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B ill Sparks would rather have stayed a Wild Weasel, but orders are orders and if nothing else, Sparks was a good soldier. If his superiors wanted him to be a Strike Leader, then a Strike Leader he would be. On November 5, mission planners briefed Sparks and the rest of his squad- ron on that day’s attack. They were to fly a raid against the Phuc Yen airbase, the largest in North Vietnam. It was located 18 miles northwest of Hanoi. Air Force, Navy, and Marine planes had attacked the airfield on October 25, re- sulting in significant damage. Still, the raid planned for November 5 was not going to be a milk run (a nickname for an easy mission). The base was home to at least 1,000 MiGs, many anti-aircraft guns, and more than a dozen SAM sites. In addition, there

Words To Understand afterburners components of military plane engines that provide a burst of speed usually for supersonic flights lethal deadly logistics detailed plans involving moving many people, machines, and goods torrent a fast-moving flow

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