Outlaws in Vietnam [Paperback]

David Eastman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

Ride a Huey with the Outlaws of the 175th Aviation Company (AML) in the Mekong Delta and experience a first-hand, first Lieutenant's account, of a tour in Vietnam from 1966-1967. Eastman's lively prose reveals an exciting untold story of camaraderie, competence and fellowship. The aviation units were the sole combat element of the U.S. Army that kept their discipline and spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an interesting read and accurate in its portrayal of America's most unusual war...You tell it as it was." -- Richard A. Ware, Principal Deputy Assistant, Secr. of Defense (International Security Affairs), 1969-70

Eastman has a way with words...This reads like a non-fiction novel...and I loved your humor!" -- Lillian Lund Files- The Bluebird Lady of Massachusetts

About the Author

Eastman writes a nature newspaper column, publishes articles on natural history in periodicals and hosts a radio column. Has a Master's degree in Forestry from University of Washington, and membership in Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association. He resides in Tamworth/Sandwich, NH.

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Peter E. Randall Publisher (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914339974
• ISBN-13: 978-0914339977
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rotor blades over the Delta -- The Outlaws, July 27, 2002

By 

MG Robert J. Brandt (Folsom, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outlaws in Vietnam (Paperback)

I recently met Dave Eastman at the VHPA reunion in Las Vegas where we exchnaged books. Once I opened Outlaws in Vietnam I could not put it down -- it took me back to the sights, smells and sounds of Vietnam. A great read and if your interested in what it was like to fly a UH-1D in combat, I really mean to get the feel, experience the excitement and the sometoimes cold fear in the pit of your stomach, then this book is a must. Dave is a wonderful writer who takes the reader into the cockpit and along for a wild ride. Great job Dave!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Former "Outlaw" Takes a Look, February 26, 2002

By 

Fred Stetson (Burlington, Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outlaws in Vietnam (Paperback)

David L. Eastman has done me a service---he remembers more about my Vietnam tour than I do. I had the honor of serving with Dave from our flight school days at Fort Wolters, Texas, through our tour in the Mekong Delta, and then back to Wolters as flight instructors. He does a remarkable job of recalling incidents, details, quotes and experiences. This is a good treatment of the "helicopter war", as viewed from the eyes of a Mekong Delta pilot. For the most part, ours was not the war of large American divisions, ours was the war of small conflicts, unexpected missions, exotic locales, and beautiful people. Dave reflects this mix and reveals a side of the war not often reported. His photos are well reproduced. Much of the media really didn't care about what was going on in the Delta, once big American combat units moved in up north. This book tells what those reporters missed from October 1966 through October 1967, and shares both subtle and crude, non-military tales from Vietnam.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reactions of a Chopper Client, June 11, 2005

By 

Thomas Hargrove (Galveston, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outlaws in Vietnam (Paperback)

Want to know what it was like to be a Huey chopper pilot, deep in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War? Read this book. Dave Eastman flew both "slicks" (transport choppers that carried mostly Vietnamese soldiers into battle) and gunships during a year of heavy fighting in a particularly deadly part of Vietnam.

Dave describes the life of a helicopter pilot superbly-not only the flying and fighting, but also the sociology of chopper pilots and crews.

This book fascinated me, partly because I was a "client" of the chopper crews, including the 175th Outlaws, and I know the terrain well. I was an adviser on Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MAC-V) Team 73, based in Vi Thanh. Dave writes a lot about "the first battle of Vi Thanh," "the second battle of VT," etc. (there were plenty).

But I was fascinated mainly because "Outlaws" is a good book. Dave Eastman writes well, and has contributed significantly to a vital, but seldom documented, aspect of the Vietnam War.

Tom Hargrove, Author, A Dragon Lives Forever: War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta