Camp, Richard D. Assault from the Sky

U.S Marine Corps Helicopter Operations in Vietnam

This work describes the use of U.S. Marine Corps helicopters, including their actions and development, during the Vietnam War. The book is divided into three parts, covering the three phases of the corps' combat mission: Buildup (19621966), Heavy Fighting (19671969), and The Bitter End (1975). Each part contains chapters dedicated to the history of naval helicopters from the individual to the strategic level. Vietnam has often been referred to as the first helicopter war, and indeed, during the initial fighting, both the U.S. Marine Corps and Army had to punch their way forward. But by 1967, the fighting was raging throughout South Vietnam, with confrontational engagements against the NVA comparable in scale to the major campaigns of World War II. When the Communists launched their massive counteroffensive in 1968, the Marines were forced to fight on all fronts, with the helicopter giving them the added dimension that proved crucial in repelling the enemy. The author, a Vietnam veteran, uses his experience as a company commander to bring the story to life, weaving personal accounts, mission reports, and official documents into a remarkably readable narrative of the service and sacrifice of naval aviators and crewmen. The entire story of the war is told here through the prism of naval helicopter operations, from the first missions in support of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) against the Viet Cong, to the rapid buildup of U.S. forces in Vietnam to contain the North Vietnamese army, to the final evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.