Crew Chief

by Jesse Mcleod

Though the pain and ugliness of war are not moderated, Crew Chief offers a refreshingly positive view of the competent and reliable soldier seldom presented in books and movies about the Vietnam experience. Mac, like many men, loses his innocence, but not his self-respect. The reader will gain a better understanding of the husband, son, brother or friend who served in a combat unit in Vietnam.McLeod reveals the daily life of the helicopter crew, highlighted with personality conflicts, pranks, humor, and frustrations. You share the terrifying moments under fire; the horrible, mangled bodies of the dead, dying and wounded; the brutalities and charms of the Vietnamese people, and, the camaraderie and tension of men who know every moment could be their last.On call at all times, with precious few hours of sleep, stolen between emergency calls and mortar barrages, Jim MacLaughlin tries to keep the pieces together. Responsible for the maintenance of his Huey helicopter, the crew chief's thoroughness, or lack of it, determines the life or death of the crew, cargo and passengers.Crew Chief is a well-told account with 24 photos, based on the author's personal experiences and those of men he knew.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, War

368 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1988

Reviews

[Pinky And The Brain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a very lucky Crew Chief from an Assault Helicopter Company. The flow of the story was okay, but seemed to jump a bit in later chapters. Editing could have done with a bit of a brush up as there were many spelling and grammatical errors. The author decided to mainly focus on a short period of time from what seems to have been a very active tour. Frustratingly the story finishes with about 2 month to play in the tour and is wrapped up with an epilogue. This novel could have been greater than it’s sum, but was let down through a myopic view.

This all said, it was still a very good story and easily read. The characters are easy to buy into, even the villains and the anti-hero. Well done on this.

[Stephanie Pieck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel clearly depicted the friendships and frictions experienced by helicopter flight crews during the Vietnam War. There were many vivid characters and memorable scenes. Some readers may find the author's definitions helpful, especially since he writes that one goal for writing this book was to try and explain to noncombatants what the Vietnam experience was really like and why it affected people who lived through it so deeply.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but there were a few times there were footnotes included and then on the next page the information in the footnote was explained by a character, which was distracting. The writing was easy to follow and the stories enlightening, but somehow overall the book felt slow and did not hold my interest very well.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Vietnam war story I have ever read and I have read most of them! The Author puts you right in the helicopter with him and I felt as though I had lived his experience. A true story that is true to life about one mans experience.

I highly recommend this book to any reader.