Very interesting and readable book | Taking Fire: The True Story of a Decorated Chopper Pilot

He was there | Taking Fire: The True Story of a Decorated Chopper Pilot | Ron Alexander, Charles W. Sasser

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	• Taking Fire: The True Story of a Decorated Chopper Pilot Ron Alexander, Charles W. Sasser St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2002 - 320 pages view larger image
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Taking Fire

As a former Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam, I could appreciate and understand where Ron was coming from. His experience paralleled mine in several ways. Recommended reading for those who want to know what a Vietnam helicopter pilot's life was like.

Very interesting and readable book

This is one of the best vietnam-era non-fiction books that I have read. The book describes the Vietnam War experiences of Ron Alexander, who enlisted in the U.S. Army out of high school in 1963 and ended up in the 82nd Airborne Division. Later, after getting a good score on an Army aptitude test, he was invited to go to OCS school and ultimately became a 2nd Lt, then volunteered for helicopter flight school and finally became a helicopter pilot enroute to Vietnam in 1969. Once in Vietnam, he was sent to join the 1st Cavalry Division and fly a UH-1 "Huey" to transport combat troops to and from 'LZ's in combat areas. He served a 12-month tour and was promoted to Captain after 6 months in-country. Alexander recounts numerous anecdotal stories of his experiences during his 12-month stint and interlaces those with an overview of the Vietnam War. Alexander never presents himself as a gung-ho warrier but he did believe in the overall Vietnam mission when he arrived in-country. By the time he leaves 12 months later, he no longer does, although he remains in the Army after Vietnam and serves in the reserves for many more years.

The stories in this book are fascinating and very well written. Alexander (and presumably Sasser) do a remarkable job of painting a picture of life at the helicopter base, the types of missions, the people, the conditions, etc, in a way that no other Vietnam War book has done. This kind of portrayal can probably only be written at a distance of many decades when the painful memories and emotions dull and an overall perspective is possible. There is no sugar-coating here, but it is a very readable depiction. One thing that comes through is the utter hopelessness of the mission. The authors describe strategic missions carried out in the early years of the war, before Alexander arrived which had, as their objective, to reduce the war-making ability of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). By the time of Alexander's arrival, however, the emphasis in Alexander's AO is on intelligence-gathering patrols, support for Fire Support Bases (FSBs), and staying alive until they could rotate home. No one believed that the war was 'winnable' or even knew what 'winning' would look like. Most of the missions that Alexander describes flying are to carry small numbers of troops into patrol areas or to extract those troops from 'hot' LZs when they have made contact with the enemy and are in danger of being wiped out by superior numbers.

I was very suprised to see negative reviews on this book. The people writing the negative reviews seem to generally feel that Alexander embellished his own role and/or inaccurately depicted events they were familiar with. I found specific objections to the book at two sites:

http://groups.msn.com/ApacheHeadhunters/booksonapacherecommendationsandcriticscorner.msnw
http://www.9thcav.com/Trashing%20A%20Troop.htm

Generally, though, even his critics seem to agree that Mr. Alexander was a decorated UH-1 pilot (they take issue with the moniker 'second most decorated), that he served in the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam from 2/69 to 2/70, and that he returned home under honorable conditions after serving in combat in a highly dangerous job. Alexander does not always present a flattering portrayal of the people he works with and it is understandable that some of those people thus described would disagree with Alexander's point of view. In particular, Alexander describes a fellow pilot with weak piloting skills who endangered lives on several occasions, including once when he was flying as co-pilot with Alexander and flew directly into a dead tree projecting above the forest canopy. Fortunately, the chopper was able to limp back to base. Another such person was a new Captain, recently out of West Point, who was in line to become the commander but had little understanding of operations. This individual was badly wounded by enemy fire after two weeks in-country and was sent home to a huge sigh of relief from Alexander. Alexander does not use the real names for these individuals, and others, in his book but they could certainly recognize themselves and understandably disagree with Alexander.

There is no way for anyone who was not there to be an arbiter of truth for the stories that Alexander tells so well. Some of the objections of the critics seem downright silly, such as their taking offense at the racist implications of Alexander's use of the word 'gook.' Yes, the word is racist but so is 'Kraut', 'Chink', 'Jap' and the like. The word 'gook' was widely used in Vietnam and it is hard to believe that the 1st Cavalry Division didn't use it as well. What can be said with certainty, though, is that the book is extremely well done and a good read.

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He was there

One of the best true Vietnam stories in a long time. The sort of book you can't put down till you finish it.

Nicknamed "Mini-Man" for his diminutive stature, a mere five-foot-three and 125 pounds in his flight boots, chopper pilot Ron Alexander proved to be a giant in the eyes of the men he rescued from the jungles and paddies of Vietnam. With an unswerving concern for every American soldier trapped by enemy fire, and a fearlessness that became legendary, Ron Alexander earned enough official praise to become the second most decorated helicopter pilot of the Vietnam era. Yet, for Ron, the real reward came from plucking his fellow soldiers from harm's way, giving them another chance to get home alive.In Taking Fire, Alexander and acclaimed military writer Charles Sasser transport you right into the cramped cockpit of a Huey on patrol, offering a bird's eye view of the Vietnam conflict. Packed with riveting action and gritty "you-are-there" dialogue, this outstanding book celebrates the everyday heroism of the chopper pilots of Vietnam.

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