise and not only for commenting on the portions of the book concerning the media but for giving valuable advice on other areas as well. Most of all, however, I would like to publicly thank you for taking the time from what must have been a miserable schedule in January of 1991 to give me and Major Bill Little, both Desert Shield/Storm-bound, a great sendoff while we were cooling our heels and chewing our nails in Atlanta during the twilight period between peace and war.

Next, I would like to extend my appreciation to Michael Korda, of Simon Schuster, who has served as a guide and shepherd in my writing career since my second book and Paul McCarthy of Pocket Books for his editorial comments and yeoman's work in making this book a readable commodity. Even though my name is on it and theirs aren't, no book is a one-person effort.

Finally, as always, I extend to my wife and children a special thanks for putting up with the long hours and all too frequent fits of passion that this book produced. Too often they absorbed the brunt of shots meant for others and still came back smiling. I can't think of anyone more deserving of my thanks and appreciation than those who kept me going by providing a gentle smile and encouraging word when I needed it. Thanks.

This book is dedicated to GEORGE BANNON and those of his generation who, as riflemen, bore the brunt of World War II.