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Assault From the Sky: U.S. Marine Corps Helicopter Operations in Vietnam

 by Dick Camp, Casemate Publishers, 2013

T he iconic image of Vietnam’s helicopter war is that of a Bell UH-1 Huey carrying, supporting or evacuating U.S. Army troops. There was, however, a parallel helicopter force accompanying the U.S. Marines since their first medium helicopter squadron, HMM- 362, equipped with the Korean War–era Sikorsky UH-34D Sea Horses, operated alongside the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in 1962. Belatedly reequipped with more state-of-the-art choppers, the Marines would also be among the last Americans to leave Saigon on April 30, 1975.

Assault From the Sky is an episodic history of the Marine helicopter operations, stringing together a series of actions, anecdotes and firsthand accounts by a succession of participants. Besides being a running chronicle of the Marine helicopters’ contributions, 26-year Marine veteran Dick Camp’s book focuses on notable men and machines along the way, and compares the Marines’ approach to helicopter usage and tactics with that of their Army colleagues. From “Dog” to “Phrog,” Assault From the Sky comprises a compact but comprehensive summary of rotary-winged warfare, Marine style.

 

Originally published in the April 2014 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.