Around the World with LBJ: My Wild Ride as Air Force One Pilot, White House Aide, and Personal

219 Pages·2008·2.41 MB·English

by  James U., Cross

Around the World w ith LBJ
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Around the World with LB J
M Y W I L D R I D E A S
A I R F O R C E O N E P I L O T,
W H I T E H O U S E A I D E ,
A N D P E R S O N A L C O N F I D A N T
Brigadier General James U. Cross,
United States Air Force (Retired)
With Denise Gamino and Gary Rice
U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S P R E S S
A U S T I N
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Copyright © 2008 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2008
Requests for permission to reproduce
material from this work should be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
∞ T e paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements
of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cross, James U. ( James Underwood), 1925–
Around the world with LBJ : my wild ride as Air Force One pilot, White
House aide, and personal conf dant / James U. Cross, with Denise Gamino
and Gary Rice. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-292-71768-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Cross, James U. ( James Underwood), 1925– 2. Johnson, Lyndon B.
(Lyndon Baines), 1908–1973—Friends and associates. 3. Presidents—
United States—Staf —Biography. 4. Air pilots—United States—Biography.
5. Air Force One (Presidential aircraft)—History—20th century. 6. Air
travel—History—20th century. 7. Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines),
1908–1973. 8. Presidents—United States—Biography. I. Gamino, Denise.
II. Rice, Gary. III. Title.
E847.2.C76 2008
973.923092—dc22
2007043296
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This book is dedicated to Marie, my beloved wife of
sixty-two years; the memory of our f rstborn daughter June; and our three
living children, Jeanie, Joanie, and John. T eir love and encouragement
have been the foundation for anything I would ever accomplish in my life’s
work as a military aviator. Often absent from our home hearth for months
at a time, I was sustained by their love always.
My eternal thanks, as well, to my great White House staf and the out-
standing f ight crew of Air Force One. Although there are too many to ac-
knowledge here, each was the best ever to come down the pike, and they
know who they are. And lastly, my heartfelt thanks to Denise Gamino and
Gary Rice, whose contributions made this book possible.
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C on ten ts
Chapter One. T e Longest Day 1
Chapter Two. T e Early Years 12
Chapter Three. Bringing Home a Hero 29
Chapter Four. Joining the Inner Circle 39
Chapter Five. Angel Is Airborne 52
Chapter Six. T e Shadow of Vietnam 73
Chapter Seven. T e Enforcer 89
Chapter Eight. Visiting Vietnam and Southeast Asia 110
Chapter Nine. Around the World, Part One 133
Chapter Ten. Around the World, Part Two 148
Chapter Eleven. My Turn to Serve in Vietnam 168
Chapter Twelve. Farewell to a Friend 182
Author’s Note 197
Index 201
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Around the World w ith LBJ
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