Vietnam by Chinook

Well armed and capable of deploying platoon-sized infantry units, the tandem-rotored Chinook and it's crew were a formidable weapon in jungle warfare. Large and lightly armored, they also presented easy targets. This memoir relates missions over landing zones beset with hidden enemy positions, the author’s return home and his reflection on the war.

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Like many other young men during the Vietnam War, Ed Corlew enlisted in hopes of having some influence regarding assignment--safety and training. Instead he found himself in the dangerous door gunner position and, soon after, the crew chief aboard a CH-47 Chinook, 15 miles from the DMZ in 1967 and 1968.

Assigned to the famed 1st Cavalry Division, Corlew was shot down three times: in the Battle of Hue, the Battle of Quang Tri, and the A Shau Valley. This memoir began both as a journal and as counselor-recommended therapy for PTSD. He earned four bronze service stars for his service (an estimated 1000 flying hours) during the war's bloodiest year, enduring enemy mortar and rocket attacks. Engaging, frank, and full of action, Corlew describes his many combat experiences as well as the emotional effects--all through the lens of his Christian faith.