Download or read book The 600 m o l Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam Tuskegee Glory Second Edition written by Dr. Joe Ponds and published by BookLocker.com, Inc.. This book was released on 2023-09-10 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is aimed at sharing information about a population of men who engaged in military service to their country with duties involving aviation. The era that this book addresses is one during which there was considerable racial turmoil in America. So, these were stalwart men who entered into a professional career field where they were not readily embraced. The field that these brave men entered was one that was dominated by white males. It is the story about the U.S. military’s 600 m.o.l. – Black helicopter pilots who experienced combat duty in Vietnam, some making the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives, and who certainly have a place in U. S. history. It is also a story of the uncommon fortitude, perseverance, and triumph of black men who were often compelled to fight multiple battles against multiple enemies simultaneously (the enemy overseas and racial discrimination at home). The 600 m.o.l. is perhaps one of the greatest stories that was never told, at least up to now.

Download or read book The 600 M o l Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam written by Dr Joe Ponds and published by . This book was released on 2023-09-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is the story about the U.S. military's 600 m.o.l. - Black helicopter pilots who experienced combat duty in Vietnam, some making the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives, and who certainly have a place in U. S. history.

Download or read book The 600 M O L written by Joe Ponds and published by . This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "My aircraft was compelled to land at an airfield near Cambodia. Even though it looked like a safe area to land, we were unaware at the time that the Viet Cong (VC) actually controlled the airfield. Since our aviation unit was in support of Vietnamese troops, it was not unusual for there to be Vietnamese soldiers on the airfield. Therefore, when some troops on the ground motioned to us to land on the runway, we complied. However, as we landed and started to taxi the aircraft to the side of the runway, we noticed that the soldiers were armed with AK47s (Russian-made rifles used by the Viet Cong) and not M16s (American-issued rifles), realizing that we were completely surrounded by the enemy..."--Warrant Officer Gilbert Foote"When we landed at that hospital, chaos erupted. I saw the orderlies run out and stop a few yards away from the aircraft. My crew chief said, "Sir, we got a problem." He said that the Korean accompanying the wounded guy had locked and loaded his BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle), a .30 caliber semiauto to full auto rifle, and had put his back against the helicopter's firewall and was making it clear he was not going to allow the wounded guy he was with to be taken off the aircraft."--Captain Arnold H. Sampson Jr.

Download or read book Black Cat 2 1 written by Bob Ford and published by BrownBooks.ORM. This book was released on 2015-01-12 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “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

Download or read book US Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-09-20 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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'.

Download or read book To the Limit written by Tom A. Johnson and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 611 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Helicopter pilots in Vietnam kidded one another about being nothing but glorified bus drivers. But these "rotor heads" saved thousands of American lives while performing what the Army classified as the most dangerous job it had to offer. One in eighteen did not return home. Tom A. Johnson flew the UH-1 "Iroquois" -- better known as the "Huey" -- in the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion of the First Air Cavalry Division. From June 1967 through June 1968, he accumulated an astonishing 1,600 flying hours (1,150 combat and 450 noncombat). His battalion was one of the most highly decorated units in the Vietnam War and, as part of the famous First Air Cavalry Division, helped redefine modern warfare. With tremendous flying skill, Johnson survived rescue missions and key battles that included those for Hue and Khe Sanh and operations in the A Shau and Song Re valleys, while many of his comrades did not. His heartfelt and riveting memoir will strike a chord with any soldier who ever flew in the ubiquitous Huey and any reader with an interest in how the Vietnam War was really fought.

Download or read book Hornet 33 written by Ed Denny and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-10-13 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Pucker Factor 10 written by James Joyce and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-08-24 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "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.

Download or read book Rattler One Seven written by Chuck Gross and published by University of North Texas Press. This book was released on 2006-06-13 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Price of Exit written by Tom Marshall and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-08-10 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "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. . . .

Download or read book Shoulda Played the Flute written by Richard Elgin and published by . This book was released on 2015-12-11 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Shoulda Played the Flute" is a memoir about the author's adventure in Army Aviation (1968-1971), including a year flying combat missions in Vietnam. Raised in the rural Midwest, the book describes Dick's path to joining the Army and becoming a helicopter pilot. As thousands of other young men did (some as young as 18), Dick went through rotary wing flight school as a Warrant Office Candidate (WOC). Each "WOC" had his own story of how he sought out and volunteered for one of the most dangerous missions of the War, the combat helicopter pilot. Most had failed lives or unfulfilled expectations, so, in their late teens, volunteered for Army flight school. They had no idea how drastically and quickly they would grow up. In the coming two years of flight school and flying combat missions in Vietnam, most would age about 10 years (if they came home). These relative youngsters were given unbelievable responsibilities in unpredictable circumstances, often against long odds. They responded with courage and usually without recognition, but they earned the respect of every grunt and ground commander who ever served in the field. This is the story of one such Army Aviator.Once in Vietnam, Dick and a group of his flight school classmates (Class 69-5) were assigned to the Americal Division in Chu Lai. Not all would return home. Within the Americal he was assigned to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade and flew the OH-6A Light Observation Helicopter, or "LOH," living and flying off of LZ Baldy (south of Danang). As a 196th "Charger" LOH driver he flew probably the widest variety of missions of all LOH pilots in Vietnam. Through vignettes Dick describes these mission, sometimes mixed with Army Aviator black humor. Late in his tour Dick transferred to A Company, 123rd Aviation Battalion, the "Pelicans," flying off of Ky Ha in Chu Lai. There he became an Aircraft Commander in the iconic UH-1 Huey. Dick's story doesn't end with the day he returns to "The World." He concludes the book with his observations about Vietnam Veterans, PTSD, his proud Life Membership in the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA), a very interesting piece about his 2011 return trip to Vietnam and a chance meeting with a former Viet Cong foe (at LZ Baldy), and a closing piece expressing his views of the tragedy of the Vietnam War.This book will interest anyone involved with aviation during the Vietnam era and will appeal to those with family members who served in Vietnam. They will get a first-person account and perspective about the War. Dick explains that the main reason he wrote this memoir is so his kids and grandkids and the family members of other helicopter pilots will have a better understanding of the rigors of flight school and the risks and sacrifices of those who flew helicopters in Vietnam.This Vietnam memoir is different in that Dick has studied the history of the Vietnam War. His being an amateur Vietnam historian is evident with his use of Endnotes. They are interesting historical footnotes about the War and bring great perspective and a pause to his story. Very well written, Dick's writing style flows. The story moves, is interesting and engaging. Unlike some other Vietnam memoirs, you get the sense that his vignettes are not embellished. With Dick's self-deprecating style and humor you will chuckle while reading about some of his experiences (and saddened by others). The book is richly illustrated with six maps, 65 photos and four appendices.Oh, the book title you wonder. Dick played the flute in his high school band. While in Basic Training at Ft. Polk, LA the post band director made him an offer: He could fulfill his Army obligation right there, playing the flute in the Ft. Polk Army Band. He declined, opting to fly helicopters in Vietnam to "protect the free world from the spread of communism." There were missions in Vietnam when Dick remembered the offer!!!!! Hence, "Shoulda Played the Flute."

Download or read book Two Brothers written by Herbert R. Metoyer Jr. and published by Cane River Media. This book was released on 2015-07-24 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Photo Story Booklet Honoring Afro-American VIETNAM HELICOPTER PILOTS

Download or read book Phoenix 13 written by Darryl James and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2020-12-02 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An informative and colorful memoir about the role that observation helicopters played during the Vietnam War . . . Phoenix 13 delivers.” —The VVA Veteran A collection of war stories closely based on the author’s experiences flying scout/observation helicopters in Vietnam. Storytelling was a daily evening occurrence for the solo scout pilots. These stories, called “TINS,” an irreverent pilot acronym for “this is no shit,” allowed the solo pilots to learn from each other’s experiences and mistakes. The TINS within this collection reveal the brotherhood that developed between pilots and their crew chiefs in combat. The solo pilots relied on their courage, swapping stories and a bit of luck to survive. “A compelling collection of Vietnam helicopter true stories about the aviators in Americal Division’s Artillery Aviation Section in ’68 and ’69. Flying alone, the scout pilots told their exploits to each other daily to learn and to survive from their collective experiences. Hazardous missions are intermixed with occasional humorous details of their off-duty shenanigans. The stories describe the brotherhood that develops between soldiers during combat. From these stories, the author, a decorated former Army aviator, describes his journey through Armor school, flight school and Vietnam.” —General Tommy Franks (Ret), Former Commander in Chief, United States Central Command “A very enjoyable read. Those of us who were there will thoroughly enjoy it, and those who weren’t will learn more about what we did in Vietnam.” —The VHPA Aviator

Download or read book Pop a Smoke written by Rick Gehweiler and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-05-13 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By 1969, the Sikorski H-34 was an older helicopter with severe limitations for combat duty in Vietnam. For pilots like U.S. Marine Lieutenant Rick Gehweiler, the good news was it could still take significant damage and keep flying. His vivid memoir narrates his harrowing, at times deadly flight missions under fire, as experienced in the cockpit, along with anecdotes of tragedy and humor from his 13-month tour through Da Nang and Phu Bai.

Download or read book USMC Vietnam Helicopter Association written by and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2001 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book USMC Vietnam Helicopter Pilots and Aircrew History 2nd Ed written by and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 1995-09-01 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Capture the esprit de corps of the Marines in action during the Vietnam War. A documentation of the men, the crews, and the machines that flew the wartorn skies of Southeast Asia. Hundreds of dynamic photographs, maps, roster of Association members, and nearly 400 biographies with before-and-after photos of Marines make USMC-Vietnam Helicopter Association: Pop a Smoke a treasure chest of memories and history.

Download or read book Coming All the Way Home written by Fred McCarthy and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-06-30 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1968, twenty-one-year-old Fred McCarthy transitioned from the monastic life of a seminary student to that of a U.S. Army helicopter gunship commander in Vietnam. Despite preparation from a family tradition of decorated combat service, a strong sense of patriotism, a love for aviation, and a desire for adventure, he got far more than he bargained for. Written after 50 years of reflection, reading, and study, this memoir tells both a universal story about war, adventure, and perseverance and, also shares the intensely personal experience of the Vietnam War and its legacy for those who fought in it. McCarthy describes many of his missions, reflects on the nature of being a combat helicopter pilot, and processes the experience through his poetry, letters home, and reflective analysis.