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Now Available As Hyperlinked E-Pub

The 2022 E-Publication edition of Baited Trap, the Ambush of Mission 1890 is updated with additional photographs, many in color.  It also includes hyperlinks to external web sites that provide additional information or resources to readers.

Baited Trap, The Ambush of Mission 1890 tells the story of the most dangerous Korean War helicopter rescue mission of the Korean War.  “Captain Tracy Connors has presented a remarkably accurate picture of the courage and dedication of those pilots and airmen who risked and sometimes gave their lives that others may live during the Korean War….Those of us fortunate enough to have participated in the combat rescue of downed airmen live for the rest of our lives with a sense of gratitude that we were graced with that very rare opportunity….Baited Trap is a long overdue tribute to the Air Rescue Service and particularly for these airmen whose bravery, airmanship and dedication to life saving duty is unsurpassed in military history.” (LTC John Caldwell, USAF Ret.)

…includes a ‘gold mine’ of documentary and photographic evidence at the family level. I believe the story will resonate with many readers…” (Dr. Forrest Marion, USAF Historical Research Agency)

The Korean War’s Greatest Love Story

Baited Trap is much more than a heroic war story from the “forgotten war.” It is also the Korean War’s greatest love story, following Wayne and Della Lear, Bobby Holloway, Ron Eaton and Dolly Sharp, and Frankie and Archie Connors as they tried to put their lives and families together even as the Korean War was reaching out to engulf them.

“Readers get to know Navy Fighter Pilot Ensign Ron Eaton, whose combat mishap sets in motion the rescue mission. Readers meet Rescue Combat Air Patrol pilot Archie Connors and the extended Connors family. Also profiled is Captain Wayne Lear, the pilot of the rescue helicopter sent to rescue Ensign Eaton. We also meet Elliot Ayer, flight leader for the combat rescue mission, and Bobby Dale Holloway, the medical technician who flew the rescue mission with Captain Lear.” (Kris Barnett, Graybeard Magazine, KWVA)

About Baited Trap

H-5_05_wideBaited Trap follows in close-up detail the lives of three young men and their sweethearts from childhood until they are brought together by chance to fly a dangerous helicopter rescue mission into heavily defended enemy territory in North Korea on the day of the Second Anniversary of the start of the Korean War. The harrowing mission of plucking the downed Navy pilot off the side of a mountain was finally completed after three punishing attempts. The brave, wounded helicopter pilot fought to control the damaged “copter” as he headed down the valley after picking up Eaton—south towards friendly lines—and safety. A direct anti-aircraft hit on the rotor sent the helo spinning to earth—killing three of the airmen, two on the helicopter and the pilot of an escort Mustang fighter.

“This story is a tragic, but wonderful, example of how war may affect the loved ones of those who are lost. It includes a ‘gold mine’ of documentary and photographic evidence at the family level. I believe the story will resonate with many readers, especially the families of those U.S. Servicemen lost in military operations since 2001. In ‘Baited Trap,’ deaths in combat, perceived or actual bureaucratic insensitivities, and human failings combine with the sometimes sorrowful and failed–and sometimes encouraging and successful–efforts of loved ones to cope with their respective losses. There are undoubtedly many American families today who would draw a measure of strength and courage from a poignant reminder that they are not the first to experience a war for whom there may never be final closure in this life.” (Dr. Forrest L. Marion, Oral Historian, USAF Historical Research Agency; Author: That Others May Live, USAF Air Rescue in Korea)