My Enemy, My Friend

By Dan Cherry, Fran Erickson

On April 16, 1972 at 15,000 feet in the skies near Hanoi, North Vietnam, Major Dan Cherry and Lieutenant Nguyen Hong My met for the first time in mortal combat. In an intense five minute aerial battle, Dan, flying his F-4 Phantom II, shot down the MiG-21 piloted by Hong My. Major Cherry returned safely to his base, however, Lieutenant Hong My was severely injured during the ejection from his burning aircraft. Thirty-six years later Dan Cherry and Hong My met face to face in Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon), Vietnam for the first time since that fateful day. In many ways this is a war story but more than that, it is a powerful story of healing, closure, forgiveness, friendship and reconciliation.

Autographed by Dan Cherry