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 ...
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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.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
First a disclaimer: I am an flightschool classmate of the author and spent the year in Viet Nam in a sister battallion and company. That said I do not remember meeting Tom Johnson though we did cross paths in many situations from flightschool through Viet Nam and on to the training center in Savannah. Forty years is a very long time, an interlude that inevitibably dulls memories. Tom Johnson has brought them to life again in a most remarkable fashion. It is not often that one can relive a year of one's life in a matter of hours but Tom has made this happen. It is if I am at the controls again, the machine an extension of myself flying over the incredibably green paddys of Bong Son and in the cloud shrouded mountains around the Ashau valley. I know that only a fraction of this excitement is available to the casual reader but that fraction should be sufficient to keep them from putting the book down until the last page. Well done Tom...
