Reviews of Angel's Truck Stop
“Books like this are what make biographies so worthwhile. An honest and courageous portrayal of a woman’s life in the military during the turbulent 1960’s.”
Udorn RTAFB, Thailand in 1971-72 was my home. We were young fighter pilots, mostly in our 20's, some in our 30's. Our country called and we answered, flying our F-4s against our communist adversaries. We flew nearly every day after every day, no matter if your aircraft was hit the previous day, if you watched your buddies get blown from the sky and killed, or if they were captured and sent to the Hanoi Hilton. And we were all changed.
"Angel's Truck Stop," the Udorn Officers Club, was our source of solace and comfort. We ate there, drank there, laughed there, cried there, slept there and even fought each other there. This brings back many memories, some harsh, some comforting, but welcome just the same. Thank you, Angel, for keeping the memories alive of a time and place in which those of us who were there forged bonds of friendship which will never be broken.
Captain Marty Cavato
Triple Nickel Fighter Squadron
A fantastic read. I didn't want it to end.
Anne Marie Flora Lowe
Angel's Truck Stop, A Woman's Love, Laughter and Loss during the Vietnam War is an eye-opening account of an era many Americans did not/do not understand and that many choose to forget. Angel Pilato pulls no punches. The stories make you laugh and cry, and you are left with a somber appreciation of what is asked of our servicemen and women. You'll be compelled to read it in one sitting, but take your time - absorb what she shares.
Barb Randall
Lake Oswego Review, West Linn Tidings
“Boldly entertaining and heartbreakingly poignant, Angel’s Truck Stop gives unique insight into the life of a woman officer serving on an overseas Air Force base during the Vietnam War. A total page-turner!”
This is not a "chick book". It's worthy of whatever tops your list on the Vietnam War. It's an informative, naked and startling look at crux between the 60s and 70s. When Angel was in-service, I was just a little kid watching flickering war images of combat on TV.
When I read this book, I expected...well, not what I got. Instead, I found a well-written and crushingly honest view of a woman in the midst of cultural change. She's rather cute in the book cover photo but this is one tough, ambitious and focused woman. She writes of her naivete and maturation into a street-wise businesswoman in a jock-male culture with clarity.
Highly recommended for anyone born after 1970...it will explain what your mom's and aunt's tried to do; Angel succeeded.
John Mollison, Creator
Old Guys and Their Airplanes
“A candid, humorous, and insightful glimpse of a woman running an officers’ club in the middle of a combat zone. You’ll be engaged from beginning to end with the situations and people involved in this war time memoir.”
Angel is a very talented storyteller. Those of us at Udorn spent 90% of our time on the flight line, flying, or at "Angel's Truck Stop." It was a great "Stop" because Angel had a fighter pilots attitude and knew what made us tick. Thanks again from all of us for the memories.
Joe Kittinger, Colonel, USAF, (Ret.)
Former Commander, Triple Nickel Squadron
Author: Come Up and Get Me
Angel has written a very good book describing the egos, frustrations, foolishness, tensions, punishments, and rewards involved in the complexity of a greatly augmented Air Force reconnaissance fighter wing at Udorn RTAFB as it ramps up to meet the challenges of the North Vietnamese "Easter offensive" of 1972. She had a tough job dealing with frat boy bozos but still did very well in what was, in many ways, a thankless assignment. I admire her for her patience and dedication and discretion in her account of a difficult time. I was there.
Karl Polifka, Former Raven and 14th TRS
Author: Meeting Steve Canyon: and flying with the CIA in Laos.
Often war memoirs make the subject look heroic. It's unusual to read a memoir that doesn't hold back, that shows us the real person behind the book. Angel bares her soul and doesn't spare herself or her fellow soldiers as she gives her unvarnished memories of her life as a female military officer serving during the Vietnam war. I think this book gives a real picture of a place in time that many of us are unfamiliar with-and would be better knowing.
Linda Richey, Steven's Printing Company
“In spite of her youth, idealism, relative inexperience and gender, Angel figured out how to get things accomplished in a man’s military world.”
The author deals with high-echelon egos and gung-ho fighter pilots and has readers feeling empathy with the men and women she introduces in her wartime memoir.
Janet Goetze, writing in The Oregonian
Readers of Angel's fine book will experience the entire gamut of human emotion, from exhilarating highs to abysmal lows. Angel's unique recounting of her time as an AF officer in a combat zone in 1972 is a "no-holds-barred" collection of true anecdotes. She has done a commendable job of telling it like it truly was.
She did, in fact, really come to understand how to successfully deal with our band of "hair on fire" fighter pilots that spent so much time in the Truck Stop at Udorn.
Sierra Hotel Angel.
Fred "Broadway Joe" Olmsted
MIG Killer - 13th Panther Pac Fighter Squadron
Wonderfully written, very conversational. Angel courageously reveals her innermost thoughts about her hard times as well as her joys and triumphs.
Mary Freider, Willamette View