Assault from the Sky: Marine Corps Helicopter Operations in Vietnam

Dick Camp

Aug. 2013 · Casemate

Über dieses E-Book

“Action-packed . . . he brings the reader artfully through the fog of war with clarity” (20th Century Aviation Magazine).
 
Vietnam has often been called our “first helicopter war,” and indeed, the US Marine Corps, as well as Army, had to feel its way forward during the initial combats. But by 1967, the combat was raging across South Vietnam, with confrontational battles against the NVA on a scale comparable to the great campaigns of WWII. In 1968, when the Communists launched their mammoth counteroffensive, the Marines were forced to fight on all sides, with the helicopter giving them the additional dimension that proved decisive in repelling the enemy.
 
The author of this book, a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient who has also worked at the USMC History Division and National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, uses his experiences as a company commander to bring the story to life by weaving personal accounts, after-action reports, and official documents into a compellingly readable narrative of service and sacrifice by Marine pilots and crewmen. The entire story of the war is depicted through the prism of Marine helicopter operations, from the first deployments to support the Army of the Republic of Vietnam against the Viet Cong through the rapid US buildup to stop the North Vietnamese Army, until the final withdrawal from our Embassy.
 
“Superlative research.” —Leatherneck

Autoren-Profil

Colonel Dick Camp, a Vietnam veteran (1967-1968) and Purple Heart recipient served 26-years in the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring in 1988. During his Marine career, Dick served as a rifle and reconnaissance platoon commander, company commander (Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines in Vietnam) and as a recruit training battalion commander. His staff assignments included aide de camp to Gen. Ray Davis (Medal of Honor recipient), instructor at The Basic School and four tours of recruiting. Upon retirement Dick worked as a school district business manager in Cincinnati, Ohio and as the Acting Director, U.S. Marine Corps History Division and as the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, Vice President for Museum Operations at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico, Virginia. He currently resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his author wife, Suzi. He is the author of thirteen books and over 100 magazine articles on various military related subjects.