Long shot but help me with this warbird author

First off he's not Barrett Tillman, Mark Berent, or Walter Boyne. Also I think he's passed and had a limited amount of books ( I clearly remember the afterword of one of his books stating he had died in a crash? and someone else he taken the unfinished work and finished it)

I think most of the writing was during the Vietnam war, Navy fighter pilot stuff and the thing that stands out was how brutally funny he was. I discovered his books in the library a minumum 5 years ago and remember on a flight reading this book and being in tears as this guy described his various adventures as a pilot. Funny funny but brutally honest stuff

Only other thing I can remember is he ended one of the books he wrote by say he realized how lucky he was to be in the Navy during the time he was in it because he saw some new navy pilots undergoing training and how wimpy they came off to him compared to his upbringing

sorry not much else I can pass along any and all help appreciated

 

nope, sorry

 

It appears the author was Gerry Carroll. A former Vietnam era chopper pilot who died of a heart attack after his 3rd book. The book I was thinking of was Ghostrider 1. But here's the best part both Mark Berent and Barrett Tillman both of whom are pretty esteemed writers when it comes to these type of books gave me the answer after I sent them e-mails.