Gunbird Driver: A Marine Huey Pilot's War in Vietnam (Blue Jacket Bks) [Hardcover]

David A. Ballentine (Author)

Book Description

Series: Blue Jacket Bks | Publication Date: October 15, 2008

Ballentine recalls his experiences as a young pilot flying an armed UH-1E with Marine Observation Squadron Six in Vietnam. Like any good war memoir, parts of the book are deadly serious, while others are filled with thrilling, often humorous descriptions of squadron life during the early stages of the war. The book provides little-known details about the missions, operations, and living conditions at Ballentine's base in Ky Ha, shortly before the Tet Offensive. The book preserves not only Ballentine's impressions, but also reflects the experiences of others who crewed the Hueys, and describes scenes that will resonate with all those who served in helos in Vietnam.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

DAVID A. BALLENTINE attended graduate school after Vietnam and earned a PhD in European history. After returning to active duty, he retired as a colonel from the Marine Corps in 1989 and worked for Northrop Grumman in Ft. Leavenworth. He now teaches at a local college in Overland Park, KS.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591140196
• ISBN-13: 978-1591140191
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #498,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gunbird Driver - Humorous and Revealing, October 23, 2008

By 

John F. Fannin (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gunbird Driver: A Marine Huey Pilot's War in Vietnam (Blue Jacket Bks) (Hardcover)

[[ASIN:1591140196 Gunbird Driver: Gunbird Driver is a remarkable autobiography. Former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, David Ballentine, looks back on his 1966-67 tour of duty in Vietnam, flying the UH-1E (Huey) on a variety of missions, from supporting drops of ground troops into hostile territory, evacuating wounded and dead Marines, to flying high ranking officers around on inspection tours. On one mission, enemy gunfire severs his oil lines and he is forced down. On another, he watches with fascination as a stunningly accurate rocket fired from his ship explodes within a foot of its target-- a luckless man in black-pajamas running for his life through a rice paddy. Lt. Ballentine sees the fellow wobble to his feet and disappear into the underbrush. Ballentine doesn't stop there. He also lays bare the ordinary and wacky details of military life, such as the use of makeshift urinals called "piss tubes" and the hazard of splash-back, "hooch rats" nesting in his helmet, and the stress of finding himself laboring to make small-talk alongside a high-ranking officer inside a crude latrine. Reading this, I often found myself smiling, and occasionally, laughing out loud. This account could not have been authentically written without use of the Marine Corps' incomparable array of four-letter words, and it is not for the faint of heart. No subject is overlooked. Ballentine, who after the war earned a PhD in history, is both sensitive and introspective but understandably proud of his air crewmembers. No macho here. His story is one of a humble young officer's adaptability to the demanding circumstances of war and his emergence as a man. This is a perfect gift for any ex-Marine or anyone, civilian or military, man or woman, who has wondered what it was like to be in combat.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gunbird Driver by David Ballentine, November 6, 2008

By 

David A. Driscoll (Hoschton, Georgia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gunbird Driver: A Marine Huey Pilot's War in Vietnam (Blue Jacket Bks) (Hardcover)

David Ballentine's book brought home to me the reality of the life of a Viet Nam Marine in the mid '60s. The "non-PC" language gives it relevance, and thanks for that. I am amazed at the dedication he and those he wrote about have for the job they did. To go to work with the knowledge that it may end badly made me question every complaint I ever had during my professional life. He says that after one has been the target in a life and death challenge, ordinary life is rather ordinary. If you ever wanted to experience a true "realty show", this is a must read. Thanks, David, for writing this extraordinaty personal history of a true American Hero.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Icon of War, November 17, 2008

By 

James L. Srodes "Author" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gunbird Driver: A Marine Huey Pilot's War in Vietnam (Blue Jacket Bks) (Hardcover)

Hollywood tends to portray conflicts by making an icon of the weapon involved. Think of the Colt Peacemaker of the Western gunslinger. Or the Tommy gun of the Thirties gangster. Or the Huey helicopter gunbird that has dominated our vision of American wars starting in Vietnam and continuing right on through this evening's news broadcast. Talk about your icons.
Yet until now not a lot has been written about the UH-1E, the Bell helcopter with its Lycoming engine and with its side-mounted M-60 machine guns and its nose-aimed rockets. Less still is known about the people who wielded them for the first time as a serious weapon of war in Vietnam. Author David A. Ballentine's book is noteworth because it can be read on several levels. it is a memoir to be sure, but unlike the standard issue series of anecdotes that come from military retirees. What it is, instead, is a back porch conversation, with plenty of saltiness and lots of appropriate expletives such as what one might get listening to the man himself.
The story line covers Ballentine's time as a young Marine lieutenant pilot flying a Huey with an observation squadron during 1966-1967, a year before the Tet Offensive. The book is an easy read for the ordinary civilian despite the military acronyms and technical idiosyncrasies of the Huey as a piece of machinery. Ballentine gives the aircraft its own personality, one with plenty of foibles and flaws, but also with a certain workmanlike solidness that makes both machine and the men it carried understandable and admirable.
The more military oriented reader can find plenty of action and adventure to his taste. Ballentine and his unit provided suppressing fire when troops went into operations and when they came out again. It covered for medical evacuation helicpoters that took out the casulaties. Counter-fire was a constant hazard and Ballentine's craft caught its share. One of the more interesting facets of this book is that even if you've never ridden in a helicopter, his portrayal of the Huey makes the reader confident he could sit in the second seat and know right where the dials and pedals were located, perhaps even to take the stick if hostile gunfire equired. This is no mean feat of writing.
This is a book worth reading and pondering. Vietnam may have been a long time ago but the story is still going on.
James Srodes, author, Washington, DC