the Pentagon, allegedly as a vendetta because his punishment was so slight. Required by office protocol to work only two or three days a month, he used both his extra time and his bitterness at the Air Force to compose Thud Ridge while he awaited approval of an application to appeal of his conviction to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records. After his conviction was overturned and expunged from his record because of "undue command influence," Broughton retired from the Air Force in August 1968 and had the memoir published by J. B. Lippincott. The book appeared soon after as a Bantam paperback, with reprint editions in 1985, 2002, and 2006. Legacy Broughton's book brought him into immediate disfavor with the Air Force hierarchy. However, thirty years after the incident resulting in the court martial, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Ronald R. Fogleman added Thud Ridge to the CSAF Professional Reading Program he instituted in 1996 and directed the Air Force to purchase 10,000 copies. Along with 12 other books on the reading list, Thud Ridge was provided at no expense to all Air Force officers upon their promotion to captain. References External links "Thud Ridge: A Legacy and a Legend", Air Force Magazine October 1986, Vol. 69, No. 10 By John L. Frisbee, contributing editor Aerial warfare Vietnam War books Aviation books J. B. Lippincott & Co. books 1969 non-fiction books