Helicopter War
in Vietnam
With the U.S.
Marine Corps
Captain
D. M. Petteys
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 three
loose leaf notebooks filled with letters. It captures the frame of mind at the time.
Another way
to do a book is to research Unit Diaries that are on file in various places.
But even across the short distance from the flight line to the Admin Office,
much "cleaning up of events and facts " takes place!
Every death
is quick and heroic. In unit diaries, no one burns to death screaming trapped
in their armored seat! No one is found dead with their head bashed in behind
the village whore house after going AWOL. Everyone upholds the "Highest
Traditions of the Naval Service". No field grade officer says he can't
take an emergency extract because he conveniently "just took an anti-histamine".
Reality, of
course, is things like this happened! I have tried to capture the frame of mind!
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