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GOD’S YOUNG LUNATICS: A Memoir of Vietnam Helicopter Combat
GOD’S YOUNG LUNATICS
A door gunner from the 117th Assault Helicopter Company plunges readers into a combat helicopter during the height of the Vietnam War, and his lifelong struggles with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after returning home.
“We were God’s young lunatics.
We were reckless as we faced death every day in Vietnam.
We acted fearlessly, even when we were at times scared as we flew our thinly built Army helicopters into combat, the wind sometimes threatening to crash us into mountains and rice paddies.
We were brave and courageous as we flew our machines into battle, willing to die to save American infantry lives.
No matter the danger, we performed our duty without complaint or hesitation.
Flying anywhere, anytime, and in any condition was the calling card of the helicopter crews I call God’s young lunatics.”
A deeply intimate account of the Vietnam War, with raw honesty, Bob J. Garcia recounts the adrenaline-fueled chaos of Army helicopter combat, revealing a staggering irony: he did it all while harboring a paralyzing fear of heights.
His memoir is a realistic and accurate look inside the mind and emotions of a young soldier who survived combat, but the battle didn’t end in the rice paddies. He faced other battles after returning from a vicious and divisive war. He harbored unseen scars and the health consequences of PTSD, Agent Orange, and helicopter crashes, which followed him long after the rotor blades stopped turning.
Written with unflinching realism, and a captivating style, Bob J. Garcia allows the reader to sense the reality and dangers of combat. The book is a powerful testament to the helicopter crewmen of the Vietnam War who flew daily missions in extremely hazardous conditions without hesitation, proving that true courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s flying right through a crossfire to save the lives of American soldiers.
"They were the reckless ones. They were the ones who flew when the weather said stay down and the enemy said stay back. They were God’s Young Lunatics."
WANT TO SEE SOME HISTORICAL PHOTOS?
To view authentic, archival images of the 117th Assault Helicopter Company, Bob's combat gear, and the Huey helicopters from the memoir, please scroll down to the "From the Publisher" section on the book's Amazon listing.
A door gunner from the 117th Assault Helicopter Company plunges readers into a combat helicopter during the height of the Vietnam War, and his lifelong struggles with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after returning home.
“We were God’s young lunatics.
We were reckless as we faced death every day in Vietnam.
We acted fearlessly, even when we were at times scared as we flew our thinly built Army helicopters into combat, the wind sometimes threatening to crash us into mountains and rice paddies.
We were brave and courageous as we flew our machines into battle, willing to die to save American infantry lives.
No matter the danger, we performed our duty without complaint or hesitation.
Flying anywhere, anytime, and in any condition was the calling card of the helicopter crews I call God’s young lunatics.”
A deeply intimate account of the Vietnam War, with raw honesty, Bob J. Garcia recounts the adrenaline-fueled chaos of Army helicopter combat, revealing a staggering irony: he did it all while harboring a paralyzing fear of heights.
His memoir is a realistic and accurate look inside the mind and emotions of a young soldier who survived combat, but the battle didn’t end in the rice paddies. He faced other battles after returning from a vicious and divisive war. He harbored unseen scars and the health consequences of PTSD, Agent Orange, and helicopter crashes, which followed him long after the rotor blades stopped turning.
Written with unflinching realism, and a captivating style, Bob J. Garcia allows the reader to sense the reality and dangers of combat. The book is a powerful testament to the helicopter crewmen of the Vietnam War who flew daily missions in extremely hazardous conditions without hesitation, proving that true courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s flying right through a crossfire to save the lives of American soldiers.
"They were the reckless ones. They were the ones who flew when the weather said stay down and the enemy said stay back. They were God’s Young Lunatics."
WANT TO SEE SOME HISTORICAL PHOTOS?
To view authentic, archival images of the 117th Assault Helicopter Company, Bob's combat gear, and the Huey helicopters from the memoir, please scroll down to the "From the Publisher" section on the book's Amazon listing.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 6, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 8, 2026
I really loved this book. God’s Young Lunatics: A Memoir of Vietnam Helicopter Combat is one of those rare memoirs that doesn’t just tell you what happened—it puts you there. From the first page, Bob J. Garcia drops you straight into the vibrating metal belly of a Huey helicopter, and you can practically feel the vibration of the rotors and the knot in his stomach as the wind threatened to toss the helicopter into the rice paddies. His writing is vivid, unflinching, and deeply human.
The parts about PTSD are both riveting and heartbreaking.
Well done, Bob. Thank you for your service
The parts about PTSD are both riveting and heartbreaking.
Well done, Bob. Thank you for your service
June 11, 2026
Great read
One of the best books I have read about life of a soldier in Vietnam. Tells it like it was
One of the best books I have read about life of a soldier in Vietnam. Tells it like it was
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews