19 minutes to live - : helicopter combat in Vietnam Cover Image

19 minutes to live - : helicopter combat in Vietnam / a memoir by Lew Jennings ; edited by Anneke Jennings.

19 minutes to live : (other title)
Nineteen minutes to live - : (other title)

Summary:

"19 Minutes to Live" illustrates the incredible courage and determination of helicopter pilots and crews supporting those heroes that carried a rucksack and a rifle in Vietnam. Over 12,000 helicopters were used in the Vietnam War, which is why it became known as "The Helicopter War". Almost half of the helicopters, 5,086, were lost. Helicopter pilots and crews accounted for nearly 10 percent of all the US casualties suffered in Vietnam, with nearly 5,000 killed and an untold number of wounded. Lew Jennings flew over 700 Air Cavalry Cobra Gunship Helicopter missions and received Three Distinguished Flying Crosses for Valor. This memoir describes first-hand the harrowing experiences of helicopter pilots and crews in combat operations, from the far South to the DMZ, including the infamous Ashau Valley, Hamburger Hill, LZ Airborne and others.

Record details

ISBN: 1548484539
ISBN: 9781548484538
Physical Description: 365 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Edition: 1st edition.
Publisher: Soquel, CA : [Lew Jennings], [2017]
Copyright: ©2017.

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:

Kirkuk, Iraq 2008 -- 19 minutes to live -- Rucksack and a rifle -- Army aviation -- Fort Wolters -- Preflight -- Primary flight training -- Advanced flight training -- Cobra hall -- Presidio of San Francisco -- Vietnam -- Bullet catcher -- Screaming eagles -- A Shau Valley -- Hamburger Hill -- Montgomery Rendezvous -- Monsoon -- Assault 27 disappears -- Mai Loc -- Heaven's swing -- Recon rescue -- Speed crashes again -- Great balls of fire -- I'm hit! -- Aussie farewell -- The helicopter war -- After Vietnam.