The Gunner and the Grunt: Two Boston Boys in Vietnam With the First Calvary Division Airmobile

Michael L. Kelley · Peter Burbank

Nov 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

About this audiobook

The Gunner and the Grunt is written in the voices of two soldiers who fought in the same battles as members of the same recon unit but from different angles. Michael Kelley, the "Gunner," was flying in an armed helicopter above the jungle providing suppressive fire support, while Peter Burbank, the "Grunt," was down in the jungle on foot patrol involved in fire fights with Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops. The book follows these two Boston boys from army training through deployment to the war zone and the shock of first combat missions, to helicopter air assault "Search and Destroy" operations from the Cambodian border to the sands of the South China Sea.

About the author

Michael L. Kelley served in the United States Army from 1964 to 1967 and had dual careers with the federal government and the United States Army Reserve. Kelley retired as a Master Sergeant from the 3rd Battalion, 18th Infantry in 1990 and from the Defense Logistics Agency, DPRO Raytheon Missile Division, in 1994.

Peter Burbank was sent to Vietnam and served as an infantry tifleman at the forefront of the action. After two combat tours he joined the Portland Police Department. Alongside his police career, Burbank joined the US Army Reserve, retiring as a Sergeant First Class after serving for twenty years.

Malcolm Hillgartner is an accomplished actor, writer, and musician. An AudioFile Best Voice of 2013 and the recipient of several Earphones Awards, he has narrated over 175 audiobooks.