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Hueys over Khe Sanh: Missions with VMO-6
A vivid memoir of the Vietnam War by a crew chief who flew on hundreds of flights during his tour.
During Vietnam, the basic role of the USMC gunship squadrons was to protect the transport helicopters during medevac missions, troop insertions and extractions, resupply missions, and supporting the Marines on the ground during operations and patrols. Basically, whenever the Marines or South Vietnam friendlies got in trouble the gunships were dispatched to assist them.
As a gunner, and later crew chief, Pete Greene flew hundreds of missions on Huey gunships-flying practically every day with different pilots and gunners. In this vivid memoir he recalls many of those missions, including providing gunship support for MACV-SOG in and around I Corps area, working with Marine Recon, and undertaking frequent, perilous resupply and medevac and medevac support missions.
During Vietnam, the basic role of the USMC gunship squadrons was to protect the transport helicopters during medevac missions, troop insertions and extractions, resupply missions, and supporting the Marines on the ground during operations and patrols. Basically, whenever the Marines or South Vietnam friendlies got in trouble the gunships were dispatched to assist them.
As a gunner, and later crew chief, Pete Greene flew hundreds of missions on Huey gunships-flying practically every day with different pilots and gunners. In this vivid memoir he recalls many of those missions, including providing gunship support for MACV-SOG in and around I Corps area, working with Marine Recon, and undertaking frequent, perilous resupply and medevac and medevac support missions.
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Published September 14, 2024
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About the author
Peter Greene
37 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 6, 2024
I have mixed emotions about this book, so bear with me for a bit.
I don't know what it is with books from big publishers like Casemate & Pen & Sword that are so full of typos, wrong words, or sentences that just go nowhere. I expect this from self published stuff, but it seems that lately those have seemed more polished!
This is a good book but you have to understand that reading it can be a bit of a slog as it is riddled with errors that really should have been caught by an editor and proofreader, as well as text that should have been tightened up a bit, as there are sections that repeat themselves. Casemate really failed this writer who has real talent.
Having said that, let's get into the book!
Like I said, this is a writer who has a real talent for story telling and painting a picture. After having read Super Slick by Feigel and Weill, this is the book I wish that one had been! You really get a sense of being a crew chief on a Huey helicopter in Vietnam, and the nitty gritty detail of what that entails. The author walks a very fine line between being boring with a flood of information, to actually giving you a sense of the minutiae of a pre-flight, it's importance, and why it matters. From manning the machine guns, to OJT, to finding cracks in critical parts, it's all here.
While the book talks up working with Marine Recon and MACVSOG, this isn't really a book about that, and the parts of the book about that only offer a very shallow touch on those subjects. Where the book really shines is in his collection of stories of his 13 months at Ky Ha, Phu Bai, Khe Sanh and Quang Tri. You really get a sense of the tempo, the interplay of personalities, and a good collection of stories to highlight what they did, what he saw, and what it was like.
The story in which the author helped another get a DFC really stands out because you can absolutely feel the weight that he carried for so long, and how good it felt to fix that.
You also get a sense of the change in the war in the lead up to the 68 Tet Offensive. Originally based at the relatively safe CLCB MAF Ky Ha, to moving up to Phu Bai and then Quang Tri, while also TAD to Khe Sanh for the hill fights, the author notices the change and conveys to the reader really how different it was in each area, and as his 13 months progressed.
This is definitely one of the better books about Marine Helo operations in Vietnam, the UH-1E, with it's TAT101 turret, and the view from the crew chiefs seat.
Give it a read, I think you'll find something new to appreciate and take from it.
Grading stars scale:
1 is awful/DNF
2 has issues
3 is a decent book
4 is a really good book
5 is a great/incredible/amazing book
I don't know what it is with books from big publishers like Casemate & Pen & Sword that are so full of typos, wrong words, or sentences that just go nowhere. I expect this from self published stuff, but it seems that lately those have seemed more polished!
This is a good book but you have to understand that reading it can be a bit of a slog as it is riddled with errors that really should have been caught by an editor and proofreader, as well as text that should have been tightened up a bit, as there are sections that repeat themselves. Casemate really failed this writer who has real talent.
Having said that, let's get into the book!
Like I said, this is a writer who has a real talent for story telling and painting a picture. After having read Super Slick by Feigel and Weill, this is the book I wish that one had been! You really get a sense of being a crew chief on a Huey helicopter in Vietnam, and the nitty gritty detail of what that entails. The author walks a very fine line between being boring with a flood of information, to actually giving you a sense of the minutiae of a pre-flight, it's importance, and why it matters. From manning the machine guns, to OJT, to finding cracks in critical parts, it's all here.
While the book talks up working with Marine Recon and MACVSOG, this isn't really a book about that, and the parts of the book about that only offer a very shallow touch on those subjects. Where the book really shines is in his collection of stories of his 13 months at Ky Ha, Phu Bai, Khe Sanh and Quang Tri. You really get a sense of the tempo, the interplay of personalities, and a good collection of stories to highlight what they did, what he saw, and what it was like.
The story in which the author helped another get a DFC really stands out because you can absolutely feel the weight that he carried for so long, and how good it felt to fix that.
You also get a sense of the change in the war in the lead up to the 68 Tet Offensive. Originally based at the relatively safe CLCB MAF Ky Ha, to moving up to Phu Bai and then Quang Tri, while also TAD to Khe Sanh for the hill fights, the author notices the change and conveys to the reader really how different it was in each area, and as his 13 months progressed.
This is definitely one of the better books about Marine Helo operations in Vietnam, the UH-1E, with it's TAT101 turret, and the view from the crew chiefs seat.
Give it a read, I think you'll find something new to appreciate and take from it.
Grading stars scale:
1 is awful/DNF
2 has issues
3 is a decent book
4 is a really good book
5 is a great/incredible/amazing book
June 4, 2025
After and during my trip to Vietnam I read a lot about the war in general, the air war, special operations and about Huey pilots. This book focuses on a USMC crewchief during his 13 month tour of duty in 1967.
It is a vivid and detailed account about his day to day life during deployment and of the dangerous missions in which he participated.
I listened to the audio book and I really got immersed into the stories. It was exactly what I hoped for. It is not too long, but it definitely covers a lot of information. Why should you wiggle rockets in their rocket pod? What was so special about flying the Huey? What was it like to see the casualties of war? From a crewchief's daily routine to the personal feelings and experiences of the author during enemy attacks, this book fascinated me from beginning to end.
It is a vivid and detailed account about his day to day life during deployment and of the dangerous missions in which he participated.
I listened to the audio book and I really got immersed into the stories. It was exactly what I hoped for. It is not too long, but it definitely covers a lot of information. Why should you wiggle rockets in their rocket pod? What was so special about flying the Huey? What was it like to see the casualties of war? From a crewchief's daily routine to the personal feelings and experiences of the author during enemy attacks, this book fascinated me from beginning to end.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews