Rattler One-seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's War StoryRattler 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. |
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Contents
| 7 | |
| 17 | |
Chapter 3Newbie | 27 |
Chapter 4My Cherry | 33 |
Chapter 5Special Operations | 49 |
Chapter 6Goodbye Friend | 67 |
Chapter 7Laughing and Crying | 79 |
Chapter 8The Holidays | 91 |
Chapter 13Landing Zone Delta | 155 |
Chapter 14Realization | 171 |
Chapter 15Chu Lai | 181 |
Chapter 16RR | 191 |
Chapter 17Homeward Bound | 199 |
Epilogue | 207 |
Notes | 213 |
Glossary | 215 |
Chapter 9Quang Tri | 109 |
Chapter 10Rank | 121 |
Chapter 11Lam Son 719 | 133 |
Chapter 12Lz Lolo | 145 |
| 219 | |
| 221 | |
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Common terms and phrases
aircraft commander airstrip altitude Americal Division approach area of operations army Arne ARVN assigned aviation bird Buddy bunker C-rations Chalk Charlie chopper Christmas Chu Lai climbed colonel combat assault company area copilot crew chief Da Nang decided Delta enemy Fast Teddy felt fire fire-support base Firebirds flare flew flight line flight school flown flying resupply Garrett going ground guess gunner gunships guys happened headed back helicopter hootch maids Huey infantry Kham Duc Khe Sanh knew Lam Son 719 Laos lifted loaded located Lolo looked miniguns mission morning never newbie night Pat Callahan Pat Riley perimeter Photo courtesy picked pilots platoon pulled Quang Tri radio rocket rotor SACs seat ship shoot shot sleep slicks South Vietnam started sure talk tell thought told took tour troops trying unit Viet Viet Cong Vietnamese walked wanted Warrant Officer Wendell Freeman yelled
Popular passages
Page vi - Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze too long into an abyss — the abyss will gaze back into you.
Bibliographic information
| Title | Rattler One-seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's War Story Issue 1 of North Texas military biography and memoir series |
| Author | Chuck Gross |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | University of North Texas Press, 2004 |
| ISBN | 1574411780, 9781574411782 |
| Length | 229 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Military / Vietnam War |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |