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

When Lyndon Baines Johnson Wanted To Go Somewhere, There Was No Stopping Him. This Dynamic President Called For Air Force One As Others Summon A Taxi--at A Moment's Notice, Whatever The Hour Or The Weather. And The Man Who Made Sure That Lbj Got His Ride Was General James U. Cross, The President's Hand-picked Pilot, Top Military Assistant, And Personal Confidante. One Of The Few Air Force One Pilots To Have A Position, Simultaneously, In The White House, General Cross Is Also The Only Member Of Lbj's Inner Circle Who Has Not Publicly Offered His Recollections Of The President. In This Book, He Goes On The Record, Creating A Fascinating, Behind-the-scenes Portrait Of America's Complex, Often Contradictory, Always Larger-than-life Thirty-sixth President. General Cross Tells An Engrossing Story. In Addition To Piloting Air Force One Around The Globe, He Served President Johnson In Multiple Capacities, Including Directing The Military Office In The White House; Managing A Secret Two-million-dollar Presidential Emergency Fund; Supervising The Presidential Retreat At Camp David, The President's Entire Transportation Fleet, And The Presidential Bomb Shelters; Running The White House Mess; Hiring White House Social Aides, Including The President's Future Son-in-law, Charles Robb; And Writing Condolence Letters To The Families Of Soldiers Killed In Vietnam. This Wide-ranging, Around-the-clock Access To President Johnson Allowed Cross To Witness Events And Share Moments That Add Color And Depth To Our Understanding Of America's Arguably Most Demanding And Unpredictable President.--publisher's Description. Chapter 1 The Longest Day 1 -- Chapter 2 The Early Years 12 -- Chapter 3 Bringing Home A Hero 29 -- Chapter 4 Joining The Inner Circle 39 -- Chapter 5 Angel Is Airborne 52 -- Chapter 6 The Shadow Of Vietnam 73 -- Chapter 7 The Enforcer 89 -- Chapter 8 Visiting Vietnam And Southeast Asia 110 -- Chapter 9 Around The World, Part One 133 -- Chapter 10 Around The World, Part Two 148 -- Chapter 11 My Turn To Serve In Vietnam 168 -- Chapter 12 Farewell To A Friend 182. James U. Cross ; With Denise Gamino And Gary Rice. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 198-200) And Index. A “delightful, honest, and entertaining” memoir by an Air Force One pilot and member of Lyndon Johnson’s inner circle (Bill Moyers). When Lyndon Baines Johnson wanted to go somewhere, there was no stopping him. This dynamic president called for Air Force One as others summon a taxi—at a moment’s notice—whatever the hour or the weather. And the man who made sure that LBJ got his ride was General James U. Cross, the president’s hand-picked pilot, top military assistant, and personal confidant. In this book, he goes on the record for the first time, creating a fascinating, behind-the-scenes portrait of America’s complex, often contradictory, always larger-than-life thirty-sixth president. In addition to piloting Air Force One around the globe, he served the president in multiple capacities, including directing the Military Office in the White House; managing a secret two-million-dollar presidential emergency fund; supervising the presidential retreat at Camp David, the president’s entire transportation fleet, and the presidential bomb shelters; running the White House Mess; hiring White House social aides, including the president’s future son-in-law, Charles Robb; and writing condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed in Vietnam. This wide-ranging, around-the-clock access to President Johnson allowed Cross to witness events and share moments that add color and depth to our understanding of one of America’s most demanding and unpredictable presidents. Lyndon Baines Johnson was a dynamic president, who called for Air Force One as others summon a taxi - at a moment's notice, whatever the hour or the weather. This book offers a portrait of America's complex, often contradictory, always larger-than-life thirty-sixth president.