1500 feet over Vietnam: A marine helicopter pilot's diary Review

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(More customer reviews)Bruce Lake's 1500 FEET OVER VIETNAM: A MARINE HELICOPTER PILOT'S DIARY is an excellent first-person narrative dealing with what it was like to be a Marine combat aviator in Vietnam. He has an understated writing style that manages to keep the reader involved with each chapter.

This reviewer conversed at length by phone with Bruce on a number of occasions awhile back while doing some project research on 1st Lt. Horace H. Fleming, USMC, who is still listen as a POW/MIA. Lt. Fleming, known to his fellow Marines as "Bud," was the pilot of a Marine CH-46A helicopter that was bringing reinforcements into the compound of Ngok Tavak, about five miles away from the border outpost at Kham Duc, in Vietnam. Ngok Tavak had been attacked by elements of the NVA 2nd Regiment in the early morning hours of 10 May 1968, and by the time the two CH-46s arrived, the camp was undergoing heavy rocket, mortar, and infantry attack.

As Lt. Fleming lifted off, his aircraft was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, severing either the fuel or oil line, forcing him to land his aircraft within the besieged compound. As a second aircraft, a UH-1 Huey, hovered over the fouled landing pad in order to take on wounded. Fleming and some Nung soldiers mounted the skids but were unable to enter the crowded cabin. After the aircraft lifted off, Fleming and the Nung soldiers fell over 100 feet into the thick jungle outside of the defensive perimeter that was controlled by the NVA.

The Ngok Tavak defenders withdrew to the base camp at Kham Duc, arriving just in time to fight in the unsuccessful defense of that camp. Lt. Fleming was one of at least 39 Americans who died or was taken prisoner during the defeats at Ngok Tavak and Kham Duc, and one of the 32 whose possible remains have not been repatriated. Bud Fleming was promoted to Captain, then to Major over the years, but his status is still unknown.

Bruce Lake and Bud Fleming were fellow Marine CH-46A pilots, both members of HMM-265, a Marine Medium Helicopter squadron that was with MAG-16 at MMAF. If you read this book you will find Lt. Fleming mentioned as "Bud."

The author offers a great deal of insight about what it was like to be "Up North" flying daily helicopter missions in what was some of the most hotly-contested territory of the entire Vietnam Conflict. 1500 FEET OVER VIETNAM is one of those books that's hard to put down once you start reading.

The author also describes what it was like to come home to New England after his tour of duty; a young combat pilot who had seen far more than most civilians could imagine from the daily news coverage that was being displayed in the media.

It's not difficult to imagine what it was like flying from the way that the author relates his experiences there. Though frequently understated, the images of what Bruce and others experienced can be shared by reading this superb recollection of just one part of the Vietnam conflict.

This reviewer has a personal interest in this book, as I still wear a POW/MIA bracelet that bears the inscription "MAJ HORACE H. FLEMING, III, USMC - 10 MAY 68 SVN." It's my third bracelet with his name since the 1970s.

Thanks, Bruce, from one 'Nam-Era Marine to another. It's a superb read. Semper Fi!



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