That Others May Live is the story of one of America's most elite military units. The PJs--pararescue jumpers--are to the air force what the Green Berets are to the army and the SEALs are to the navy, even though they are less well known. There are only about 300 of them, and their main function is to rescue downed pilots, often behind enemy lines. They also perform civilian rescues.
"There are no more capable rescuers than the PJs," writes Sgt. Jack Brehm, a 20-year PJ veteran who penned this book with journalist Pete Nelson. "No one else knows how to fall five miles from the sky to rescue somebody. No one else trains to make rescues in such a wide variety of circumstances and conditions on a mountaintop, in the middle of the Sahara, or 1,000 miles out from shore in hurricane-tossed seas." Some readers will recall the PJs' role in Sebastian Junger's bestselling book and upcoming motion picture The Perfect Storm. Brehm actually coordinated that PJ operation, and he tells his side of the story.
That Others May Live is Brehm's autobiography. He describes in detail everything from PJ training school to the impact of the low pay on family life. Some of the action is, of course, included: like jumping from a plane at 26,000 feet, a feeling that Brehm describes as "lying on a pillow of air, so restful you could almost fall asleep"
Shares