Description

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For readers of American Sniper, the stirring account of a life of service by the “father of the US Navy SEALs”

One month after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, when President John F. Kennedy pressed Congress about America’s “urgent national needs,” he named expanding US special operations forces along with putting a man on the moon. Captain William Hamilton was the officer tasked with creating the finest unconventional warriors ever seen. Merging his own experience commanding Navy Underwater Demolition Teams with expertise from Army Special Forces and the CIA, and working with his subordinate, Roy Boehm, he cast the mold for sea-, air-, and land-dispatched night fighters capable of successfully completing any mission anywhere in the world. Initially, they were used as a counter to the potential devastation of nuclear war, and later for counterterrorism and hostage rescue. His vision led to the formation of the celebrated SEAL Team 6. In this stirring, action-filled book, Hamilton tells his story for the first time.

Night Fighter is a trove of true adventure from the history of the late twentieth century, which Hamilton lived, from fighter pilot in the Korean War to operative for the CIA in Vietnam, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, and from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Reagan White House’s Star Wars. Like American Sniper, here is the record of a life devoted to patriotic service.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

About the Author

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Charles W. Sasser, a veteran writer of military history and other books, was himself a member of the Special Forces and a Green Beret and is the bestselling author of One Shot One Kill and, with Roy Boehm, First SEAL. Many of his military titles have been main selections at the Military History Book Club.

Praise For…

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"Night Fighter is unique. It is a most revealing documentary account and living history of the Special Ops, and I know of no other book that offers so complete and objective a glimpse within the organization. By the end, you will know and feel what it was like to be a night fighter from Korea all the way to SEAL Team 6." —Chimp Robertson, author of POW/MIA: America’s Missing Men

"It is my opinion that without the commitment, passion, ingenuity and ruthlessness of Hamilton and (Roy) Boehm there would have been no SEAL teams as we know them." —John Weisman, co-author of Richard Marcinko's Rogue Warrior series; and co-author of Shadow Warrior

"Through your efforts we have been made aware of a significant threat to the development and construction of a strategic defense system (SDI, 'Star Wars')." —Lt. General James A. Abrahamson

"This idea of Bill Hamilton . . . and others into airborne delivery (Helicopter cast-and-recover) was the genesis of the Navy SEALs--SEALs standing for Sea, Air, Land." —Orr Kelly, author of Brave Men, Dark Waters

"You (Hamilton) are the father of the U.S. Navy SEALs." —Sedgwick Tourison Jr., author of Secret Army, Secret War

"Hamilton was also the man responsible for forming SEAL Team Six. (He) did the country a great service in forming what is now one of America's finest professional warrior units." —Rudy Enders, retired CIA officer

"LCDR Hamilton is . . . the foremost expert in UDT matters currently on active duty in the Atlantic Fleet." —Vice Admiral John McN. Taylor, COMPHIBLANT

"His aggressive leadership was instrumental in developing the Navy's 'pro-active' anti-terrorist stance, and he has helped shape our anti-terrorist program for years to come." —Rear Admiral R.F. Marryott

"For exceptional meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service in the First Human Volunteer to perform an underwater ejection . . . for the Pilot Underwater Escape Program." —Legion of Merit citation

"Captain Hamilton is widely credited for his significant role in creating the first Navy SEAL commando units." —BULLIS Magazine