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USMC/COMBAT HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION

Books

Bonnie-Sue
BONNIE-SUE
A Marine Corps Helicopter Squadron In Vietnam

Experience the fatigue and hardships, the passion, the love and brotherhood shared by the Marine pilots and aircrewmen. Their survival became their victory!

A Corpsman's Legacy
A CORPSMAN'S LEGACY
Author: Stephanie Hanson
Publisher: Leatherneck Publishing

Adopted at birth, Stephanie Hanson begins a search for her biological parents and learns her father, Gary Norman Young, was killed in the Vietnam War before she was born. To unravel the mystery of his death, she hears first-hand from other veterans of her father's world of courage and bravery as a helicopter crewmember in 1969. She learns of the remarkable relationship that exists between Marines and their Navy Corpsmen, and realizes she has now inherited the honor and respect given to her father. After years of perseverance, Stephanie finally obtains the medals and honors her father earned for his sacrifice and service, through the help of veterans, the Marine Corps Commandant and a United States Senator. During her journey, she locates the family members of the men who died with her father and helps other veterans and children connect with each other. Embraced by thousands of veterans, she discovers the greatest gift her father left her is the legacy of healing.

Warrior Culture
Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines
Gung Ho! Up-beat! POLITICALLY IN-CORRECT and proud of it! The ultimate book for Marine Warriors.

Part One embraces Marine Corps history and life in the Corps. Readers will find everything from Tun Tavern to The Marines' Hymn. With its gung-ho and inspirational theme, Part One is a treasure trove for all who have earned the title.
Part Two offers Happy Hour fare for U.S. Marines. Yet, Marines find wisdom in these jocular proverbs. Those who ignore these timeless truths of combat do so at their own peril.

Bonnie-Sue
Murphy's Laws of Combat
The American Warrior's Guide to Stayling Alive in Battle

Air Force Zoomies and Navy Squids. Army Doggies and Marine Corps Jarheads. Listen up! Want to stay alive in combat? If so, read and heed Murphy's Laws, rules, axioms, and advice for warriors. If you hate warrior wannabes and whiny-babies, this is the book for you. Separate chapters for Infantry and Aviation Laws of Combat. Special laws for those who ride in helicopters.

Mayday
Mayday
Accident Reports and Voice Transcripts from Airline Crash Investigations

Readers embark on a brutally accurate journey through Commercial Aviation History. They re-live the airline accidents which have marred man's conquest of the skies. MAYDAY is a gut-wrenching and mesmerizing read for all Aviation Enthusiasts. The book examines airline accidents caused by mechanical failure, fire, mid-air collisions, terrorist hijackings, sabotage, suicide, mistaken identity shoot-downs, fuel exhaustion, human error, and other aerial perils. Armed with meticulous research, the author cuts through the fog of aviation jargon and describes each accident in easy-to-understand layman's language.

Almost a Hero
ALMOST A HERO

Their first mistake when setting out to destroy Jacob Reynolds was forgetting that "Once a Marine, always a Marine." Their second mistake was not realizing that once fear of death has been faced, new terrors serve only as aphrodisiacs.

Marine Helo
MARINE HELO
Helicopter War in Vietnam With the U.S. Marine Corps

It's dangerous to keep a diary in a combat zone. So I wrote a letter home everyday where they were filed chronologically. This book is a distillation of some three loose leaf notebooks of letters. It captures the frame of mind at the time.

NO KIDS, NO MONEY AND A CHEVY
NO KIDS, NO MONEY AND A CHEVY
A Politically Incorrect Memoir

Of Chuck Mansfield's No Kids, No Money and a Chevy award-winning novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick writes, "Chuck Mansfield is a first-rate writer of wit, charm, and passion, who applies a clarifying integrity to whatever subject his fine mind alights on. Having been schooled in excellence, he holds it as his lifelong standard; and he is, besides, an embodiment of everything that is meant by the term American Hero - courtly, brave, generous, and in love with family, faith, and country. To read his memoir is to rejoice in the warm presence of human devotion and intellect."

NAM-A-RAMA
NAM-A-RAMA
by Phillip Jennings

What Joseph Heller did for World War II, what Richard Hooker did for the Korean War in M*A*S*H, no one has been able to do for Vietnam, until now. Phillip Jennings is a true patriot, a decorated Marine Corps captain who served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot, flew for Air America in Laos and then served in the CIA. Like Heller and Hooker, he did his duty, but he did it with his eyes open. Now, transformed by his wild imagination, he shows us what he saw. Never before has the insanity of the Vietnam war been so scathingly and entertainingly depicted..

SENSE OF DUTY
A SENSE OF DUTY: MY FATHER, MY AMERICAN JOURNEY
a memoir by Quang X. Pham

Thirty years after the fall of Saigon, a former refugee (and Marine helicopter pilot) retraces his journey from Vietnam and reunion with his imprisoned father. On sale April 12, 2005 from Ballantine Books, $24.95. www.asenseofduty.com

"Every American should read this wonderful story to better appreciate the freedoms we enjoy."
-General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Ret.)

CHOPPER
CHOPPER
by Robert F. Dorr

A History of America Military Helicopter Operations from WWII to the War on Terror (Hardcover)

Real-life stories from the pilots and the passengers.
From its first use in military operations, during a rescue mission behind enemy lines in 1944, to its crucial role in Vietnam, to the Black Hawk combat copters in the current war on terror, the helicopter changed the face of aviation-and the face of warfare. Whether they are bringing supplies and medical help or coming to the rescue of trapped soldiers, the modern battlefield could not function without them.

Read Amazon reviews of this book.

35 Miles from Shore
35 MILES FROM SHORE
by Emilio Corsetti

The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980 (Paperback)

On May 2, 1970, a DC-9 jet with 57 passengers and a crew of six departed from New York.s JFK International Airport en route to the tropical island of St. Maarten, but four hours and 34 minutes later the flight ended in the shark-infested waters of the Caribbean. It was, and remains, the only open-water ditching of a commercial jet. The subsequent rescue of survivors took nearly three hours and involved the coast guard, navy, and marines. This gripping account of that fateful day recounts what was happening inside the cabin, the cockpit, and the helicopters as the crews struggled against the weather and dwindling daylight to rescue the survivors, who had only their life vests and a lone escape chute to keep them afloat.

MASTERS OF THE ART - This is more than a war story. It is about having the courage to change the things you can control and accepting the things you cannot with dignity and honor.  - Connecticut Congressman Rob Simmons, R-2 nd District U.S. Army Vietnam, two Bronze Star Medals. Central Intelligence Agency, Operations Officer
MASTERS OF THE ART
by Ron Winter

A Fighting Marine's Memoir of Vietnam
No punches are pulled in this gripping account of Vietnam combat through the eyes of a Marine helicopter crewman and door gunner with more than three hundred missions under his belt.

Masters of the Art is a bare-knuckles tribute to the Marines who served in Vietnam. It.s about courage, sacrifice, and unsung heroes. The men who fought alongside Winter in that jungle hell were U.S. Marines, warriors who did their job and remained true to their country, no matter the cost. Read an excerpt of this book.

Masters of the Art was superb!
- Gen. (ret.) Al Gray, former Commandant, USMC

CONQUEST OF THE MASK
CONQUEST OF THE MASK
by Gary L. Bolter

A short book of aphorisms
The author has created these aphorism as a small treasure chest of Life-Lessons-Learned intended to elevate the reader's soul on a day by day basis. Although many of principles seem familiar in meaning, almost none of them are familiar literary or philosophic phases. They are simple, direct, fun, funny and whimsical at times. The author even throws in a few jokes to contemplate. All of the Aphorisms are pregnant with inspiration and meaning and the author's tone is soothing, simple and free. His voice is crystal clear and the poetry of the aphorisms have an excellent rhythm. The artistry of the lines is visual, spiritual and casual. Enjoy.


FLYING DEATH
FLYING DEATH - THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE
by SAMUEL K. BEAMON

HMM-164 Crew Chief
No matter what conflict that a helicopter and its crew flies into, the job, the level of responsibility and the feelings are the same. There have been many stories of those that served in Vietnam. Some stories have been of combat units, battles, Pilots that had been shot down and captured, along with some helicopter squadrons. This story gives a different prospective of the war. The troops on the ground would hear the sounds of a helicopter coming into their area. Looking up, they saw this complex flying machine blowing sand and dust all around. The chopper brought in anything and everything that the troops needed. The wounded and dead were evacuated. Reenforcements were delivered and the troops were brought back to their camps. Did the troops ever think about the people that operated these helicopters? What did it take to keep the machines flying? What kind of pressures were the flight crews facing on a daily basis? This story is the memories of a Combat Helicopter Crew Chief doing the what was necessary to accomplish the mission of supporting the troops.


SCARFACE 42
SCARFACE 42
by Robert W. Robinson

HML-367 1969-1970
"Scarface 42" call sign of the author, a veteran of 1140 combat missions is a compilation of selected factual actions of USMC Helicopter Squadron HML-367 during the author's tour in Vietnam during 1969-1970. Events include rescue operations of downed aircraft crews, attack missions using the firepower of the squadron's deadly UH-1E Hueys, AH-1G Huey Cobras, and day to day activities of a Marine helicopter squadron in combat. The fun, the tragedies, and the heroics that occurred are reflected in the esprit d'corps of the squadron.


LBJ's Hired Gun
LBJ's HIRED GUN
by John J. Gebhart

A Marine Helicopter Gunner's War in Vietnam
Many Vietnam memoirs have appeared in recent years, but not a single one has the humor, pathos, poignancy, and often sheer hilarity of John J. Gebhart's riveting LBJ'S Hired Gun. As Gebhart tells it, he was a "smart-mouthed college boy" who joined the Marines to see the world and "dust a few black pajamas for Uncle Sam." Two grueling tours of duty later (1965-1967) he returned home as a sergeant after surviving 240 combat missions (12 air medals) and being shot down twice. LBJ's Hired Gun is the story of an enlisted man who lived on a dead-end street in West Philadelphia, intent on lifting your spirits and putting a smile on your face as you journey with him across the world and meet the people, explore the places, and relive the events that shaped Marine Corps history in Vietnam from September 1965 to September 1967.