The Gunner and The Grunt
About this ebook
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 is a freelance writer from Tewksbury, Massachusetts. He was born and raised in the Cambridge and Somerville area of Boston. He served in the United States Army from 1964 to 1967, met his wife Ruth in late 1967, helped her raise three children while he participated in 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 grew up in Hull, Massachusetts, a city south of Boston, and as a young boy, ran a paper route and read about World War II history, especially small-unit actions on the battle fronts. He dreamed about being a soldier, but not just an ordinary soldier, an “Airborne Infantry” soldier, where he could be at the “Tip of the Spear” for combat action. He got to live his dream and was sent to Vietnam and served as an Infantry Rifleman at the forefront of the action. After two combat tours he joined the Portland Police Department and saw action once again as a city patrol officer. Alongside his police career, Burbank joined the US Army Reserve, retiring as a Sergeant First Class after serving for twenty years. He was married and raised his family in Maine. Burbank and Kelley remained lifelong friends after meeting in Vietnam as members of Troop C, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Air Mobile).
Peter Burbank grew up in Hull, Massachusetts, a city south of Boston, and as a young boy, ran a paper route and read about World War II history, especially small-unit actions on the battle fronts. He dreamed about being a soldier, but not just an ordinary soldier, an “Airborne Infantry” soldier, where he could be at the “Tip of the Spear” for combat action. He got to live his dream and was sent to Vietnam and served as an Infantry Rifleman at the forefront of the action. After two combat tours he joined the Portland Police Department and saw action once again as a city patrol officer. Alongside his police career, Burbank joined the US Army Reserve, retiring as a Sergeant First Class after serving for twenty years. He was married and raised his family in Maine.
