US Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam

US Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam PDF

Author: Gordon L. Rottman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2011-09-20

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1780960840

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The helicopter changed war forever. This book examines the range of duties helicopter pilots carried out in Vietnam, from air-lift, med-evac and fire-support to landing in high volume crossfires in 'Hot LZs'. Protected by little more than an armoured seat, operating in terrible conditions and flying long hours these brave men led hard, dangerous lives, and casualties were high. Following these pilots from initial deployment through to the deadly thrill of combat in a war zone, Vietnam veteran Gordon L Rottman's book is a crucial examination of the pilots who fought so valiantly for their country. Often unmoved by the politics of the war, conflicts at home and other social issues, the Vietnam helicopter pilots just wanted to fly. As the saying went 'who needs drugs, I'm already high'.

Rattler One-Seven

Rattler One-Seven PDF

Author: Chuck Gross

Publisher: University of North Texas Press

Published: 2006-06-13

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1574412213

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Rattler One-Seven puts you in the helicopter seat, to see the war in Vietnam through the eyes of an inexperienced pilot as he transforms himself into a seasoned combat veteran. At the age of twenty, Chuck Gross spent his 1970-71 tour with the 71st Assault Helicopter Company flying UH-1 Huey helicopters. He inserted special operations teams into Laos and participated in Lam Son 719, a misbegotten attempt to assault and cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, during which his helicopter was shot down and he was stranded in the field.

The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot

The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot PDF

Author: Bill Collier

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2014-09-08

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9781500936136

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This is a spellbinding, firsthand account of what it was like to pilot a Marine Corps H-34 helicopter in combat during "The Helicopter War" in Vietnam. As a brand-new United States Naval Aviator with a mere 187.5 hours of helicopter flight experience, Second Lieutenant Bill Collier had many exciting adventures. Many were just a bit too exciting, some were horrific and a few were terrifying. This is the true story of his experiences during his 13 months in the war. Bill watched friends die violently and stood many times eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe with Death itself. Each time, Death flinched.

Rattler One-seven

Rattler One-seven PDF

Author: Chuck Gross

Publisher: University of North Texas Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1574411780

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Rattler One-Seven puts you in the helicopter seat, to see the war in Vietnam through the eyes of an inexperienced pilot as he transforms himself into a seasoned combat veteran. When Chuck Gross left for Vietnam in 1970, he was a nineteen-year-old army helicopter pilot fresh out of flight school. He spent his entire Vietnam tour with the 71st Assault Helicopter Company flying UH-1 Huey helicopters. Soon after the war he wrote down his adventures, while his memory was still fresh with the events. Rattler One-Seven (his call sign) is written as Gross experienced it, using these notes along with letters written home to accurately preserve the mindset he had while in Vietnam. secret teams into Laos. He notes that Americans were left behind alive in Laos, when official policy at home stated that U.S. forces were never there. He also participated in Lam Son 719, a misbegotten attempt by the ARVN to assault and cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail with U.S. Army helicopter support. It was the largest airmobile campaign of the war and marked the first time that the helicopter was used in mid-intensity combat, with disastrous results. Pilots in their early twenties, with young gunners and a Huey full of ARVN soldiers, took on experienced North Vietnamese antiaircraft artillery gunners, with no meaningful intelligence briefings or a rational plan on how to cut the Trail. aircraft sustained combat damage. Gross himself was shot down and left in the field during one assault. Rattler One-Seven will appeal to those interested in the Vietnam War and to all armed forces, especially aviators, who have served for their country.

Price of Exit

Price of Exit PDF

Author: Tom Marshall

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 1998-04-29

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 0804117152

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"The risk of a fatal catastrophe was constant. The NVA was the enemy, but the ultimate opponent was, quite simply, death. . . ." For assault helicopter crews flying in and around the NVA-infested DMZ, the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1970-71 was a desperate time of selfless courage. Now former army warrant officer Tom Marshall of the Phoenix, C Company, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne, captures the deadly mountain terrain, the long hours flown under enormous stress, the grim determination of hardened pilots combat-assaulting through walls of antiaircraft fire, the pickups amid exploding mortar shells and hails of AK fire, the nerve-racking string extractions of SOG teams from North Vietnam. . . . And, through it all, the rising tension as helicopter pilots and crews are lost at an accelerating pace. It is no coincidence that the Phoenix was one of the most highly decorated assault helicopter units in I Corps. For as the American departure accelerated and the enemy added new, more powerful antiaircraft weapons, the helicopter pilots, crew chiefs, and gunners paid the heavy price of withdrawal in blood. For more than 30 Percent of Tom Marshall's 130 helicopter-school classmates, the price of exit was their lives. . . .

Black Cat 2-1

Black Cat 2-1 PDF

Author: Bob Ford

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9781612542089

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Bob Ford recounts his service during the Vietnam War where he served as a helicopter pilot on a Black Cat.

Black Cat 2-1

Black Cat 2-1 PDF

Author: Bob Ford

Publisher: BrownBooks.ORM

Published: 2015-01-12

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1612542441

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“This moving memoir about the gritty life of a military helicopter pilot fills a gap in the genre of Vietnam literature.”—Foreword Reviews In the Vietnam War, 2,197 helicopter pilots and 2,717 crew members were killed. Black Cat 2-1 is the story of one pilot who made it home and the valiant men he served with who risked their lives for the troops on the ground. Bob Ford invites readers into the Huey helicopters he flew on more than 1,000 missions when he and his men dared to protect and rescue. For those whose voices were silenced in that faraway place or who have never told their stories, he creates a tribute that reads like a thriller, captures the humor of men at war, and resounds with respect for those who served with honor. An Oklahoma Book Award Finalist “Bob Ford’s account of his year in the command seat of his ship of salvation is a priceless contribution to the literary canon of that war.”—David A. Maurer, Special Forces veteran, author of The Dying Place “[Ford] brings to life his story so the reader can experience what it may have been like—and how the troops felt at the time. With moments that feel like they were written for a movie, Black Cat 2-1 will take you in the air over Vietnam and through some of the hardest missions you could expect.”—Week99er “This memoir is hard to beat.”—Air & Space/Smithsonian “Capably written.”—Publishers Weekly “Refreshing . . . evocative descriptions of combat flying.”—The VVA Veteran

Pucker Factor 10

Pucker Factor 10 PDF

Author: James Joyce

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-08-24

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0786454059

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"In 1963...there was no way I could have known, sitting in a classroom on that beautiful campus in Ohio, that by raising my hand I would be going to war in Vietnam and that I would see things, hear things and do things that most people cannot imagine."--James Joyce. The author was drawn into the United States Army through ROTC, and went through training to fly helicopters in combat over Vietnam. His experiences are notable because he flew both Huey "Slicks" and Huey "Gunships": the former on defense as he flew troops into battle, and the latter on offense as he took the battle to the enemy. Through this book, the author relives his experiences flying and fighting, with special attention given to his and other pilots' day-to-day lives--such as the smoke bombing of Disneyland, the nickname given to a United States Army-sponsored compound for prostitution. Some of the pilots Joyce served with survived the war and went on to have careers with commercial airlines, and many were killed.

Price of Exit

Price of Exit PDF

Author: Tom Marshall

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2011-08-10

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 0307758125

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"The risk of a fatal catastrophe was constant. The NVA was the enemy, but the ultimate opponent was, quite simply, death. . . ." For assault helicopter crews flying in and around the NVA-infested DMZ, the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1970-71 was a desperate time of selfless courage. Now former army warrant officer Tom Marshall of the Phoenix, C Company, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne, captures the deadly mountain terrain, the long hours flown under enormous stress, the grim determination of hardened pilots combat-assaulting through walls of antiaircraft fire, the pickups amid exploding mortar shells and hails of AK fire, the nerve-racking string extractions of SOG teams from North Vietnam. . . . And, through it all, the rising tension as helicopter pilots and crews are lost at an accelerating pace. It is no coincidence that the Phoenix was one of the most highly decorated assault helicopter units in I Corps. For as the American departure accelerated and the enemy added new, more powerful antiaircraft weapons, the helicopter pilots, crew chiefs, and gunners paid the heavy price of withdrawal in blood. For more than 30 Percent of Tom Marshall's 130 helicopter-school classmates, the price of exit was their lives. . . .

Hornet 33

Hornet 33 PDF

Author: Ed Denny

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-10-13

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1476625719

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Combat helicopter pilots in the Vietnam War flew each mission facing the possibility of imminent death. Begun as a series of attempted letters to the Department of Veterans Affairs, this compelling memoir of an aircraft commander in the 116th Assault Helicopter Company--"The Hornets"--relates his experience of the war in frank detail. From supporting the 25th Infantry Division's invasion of Cambodia, to flying the lead aircraft in the 101st Airmobile Division's pivotal Operation Lam Son 719 invasion of Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail at LZ Hope, the author recounts the traumatic events of his service from March 1970 to March 1971.