Customer Reviews

Firebirds: The Best First Person Account of Helicopter Combat in Vietnam Ever Written

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chuck Carlock is a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of a military helicopter pilots association, which gives him access to both his memories and those of his buddies. Fly with him as he takes you out on missions in Huey gunships and slicks (so named because they carried no guns, hence their sides were 'slick') as he crisscrosses some of the hottest spots in the theatre. And when he's done with you, his buddies step in and take you on med evac hops and Special Forces inserts deep inside Cambodia. Hands down, this is the best book of 'Nam chopper flying I've read (except for perhaps 'Chickenhawk'). And after you've read this book, pop 'Apocalypse Now' or 'Platoon' in the VCR (or DVD) and get the total 'Nam experience.

This is a good book, but I wouldn't call it one of the best. I preferred William T. Grant's book. I can think of two things which would have made this book better, which I have seen in other first person accounts: 1) Continuity - the narrative is split into small stories, instead of flowing. 2) Books which deal with Special Forces or their helicopter support seem the most exciting, and the men seemed to have a tighter friendship which makes me empathize with them. The author mentions there were pilots who continually volunteered for LRRP missions.

One unique and interesting thing in this book was an account about the author's 1993 return to Vietnam. He toured several of the battle sites he fought on, and interacted with the Vietnamese tour guides.

While I find the title a bit presumptious, I did note that Chuck Carlock experienced a lot of bullet holes in the olive drab fuselages of the Charlie models he flew in his area of Vietnam. My experiences were in the Delta, where I think we had a greater variety of tasks and episodes to discuss and carry out. My time with the Outlaws of the 175th Avn. Company were far more enjoyable that being "up-north" with these American units described. I know what I missed. Still, it is good that some of us helicopter pilots have recorded our flying deeds in this once-in-a-lifetime experience, one we treasure now that we survived it!! Chuck salutes many of his fellow pilots at the end of the book and shows that many Vietnam vets are now successful men of stature and success in their communities.

As a Vietnam War buff and a student helicopter pilot, I absolutely loved this book! The accounts are very engaging; I never wanted to put the book down. Carlock's writing is great: my "mind's eye" always had a running image of the book as I read. Definitely recommend it!

Firebirds is the best military aviation book I have ever read. It pulled me into the action both in the air and behind the scenes. The use of real names and photos gave me confidence in the basic accuracy of the stories, something often missing in other helicopter pilot books. Mr. Carlock's credentials as an aircraft commander in both gunships and slicks reveals a pilot that had the experience, leadership, and stamina to know and understand what was really happening. There's a big difference between logging a few hours as an acting aircraft commander and living with the responsibilities of being one. I noticed one reviewer said he had a hard time following the storyline. Novels have storylines. This book instead, tells a reader what flying helicopters was really like and puts the reader inside the cockpit as well as the pilot's head. This is the one to read!

The book Firebirds tells of the dangers of being a firebird helicopter pilot. This book tells of both the comical side and the cold hard truth about flying helicopter gunships in vietnam

As the son of a 'Rattler' and an Associate Member of the 'Rattler/Firebird' Association I feel as if I have a stake in this book. It is a fantastic book. Mr. Carlock describes the living conditions and day-to-day life in a US Army Aviation Unit with quite a bit of detail. Since I never served in Vietnam that is particularly important to me. I found the descriptions of combat flying tremendously interesting. The account of WO-1 Frank Anton & his crew being shot down and captured was hair raising. There is one bone I have to pick. Someone has portrayed the title of this book entirely wrong. The words 'The Best First Person Account of Helicopter Combat in Vietnam' are NOT part of the title! Those words are on the front cover of the book but they come from a review of the book written by Lt. Col. David Hackworth. I have seen some reviews that say the title is presumptous but that is entirely wrong. I wish Amazon would clarify this and get it right.

Chuck Carlock does his friends and future historians a great service with "Firebirds." Being both an author as well as a veteran of the Vietnam War who flew in the back seat a Huey Gunship during my tour, I read `FIREBIRDS' with a different outlook than most other readers. As an author of Empty Tubes and Back Seat Memories: A Life Changing Experience I feel `FIREBIRDS' is a good book. The author pulled me into the action both in the air and behind the scenes. The use of real names and photos gave me confidence in the basic accuracy of the stories, something that is often missing in other books.

Chuck Carlock not only uses his memories, but also gives access to memories of those buddies he served with. I feel this give the story that little extra that this type of book needs. On many missions, I had the vicarious experience that I was right there in the aircraft on the mission. I did not fly in the "Slick." This was a nickname given to the "D & H model" Huey that strictly ferried the troops minus carrying any external mounted weapons. However, my unit flew cover for the "Slick" on many missions. Captured by Carlock are the human emotions, machines, strategy, tactics, operations, as well as the excitement, dangers and the combat scenes, which are all excellent.

Finally, the book was made interesting by the author's return to Vietnam in 1993. He toured several of the battle sites he fought on and interacted with the Vietnamese tour guides. The author saluted many of his fellow pilots and crew members at the end of the book and showed that many Vietnam vets are now successful men of stature and success in their communities.

This book is, in my opionion, just below Chickenhawk for reality in the cockpit of a Huey in Vietnam. I mean that far more as praise of Chickenhawk than any slight to Firebirds. I spent about 3 years in country as a grunt with the USMC and reading this book, I have no idea how any of the Army W.O. Huey pilots survived their 12 month tour.

Carlock does his friends and future historians a great service with this book. It could have used a tighter structure, but the combat stories, the day to day living experiences of Carlock and his crewmembers will remain as a testiment to who those guys were and what they did. And why they are still so proud of it. Remember Carlock grew up on John Wayne movies, so it may sometimes have that John Wayne flavor, but it also shows John Wayne results. If you want to live vicariously in the flightsuit of a U.S. Army, Vietnam gunship pilot, you couldn't do better than to take the "Peter Pilot" seat next to Chuck Carlock. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did.