[NickM]

I have finished reading both of Ed Rasumus' combat memoirs over North Vietnam: When Thunder Rolled & Palace Cobra. Well I have a couple of questions RE: both of these books;

Did 'Raz' omit or alter the names of several of his less than esteemed comrades? Specifically an USAF Major who had to have transferred into flying F105s from 'trash haulers' or somewhere else...I recall his "name" was 'Burris Begley' but because of his balding, nearsighted & tactically clueless demeanor he was known as 'Mr Magoo'---and he soon ended up as a KIA after Rasimus finished his 100 missions downtown. Name real or 'changed to protect the innocent'?

And

In Palace Cobra Raz returned to North Vietnam for the Linebacker campaign flying Phantoms; he recollected an encounter one of his Wild Weasel Comrades had with a "Black SAM" that had a lot more 'game' than the SA-2 Guideline; any idea what this missile was?
And most curiously, Raz made mention of North Vietnam's HUGE Easter Offensive in 1972; He seemed to give the impression that Linebacker was just another politically motivated exercise in election year saber rattling.