Stormrider

Gordon L Bocher served 11 1/2 years in the Air Force. He flew 177 combat rides as a Fire Control Officer (FCO) aboard the AC -130A Gunship. As a rescue navigator, Bocher participated in the abortive attempt to rescue the 53 hostages held in Iran. Throughout his service, Bocher was awarded two Distinguished Flying Cross medals, eight Air Medals, the Purple Heart, the Conspicuous Service Award from Gov. Mario Cuomo (NY) and two nominations for the Silver Star. The author's personal story was chronicled in two front-page stories in Newsday, People magazine, the Colorado Star, the Veterans of Foreign Wars magazine and was featured in "The Book of Man" (pp 417-424) by William Bennett (9/29/11). This story provides an accurate history of the end stages of the Vietnam War and has been placed in the Oral history section of the Library of Congress. Mr. Bocher also worked as an air-traffic control specialist for 27 years.