Hunter-Killer Squadron; Aero-Weapons, Aero-Scouts, Aero-Rifles; Vietnam 1965-1972

New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, 1992. First Pocket Books Printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. Fair. Tim Tanner (Cover Art). xvii, [1], 317, [1] pages. Tear in front cover near spine. Includes Acknowledgments and Introduction, as well as chapters on The Hospital Battle; My Prisoner; Chu Pong Landing; Operation Masher; Images of War; Nvoc Ngot Bay; Charlie-Charlie; Cherry Pilot; LZ Dog; For God and Country; Dal Dong; Flying with Major Beasley; Some Fool Made a Pilot of Me; Super Scout; Quick Strike at Que Son; Breaking the Truce; Shoot-Down; Doc; Flying Tigers; Blue; Mid-Air; Hooters; Growing Up; The Point; Wild Bill; Chemicals and People Sniffers; Welcome to War; Eco Recon; Last Flights Over Cambodia; and Little Actions. During the Vietnam War, the helicopter assault teams of the 9th Cavalry, a relatively small element of the First Air Cav Division, initiated all the company's major contacts with the enemy and accounted for more than half of its ``kills.'' This collection of 29 tales of combat by veterans of those ``hunter killer'' teams is a worthy sequel to Brennan's earlier collection of 9th Cav reminiscences, Headhunters . Represented here are chopper pilots, aerial gunners, infantrymen and troop commanders. The emphasis throughout is on the danger and adrenaline rush of combat from the viewpoint of the individual soldier. ``I'm not sure I would want to go through it again,'' says one of the vets, ``but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.'' It is a summation that could be stated by every one of the proud men who tell their stories here. For readers interested in details of the helicopter war in Vietnam (and Cambodia), the book is must reading. The 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, was the legendary recon force that by itself killed more than one-half of the enemy soldiers claimed by the entire 1st Air Cav Division. They did it with split-second teamwork and a hell-for-leather style unmatched in the Vietnam War. The author of Brennan's War and Headhunters continues his superb Vietnam series about the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry.