Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986-2006) in the United States Air Force. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School, USN Top Gun School (TOGS), and USAF Special Operations School. A frequent guest analyst on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC discussing foreign affairs, military, aviation, and intelligence issues, he has published in Aviation History, the Journal of Electronic Defense, Air Force Magazine, Vietnam magazine, and Airpower magazine, and written several classified tactical works for the USAF Weapons Review. He is the author of the national bestsellers Viper Pilot and Lords of the Sky, as well as a novel, The Mercenary.
Dan Hampton's vivid writing transported me from an Oregon farm, where a young boy dreamed of becoming a fighter ace, to a top-secret kill mission and an epic moment of American justice exacted high over the South Pacific. Sweeping across much of the Pacific war along the way, Operation Vengeance is colorful, intimate, eye-popping history delivered at a breakneck pace. I loved it. -- LYNN VINCENT, <em>New York Times</em> Bestselling Coauthor of <em>Indianapolis</em> For seventy-seven years 'Operation Vengeance' has fascinated military historians. At least three previous books have addressed the subject since the 1960s but not until now has the story been told in such detail. Dan Hampton combines an intimate knowledge of military aviation with an eye for detail that removes any lingering doubt: the admiral who planned the Pearl Harbor attack was downed by an Oregon farm boy named Rex Barber. -- BARRETT TILLMAN, author of <em>Whirlwind</em> Operation Vengeance is a whacking great read every bit as exciting as the real mission. -- STEPHEN COONTS, <em>New York Times</em> Bestselling Author of <em>The Russia Account</em> Colorful details, no-nonsense prose, and meticulous research make this an essential retelling of Yamamoto's death. -- <em>Publishers Weekly</em> Satisfying. ... Vivid and engaging. ... [Gives] credit where it's due. -- <em>Kirkus Reviews</em> The accessible storytelling by Hampton will likely be of interest for aficionados of the period. -- <em>Library Journal</em>