Amazon.com
The military role of helicopters is explored in this documentary, which begins by explaining how the development of a working helicopter preceded a practical use for the new aircraft as an effective weapon. As shown with use of archival footage, the first useful application of the new machine in a battlefield environment was as an airborne ambulance in the Korean War, when wounded American soldiers would be ferried to the lifesaving M.A.S.H. units. During the lengthy American involvement in Vietnam, the helicopter evolved into a full-fledged fighting machine, so much so that Vietnam became known as the "helicopter war." This documentary uses combat films and interviews with Vietnam vets to tell the story of how the "choppers" became the modern horses for the famed "Air Cavalry," and entire battles were waged with thousands of troops who were delivered smack into the hottest sectors of the battlefield. The tactics of helicopter deployment virtually defined the Vietnam War, and the accounts of how helicopter crews learned to expertly maneuver their ungainly craft under withering fire are stirring. This documentary also takes a look at how helicopters were deployed in the post-Vietnam military. This is an interesting look at a craft that at first seemed like a novelty but emerged as an essential element of the modern military.
--Robert J. McNamara
