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Dead Men Flying: Victory in Viet Nam The Legend of Dust off: America's Battlefield Angels
Viet Nam may be the only war we ever fought, or perhaps that was ever fought, in which the heroism of the American soldier was accompanied by humanitarianism unmatched in the annals of warfare. And the humanitarianism took place during the heat of the battle. The GI fixed as he fought, he cured and educated and built in the middle of the battle. He truly cared for, and about, those people. What other Army has ever done that? Humanitarianism was America's great victory in Viet Nam.
Spearheading the humanitarian efforts were the air ambulance operations, call-sign Dust Off, the most dangerous of all aviation operations, which rescued some one million souls in Viet Nam. Dead Men Flying is the story of Charles Kelly, the father of Dust Off, who gave his life to save Dust Off -- the greatest life-saver ever. His dying words -- "When I have your wounded" -- set the standard for combat medicine to this day.
It is also the story of the author, Medal of Honor recipient General Patrick Brady, who learned from Charles Kelly and struggled to meet his standard. Brady led the 54th Medical Detachment as it rescued over 21,000 wounded -- enemy and friendly -- in 10 months, while sustaining 26 Purple Hearts. Finally, Dead Men Flying is the story of salvation in the midst of horror, courage in the face of adversity, and the miracle of faith in the heat of combat. A riveting tale from America's most decorated living soldier, this is a book that no American can afford to ignore.
Spearheading the humanitarian efforts were the air ambulance operations, call-sign Dust Off, the most dangerous of all aviation operations, which rescued some one million souls in Viet Nam. Dead Men Flying is the story of Charles Kelly, the father of Dust Off, who gave his life to save Dust Off -- the greatest life-saver ever. His dying words -- "When I have your wounded" -- set the standard for combat medicine to this day.
It is also the story of the author, Medal of Honor recipient General Patrick Brady, who learned from Charles Kelly and struggled to meet his standard. Brady led the 54th Medical Detachment as it rescued over 21,000 wounded -- enemy and friendly -- in 10 months, while sustaining 26 Purple Hearts. Finally, Dead Men Flying is the story of salvation in the midst of horror, courage in the face of adversity, and the miracle of faith in the heat of combat. A riveting tale from America's most decorated living soldier, this is a book that no American can afford to ignore.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2010
63 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 4, 2012
This book is a mix of the author's experiences in the Army (his two tours in Vietnam mostly), an in depth look at the Dust Off mission, and the legend who essentially created it Major Charles Kelly. The author flew with Major Kelly during his first combat tour and became an avid Kelly disciple ("Kelly's twigs"). The best parts of the book in my opinion entailed the look into Major Kelly as a leader/founder of Dust Off and the uniqueness of the Dust Off mission juxtaposed against the MEDEVAC mission, which you find out is not synonymous. The author is very opinionated on his view of how these missions should be run, the Kelly way, and makes his views on other units such as the 1st Cavalry Division known. The author also makes clear his view on medals, himself a Medal of Honor recipient. The book interweaves all of this throughout with the missions and stories of his combat tours and the men he flew alongside.
There were some annoying faults with the book, mostly attributable to editing errors. I noticed quite a few spelling errors. Furthermore, there were a couple times throughout the book where the author completely switched subject with no break, pause, segue, etc at all (pg 135 for example) which lost me as a reader.
All in all, I definitely enjoyed this book. I became enamored with Major Kelly a couple years ago once I heard the legend of him and his famous words "Once I have your wounded." This book provided a glimpse into the man and the mission he devoted his whole being to. The illustration of the core tenets of Dust Off versus MEDEVAC was a subject I had never heard about before. This book certainly provokes you to think about aviation policy and what might be the best course of action in the future.
There were some annoying faults with the book, mostly attributable to editing errors. I noticed quite a few spelling errors. Furthermore, there were a couple times throughout the book where the author completely switched subject with no break, pause, segue, etc at all (pg 135 for example) which lost me as a reader.
All in all, I definitely enjoyed this book. I became enamored with Major Kelly a couple years ago once I heard the legend of him and his famous words "Once I have your wounded." This book provided a glimpse into the man and the mission he devoted his whole being to. The illustration of the core tenets of Dust Off versus MEDEVAC was a subject I had never heard about before. This book certainly provokes you to think about aviation policy and what might be the best course of action in the future.
February 2, 2017
Excellent.
I've already lent this book. I often mark a page if there are parts of a book that really stand out and often look back on those passages before I write a review. I hope to come back to this eventually with book in hand to write more.
The author of this book earned 26 Purple hearts. 26. And the Medal of Honor.
I've already lent this book. I often mark a page if there are parts of a book that really stand out and often look back on those passages before I write a review. I hope to come back to this eventually with book in hand to write more.
The author of this book earned 26 Purple hearts. 26. And the Medal of Honor.
June 25, 2019
This was a difficult book to read and finish. The least difficult aspect were the numerous typo’s found every few pages, instead the greatest difficulty lay in the writing style and the mannerisms of the author himself.
Let me start out by saying that I was really looking forward to this book. Dust Off/Medevac is a topic I have not read too many books about. John L. Cook has a great small book called The Illustrated History of Dustoff in the Vietnam War, and that was the book I remember best about the topic.
What really intrigued me was that this was written by someone who was there during the early years, 64-65, as well as in the later Tet Offensive years. I figured that would allow for a great comparison between the two eras of the conflict and the technological changes that occurred between the two deployments.
What you ultimately get is an insufferable ego slathering page after page with dry statistics and personal idiocy. Now I should point out that the author did become a Major General in the Army, and he also won the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is perhaps best known today as a right wing conservative mouthpiece who spends most of his time writing about liberal fascists and how everyone is wrong but him.
It’s that kind of attitude that fills nearly every page of the book. While in any military service, you will have friendly rivalries and good-natured us vs. them aspects to every group, he is one of the few people I’ve ever met who takes those childish bullshit labels to an extreme dogma level. His use of the term RFOs or Real Fucking Officers to distinguish himself from Warrant Officer Pilots is truly asinine and telling in it’s own way. He goes on to explain how he personally forced the unit to adopt the atypical policy where experience didn’t matter at all, only rank did and said he received much criticism for it, but maintained he was right anyways. He simply could not stand the idea that someone with less rank than him would be the aircraft commander, even though he admitted that he had no experience and couldn’t even start the helicopter, while the other pilot had hundreds of hours of combat experience as the pilot.
Yeah.
Most of the pages were filled with things like “April produced another 1,000 mission month, 1,102. We carried 2,522 patients, 2.3 per mission, and 4.3 per hour. Our mission time went up five minutes from March to 27. Only one of our guys was shot and four ships hit.” There were entire sections that were repeated nearly word for word at times, usually when he was pontificating about how he was right and everyone else was wrong.
BUT…. BUT….. and I stress this… BUT…..
There were some really good stories/anecdotes included about some really pivotal and interesting aspects of Dust Off in Vietnam and the war itself. He does give some insight into the battle of Ngoc Tavak/Kham Duc, he talks about the My Lai incident, Tet, and the differences of flying in the Mekong Delta of IV corps vs I Corps around Que Son and from Ky Ha Heliport. Most of the stuff that was really fascinating were stories he transcribed from others though, and I truly appreciated their inclusion to give a better sense of the missions and experiences in a way the author, himself, was unable to write.
Let me start out by saying that I was really looking forward to this book. Dust Off/Medevac is a topic I have not read too many books about. John L. Cook has a great small book called The Illustrated History of Dustoff in the Vietnam War, and that was the book I remember best about the topic.
What really intrigued me was that this was written by someone who was there during the early years, 64-65, as well as in the later Tet Offensive years. I figured that would allow for a great comparison between the two eras of the conflict and the technological changes that occurred between the two deployments.
What you ultimately get is an insufferable ego slathering page after page with dry statistics and personal idiocy. Now I should point out that the author did become a Major General in the Army, and he also won the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is perhaps best known today as a right wing conservative mouthpiece who spends most of his time writing about liberal fascists and how everyone is wrong but him.
It’s that kind of attitude that fills nearly every page of the book. While in any military service, you will have friendly rivalries and good-natured us vs. them aspects to every group, he is one of the few people I’ve ever met who takes those childish bullshit labels to an extreme dogma level. His use of the term RFOs or Real Fucking Officers to distinguish himself from Warrant Officer Pilots is truly asinine and telling in it’s own way. He goes on to explain how he personally forced the unit to adopt the atypical policy where experience didn’t matter at all, only rank did and said he received much criticism for it, but maintained he was right anyways. He simply could not stand the idea that someone with less rank than him would be the aircraft commander, even though he admitted that he had no experience and couldn’t even start the helicopter, while the other pilot had hundreds of hours of combat experience as the pilot.
Yeah.
Most of the pages were filled with things like “April produced another 1,000 mission month, 1,102. We carried 2,522 patients, 2.3 per mission, and 4.3 per hour. Our mission time went up five minutes from March to 27. Only one of our guys was shot and four ships hit.” There were entire sections that were repeated nearly word for word at times, usually when he was pontificating about how he was right and everyone else was wrong.
BUT…. BUT….. and I stress this… BUT…..
There were some really good stories/anecdotes included about some really pivotal and interesting aspects of Dust Off in Vietnam and the war itself. He does give some insight into the battle of Ngoc Tavak/Kham Duc, he talks about the My Lai incident, Tet, and the differences of flying in the Mekong Delta of IV corps vs I Corps around Que Son and from Ky Ha Heliport. Most of the stuff that was really fascinating were stories he transcribed from others though, and I truly appreciated their inclusion to give a better sense of the missions and experiences in a way the author, himself, was unable to write.
January 13, 2021
As an USAF aircrew member that served in Vietnam, I knew of the Dust Off call sign and was aware of their mission. This book was written from the viewpoint of one of the very early(1962)Dust Off pilots who also served a second tour in 1968-69. I gave me a new respect for those that served as Dust Off pilots and crewmembers. An excellent read.
August 11, 2024
Dead Men Flying is a very solid account of Patrick Henry Brady's two tours in Vietnam including the missions that earned him the National Medal of Honor.
Brady's detailed account paints a vibrant picture of the life of a Dustoff pilot and the ethos that went into flying mission after dangerous mission.
Brady is often excellent on the nature of courage - he frames it as a choice that can be practiced.
My one reservation about the book are a couple of chapters of his personal politics at the end which undermine the universal nature of the lessons learned from his experience.
Brady's detailed account paints a vibrant picture of the life of a Dustoff pilot and the ethos that went into flying mission after dangerous mission.
Brady is often excellent on the nature of courage - he frames it as a choice that can be practiced.
My one reservation about the book are a couple of chapters of his personal politics at the end which undermine the universal nature of the lessons learned from his experience.
December 28, 2025
This is a book about the personal experiences of Patrick Henry Brady during his two tours as a Dust Off Pilot. It is not so much a story as a diary of events. If you have any interest in Dust Off during Viet Nam, this is a must read. As a history buff and the son of a Dust Off Pilot, I found it incredibly fascinating.
May 12, 2018
Hero that is all I can say
January 9, 2021
Superb History of DUSTOFF
General Kelly relates the founding and development of the DUSTOFF rotary wing aircrews & the HUEYs they flew. He was there and has the MOH to prove it.
General Kelly relates the founding and development of the DUSTOFF rotary wing aircrews & the HUEYs they flew. He was there and has the MOH to prove it.
December 18, 2022
If I could give this book 6 stars, I would.
April 25, 2024
Honor
An honor to read General Brady’s book. I’m a
Vietnam veteran and brought back many memories that over 50 years of age.
An honor to read General Brady’s book. I’m a
Vietnam veteran and brought back many memories that over 50 years of age.
September 12, 2024
Amazing stories, but the poor writing detracted from the themes a little too much.
August 31, 2016
Not really knowing anything about the medivac (sorry, Dust Off) pilots and crews of Vietnam, this was an interesting introduction to those capable men. That said, it mainly revolved around the experiences of the author and how his way of operating (he couches it as his mentor's) was the best way and really should have been used by everyone. Good for the war stories but not so much as a history of military aviation.
August 9, 2013
As a retired Doc (Navy Hospital Corpsman), this book was both educational and nostalgic for me... Sadly, I've spent precious few hours in the "Huey" a truly great bird.
Very informative and emotional ride!
A great book!
God Bless those Dust Off Service members; past, present, and future, but especially in the "Kelly" Way!
Very informative and emotional ride!
A great book!
God Bless those Dust Off Service members; past, present, and future, but especially in the "Kelly" Way!
June 24, 2015
Very interesting book for me as Major Kelly was from Sylvania, Ga. and our football stadium here was dedicated in his memory (Kelly Memorial Stadium). My husband was working with the funeral home here and assisted with his funeral which makes the book even more interesting to me. It gives you an insight into his dedication to saving lives in Vietnam and the legend of Dust Off.
April 12, 2016
"Inspiring story of a Medal of Honor awardee's travails and triumphs as a Dust Off pilot flying the fragile Huey helicopter during two hazardous tours in 'Nam. Anyone familiar with using single-engine helicopters to rescue the wounded in very difficult situations will appreciate this remarkable book."
July 10, 2016
Recommended to me by the author of Dustoff 7-3 who was himself a Dust-off pilot in our current wars, this book about how Dust-off got it's name and reputation during the Vietnam War was riveting. I came of age during that unpopular war and my brother fought in it and was air lifted from the battlefield by one of these brave pilots and their incredible crews. Amazing history. Amazing people.
July 20, 2018
A history book that I couldn't put down.
Excellent read. Only gave four stars because of editing issues. I literally could not put it down. Educational, interesting, emotional and gripping.
Excellent read. Only gave four stars because of editing issues. I literally could not put it down. Educational, interesting, emotional and gripping.
February 9, 2022
WOPA Approved
There was definitely a difference between dust off and medivac. Experienced both, and I will say as a wo combat pilot both did an excellent job.. remember. I prefer wo to RLO's ....less bs more flying......
There was definitely a difference between dust off and medivac. Experienced both, and I will say as a wo combat pilot both did an excellent job.. remember. I prefer wo to RLO's ....less bs more flying......
June 22, 2015
Good account of Dust Off operations as helicopter operations originated during VIetnam War. Very good account of the Battle of Ngok Travak near Kampala Duc in May 1968.
March 30, 2016
Vietnam has produced many, many memoirs. This is one of the best about the air war.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews