Customer Reviews

U.S.Navy Seawolves: The Elite HAL-3 Helicopter Squadron in Vietnam

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First I wish to congratulate the author for a pleasant and fast read.

Joe, you sir should have remained silent and kept us wondering about your obvious lack of historical knowledge. Instead you choose to make ridiculous statements and remove all doubt ........
First, US Navy Seawolves is written not about Mr. Kelly or his missions, it's about how and why the Seawolves were created and how they did there jobs. If you had read the Dan's first book you would know this.
You state the stories are not first hand accounts. From what area of your all knowing Seawolf and SEAL history is this statement based? Yes they are first hand accounts from the people that WERE THERE! Did you bother to read the preface?
You again state your expertise on Vietnam era weaponry. Which nomenclature is incorrect and what are you so sure about? Joe you obviously don't know anything about the SEALs or Seawolves.
"Myopic glamorization of death.....were you there? What part about WAR and reality don't you like? I think Mr. Kelly did a great job in conveying the circumstances and situations without excessive gory details. As to your concern of historical presentation of facts, I can assure you the accounts describes are true and confirmed by SEAL Team One personnel, Capt. Spencer, and the other people mentioned in the forward. If you had read it you would know this.
Regarding the rocket window account. It is stated as an accident in the book. Did you really READ the entire book?
Lt. John Luscher provides the first hand accounts of the actions in question during the Tet offensive. If you have issue with his history, call him and ask!
You state "As is the fact that the helicopters could fly 120 MPH three feet off the ground through the streets of Saigon and take corners at full speed. Sorry, but that all seems like quite a stretch." Well Joe, I WAS THERE and would be willing to offer you ride to see just what a UH1-B can't do.

As I stated above, I was there and give the author high marks for being as accurate and clear as possible. This book provides a third person view of what really happened to a group of brave soles that few have heard of and history for the most part chooses to forget.
If and when I get the opportunity to meet the author, I plan to shake his hand for those of us that never came home protecting people like you "Joe."

Someone commented on Mr. Kelly's other Seawolves book, "First Choice", that it sounded like Navy propaganda. That's what I thought about this one. He really dumps on Army pilots in this book. And there's too much about the SEALs and not enough about the aircrew. It reads like fiction - I kept looking at the spine of the book to make sure that it was indeed a non-fiction book. I won't be buying "First Choice".

I usually don't write reviews on books as I read so many but this one was so good I needed to. I was not aware of this unit of the US. Navy until I read this book. It's outstanding. The author writes with a dash of humor along with great detail what it's like to be in combat under great stress to help out others in grave danger. The comradeship and love of his fellow companions. I have a collection of approx. 350 non-fiction war books and have read many more that I did not keep. I rate this one at the top for enjoyment and knowledge of a little known group. Dan, Thanks for a great book. I'm going to get the other as soon as possible. edwards190@sbcglobal.net

Dan "Pegleg" Kelly has written a remarkable work detailing a short time frame in the history of the Navy Seawolves. Factual, detailed, graphic this is an outstanding work.

Having been a member of this squadron, knowing some of the men, and knowing of others,that he writes about,I know these men are NOT bigger then life. They are just average American sailors who performed in a role never before conceived and did so with a well above average effort and little public fanfare. These men never numbered more then 250 at any one time and earned the love and respect of the US Navy's famous SEAL teams. The most highly decorated squadron in the history of Naval Aviation, they were a combination of McHale's Navy and Terry and the Pirates. In school they were "jocks" and "geeks". In the fleet they ranged from below to above average sailors. In war, they made Audie Murphy look like a boy scout. One well known SEAL sums up his opinion of these young American men - They have (testicles) that clank when they walk.

Good job Dan!

I bought the book because I wanted to know more about the Navy's helicopter gunship role. There is some good information in the book about the birth and day-to-day operations of the HAL-3 warriors. Oddly, however, half of the book consists of stories of SEALs fighting in the jungle. These stories are obviously not first-hand accounts. The stories of the Seawolves' exploits seem to be word-of-mouth as well. Some of the nomenclature of the weapons is consistently incorrect. There's a picture of the author with one of the Seawolf choppers and a crew member in the book but the only place where it's even alluded to that he was a Seawolf is on the back cover. Odd that there's no first-person information on the group and that the book has such an outsider's feel to it.

I guess the thing that bugs me is that the book seems more like a collection of war stories that were told to the author by a few individuals. There doesn't seem to have been much research involved in preparing the book. I don't mean to take anything away from these great men and what they accomplished but this book seems to be a myopic glamorization of death. There are many good books out there but this is written like more like an action novel than a historical presentation of facts. A previous reviewer said it very well when he said it's like Rambo using a typewriter.

To provide some examples, the Seawolves in the book never miss anything. They can fire rockets in specific windows every single time, land them on top of walls that NVA soldiers are climbing over and the door gunners can pick off running troops in streets; all while the pilot is jinking the chopper around the sky. Every combat action mentions bodies being blown to pieces and, during the coverage of the inital Tet offensive into Saigon, Kelly says that the gunners shot NVA troops to pieces while they were in hand-to-hand combat with our Special Forces troops. Kind of hard to believe. As is the fact that the helicopters could fly 120 MPH three feet off the ground through the streets of Saigon and take corners at rull speed. Sorry, but that all seems like quite a stretch.

If you've served in the military or even studied military history at all, you may find it hard to tell what may even be factual. I just looked at the forward again and he thanks a couple of people for telling him stories at a reunion and in similar settings. That's a good reference source but in and of itself doesn't make for a well researched book.

The bottom line is that it lacks authenticity and doesn't do the Seawolves justice. Reading like fiction, it's hard to know what to and what not to believe. In my mind, believing something false is worse than not knowing at all.

Very compelling book. I had a difficult time putting it down. My friends have read it and they agree it's non-stop action. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes action/war stories. I just ordered Daniel E. Kelly's other book about the Seawolves. I see from this site it should be just as good.

A story about a group of warriors in Vietnam - doing a job that most of us can barely fathom. I did not realize the HAL-3 (Seawolves) Squadron had such action during the Tet Offensive. Mr. Kelly does a decent job of chronicling some of the Seawolves' missions - but his writing lacks the finesse and skill that would have brought this book to another level. It was too much like Rambo using a typewriter. There is more to describing people than using the nicknames and telling us their favorite weapons.
"Chickenhawk" is a much better helicopter chronicle of the Vietnam War, although it doe not involve the Seawolves or the US Navy.

I thought that I had seen all of the books and videos about the Seawolves, until a friend mentioned this one to me tonight. I just looked at some of the pages and photos before I ordered the book. It was not without tremendous pain that I saw the wreckage of Lt. John Abrams' helicopter after its recovery from Dung Island. Just knowing that 4 men died in that helicopter was almost too much to bear. I AM HIS SISTER. I never saw that photo. I did see the other pictures, sent to me by a fellow pilot, Chuck Bagley, in the squadron. (FYI...the "unknown" in the 3000th flight ceremony is the CO of Harnett County, Lt. Brown.) I also never knew all of the details, as the Navy was predictably vague at the time and later. What little I did find out was from several of the people mentioned in this book, through personal letters, phone calls and a visit. I have also just read most of the comments/reviews. Some ignorant, some intelligent. Call this book what you will, it is an account of some very special people during a very difficult time. The Seawolves were a well-kept secret, as I didn't know of their elite status until years later. I do not see this as a glorification of war or of killing. I know my brother did not glorify either of those. I have recordings and writings he sent home that attest to that fact. It is 1968 yet again for me on this hot summer night, as I continue to miss my big brother. But I am grateful that he is being remembered by all who read this and other books about the Seawolves.
Ellen Abrams Blankenship

I had a boss who was a seawolf but would never, ever speak of his VN service. This is a recounting of how the seawolves were started, what they did, and how it was disbanded after the VN conflict (war). These men went above and beyond and everyone should be given a special medal for bravery......I don't read military history books but I am glad I discovered this online. I purchased two of them. I work for the Disabled American Vets and keep them on my desk all of the time and as the vets come in they borrow it, read it and have always returned it.