Chickenhawk

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The 1970's were a confusing time for many and as a teen then I realized there was an intentional arrogance in society to ignore the period of 1964-1975 for the U. If you read "Chickenhawk" then I would encourage you to follow up with this great book on the life that followed. While I found myself disliking Robert Mason, his book and his brutal honesty is hard not to respect.

From the vantage point of a helicopter pilot, Mason explores his daily life during his tour of duty. Young men begin to mature, if they ever do, when they come to the realisation that their youthful ideals are just polite rationalisations for their own selfishness. Chapter eight, "Bong Son Valley", written about the events of February 1966, contains Mason's description of a Vietnamese village and the bars of Qui Nhon.The total number of helicopter pilots killed in Vietnam was 2202, and total non-pilot crew members who died were 2704. I had read “We Were Soldiers Once and Young” in December of 2012; I found this accounting of both Landing Zone X-Ray and then Landing Zone Albany of the Vietnam War riveting and flush with detail. And having the "eyes" and cognition as that man did who knew he just got bit- so laid down in the deep grass to sleep and to die. While waiting to see whether Burger could sell the book, Mason began writing what would eventually be his second book, a novel, Weapon.

For anyone who doesn't know, the whole "Grunt Six" story and the battle of Ia Drang was the centerpiece of the book We Were Soldiers Once. The author, Robert Mason, was sent to Vietnam between Aug-1965 and Jul-1966 and flew more than 1,000 assault missions. To appreciate fully Mason's accomplishment in rendering this experience so fascinating, one need only contrast it with that of Marcus Lutrell's recent "Lone Survivor," which manages to turn what should be an equally fascinating account of Navy seal training into one of the most annoying and sleep-inducing chronicles of push-ups and special ops ever written). It is a devastating account of men at war, of courage and cowardice, boredom and exhilaration, lasting friendship and sudden death. Partly what makes Chickenhawk such a unforgettable read is that Mason makes no effort either to doctor the facts about his time in Vietnam, his love of flying (even in combat), or about his own flaws and failures.The short story is that I was considering fleeing to Canada if I was drafted but never had to make that momentous decision that would have significantly changed my life. This explains why young idealists - those who want to ‘give something back’ or ‘make a difference’ or ‘eliminate world hunger’ or just ‘serve’ - end up being among the most cynical and self-serving people in middle age.

The second chapter, "August Cruise", describes Mason's trip to Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) aboard the USS Croatan, in August 1965.

Movie - Chicken Hawk: Men Who Love Boys is a 1994 American documentary produced, written, and directed by Adi Sideman. By February 1980, Mason had a 200-page partial manuscript (about one-third), and an outline of the rest of his memoir. Joe Galloway added to the near end of his experience in Landing Zone X-Ray paid tribute to Dickie Chappelle as she was killed stepping on a landmine while the battle raged elsewhere for the men of “X-Ray”. The troops on the ground undoubtedly had it far worse than the helicopter pilots did and the accounts of bodies piled up or soldiers missing limbs, was a constant refrain. Just remember,’ said Farris, ‘of the thirty-three kinds of snakes over here, thirty-one are poisonous.

What a guy he was, and I now know more than ever how brave he had to be to do his job well AND HE DID. I learned more about my husband’s tour in Vietnam from Chickenhawk than I ever imagined, my helicopter husband did not share how dangerous it was and we wrote each other daily about the events of our days ,me with four kids at home and I know now he was protecting me from reality.It feels like a window back through time to the jungles of Southern Vietnam where we find a war that is hard to understand and even harder to justify. In August 1982, he was sentenced to five years in a minimum security prison, but was allowed to remain free on bail pending an appeal of his conviction. Food for thought for future shows, you could interview Hugh Mills who wrote “Low Level Hell”, and Randy Zhan, who wrote “Snake Pilot”.