What do you think?
Rate this book
GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS: What it was Really Like to Fly Combat Helicopters in Vietnam
Synopsis
In the summer of 1967, Mark Garrison had dropped out of college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, just before entering his third year. He had run out of money and had to work for a while. These were the days before the lottery and the draft soon came calling. In order to somewhat control his own future, he enlisted in the U.S. Army’s helicopter flight school program. Little did he know that this adventure would be the most profound experience of his life.
Garrison flew hundreds of missions for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded twenty-five Air Medals, four campaign Bronze Stars, and The Distinguished Flying Cross among numerous other awards. His narrative takes you through the whole process, from basic training, flight school, flying combat in Vietnam, and his return to the United States. His description includes many incidents in combat flight, including being hit by rocket propelled grenades and being on fire in the air, over hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops. But this is not all. He elaborates on the daily lives, emotions, and nuances of the pilots and what they considered their mission to be.
GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS is a must read if you are to have a realistic understanding of what flying helicopters in Vietnam combat was all about.
Review
“Mark Garrison’s Guts 'N Gunships is more than just another Vietnam flashback. It is a portal which will transport readers to a most painful American experience. These were definitely goodbye times in America and the author bares his soul with his narrative.
The author reveals how he, his friends and family, like millions of other Americans were sucked into the Vietnam whirlwind while the nation’s leaders wrestled with a domino theory pressed upon the nation by think tanks tied to the military industrial complex.
Guts 'N Gunships follows Garrison’s true life story of being on the short list for the draft, and then going all in by signing up for helicopter pilot training. After just a few months training, he found himself in the mountains of Vietnam flying Huey helicopters into small holes in the triple canopy jungle. He had been assigned to duty with the Crocodiles and Alligators of the 119th Assault Helicopter Company, just a few short miles from the dreaded Ho Chi Minh Trail.
His one year recounting of his numbered days there is painted with blood, pathos and hilarious incidents, stemming from hard drinking and furious nap of the earth flying, while the helicopters were blown apart with the pilots and crews in them.
Most uplifting of all is the author’s first person accounting of a unit of pilots who saw the American mission failing but renewed vows among themselves that they would give the enemy no quarter and would cut no corners in their attempts to bring home alive every American they possibly could.
No one has ever before addressed the American helicopter pilot experience in the way Garrison does.” —Ron Gawthorp
In the summer of 1967, Mark Garrison had dropped out of college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, just before entering his third year. He had run out of money and had to work for a while. These were the days before the lottery and the draft soon came calling. In order to somewhat control his own future, he enlisted in the U.S. Army’s helicopter flight school program. Little did he know that this adventure would be the most profound experience of his life.
Garrison flew hundreds of missions for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded twenty-five Air Medals, four campaign Bronze Stars, and The Distinguished Flying Cross among numerous other awards. His narrative takes you through the whole process, from basic training, flight school, flying combat in Vietnam, and his return to the United States. His description includes many incidents in combat flight, including being hit by rocket propelled grenades and being on fire in the air, over hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops. But this is not all. He elaborates on the daily lives, emotions, and nuances of the pilots and what they considered their mission to be.
GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS is a must read if you are to have a realistic understanding of what flying helicopters in Vietnam combat was all about.
Review
“Mark Garrison’s Guts 'N Gunships is more than just another Vietnam flashback. It is a portal which will transport readers to a most painful American experience. These were definitely goodbye times in America and the author bares his soul with his narrative.
The author reveals how he, his friends and family, like millions of other Americans were sucked into the Vietnam whirlwind while the nation’s leaders wrestled with a domino theory pressed upon the nation by think tanks tied to the military industrial complex.
Guts 'N Gunships follows Garrison’s true life story of being on the short list for the draft, and then going all in by signing up for helicopter pilot training. After just a few months training, he found himself in the mountains of Vietnam flying Huey helicopters into small holes in the triple canopy jungle. He had been assigned to duty with the Crocodiles and Alligators of the 119th Assault Helicopter Company, just a few short miles from the dreaded Ho Chi Minh Trail.
His one year recounting of his numbered days there is painted with blood, pathos and hilarious incidents, stemming from hard drinking and furious nap of the earth flying, while the helicopters were blown apart with the pilots and crews in them.
Most uplifting of all is the author’s first person accounting of a unit of pilots who saw the American mission failing but renewed vows among themselves that they would give the enemy no quarter and would cut no corners in their attempts to bring home alive every American they possibly could.
No one has ever before addressed the American helicopter pilot experience in the way Garrison does.” —Ron Gawthorp
284 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
552 people are currently reading
845 people want to read
About the author
Mark Garrison
1 book19 followersMark Garrison was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on December 31, 1970. He went on to receive a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University in 1973. He then completed four more years of study at the oldest and largest chiropractic school in the world, Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, where he received a doctorate in 1977. Dr. Garrison then practiced in Illinois for 30 years before retiring in 2006.
Dr. Garrison and his wife of 42 years, Lynn, have four children and five grandchildren. His hobbies include flying, painting, drawing, playing his guitars, and writing. He is now starting a second book about things he encountered in medical practice.
To interview Mark Garrison, please contact him at markvgarrison@gmail.com.
Connect with Mark Garrison on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GutsNGunships
Dr. Garrison and his wife of 42 years, Lynn, have four children and five grandchildren. His hobbies include flying, painting, drawing, playing his guitars, and writing. He is now starting a second book about things he encountered in medical practice.
To interview Mark Garrison, please contact him at markvgarrison@gmail.com.
Connect with Mark Garrison on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GutsNGunships
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
June 23, 2021
I can only imagine how fascinating will be listening in person to Mr. M. Garrison’s anecdotes, stories and missions during his tour in Vietnam back in 1968 and 1969. This book, I suspect, is just a quick recollections and overview of the big story he can tell.
Never too late but, Thank you for your service.
Never too late but, Thank you for your service.
April 25, 2016
This is a memoir of a helicopter pilot from the Vietnam War. Garrison tells what it takes to be a helicopter pilot in combat. Garrison covers the time from his enlistment, boot camp, helicopter school to his combat missions in Vietnam. The author goes into detail about combat action and also includes wartime humor, and the loss of friends.
The book is well written. I noted that the author flew hundreds of mission for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded twenty-five air medals, four campaign medals, four Bonze Stars and the Distinguished Flying Cross among the list of medals. Garrison’s extensive combat experience comes through in the book. I found it interesting that after his war service ended Garrison decided to become a chiropractor. Seems he was following in his father’s footsteps. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Eric Martin does a good job narrating the book.
The book is well written. I noted that the author flew hundreds of mission for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded twenty-five air medals, four campaign medals, four Bonze Stars and the Distinguished Flying Cross among the list of medals. Garrison’s extensive combat experience comes through in the book. I found it interesting that after his war service ended Garrison decided to become a chiropractor. Seems he was following in his father’s footsteps. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Eric Martin does a good job narrating the book.
March 3, 2019
A very enjoyable memoir on a part of the Vietnam war that I don't think is all that well-known to most people (even though the image of combat helicopters in Vietnam is iconic).
The author comes across as honest and thoughtful and does a pretty good job of describing the combination of fear, adrenaline, tedium, and skill that accompanied the job. You certainly won't learn how to fly from this, and you won't quite get a visceral sense of what it was like, but it was still solid.
The biggest flaw, apart from the "not quite there" descriptive content, is the editing. The book badly needs to be reedited. There are too many times when a term/concept is used early in the book (the first third or so) and then defined in the last third of the book. There are also several anecdotes, descriptions, and passages that are repeated throughout the book.
With that, another flaw is a lack of narrative thread. There is no unifying story here (although the training part flows pretty linearly); it's a collection of anecdotes and stories-within-a-story. That doesn't mean it's not well worth reading (because it is), but it does mean it's a little less than it could have been.
The author comes across as honest and thoughtful and does a pretty good job of describing the combination of fear, adrenaline, tedium, and skill that accompanied the job. You certainly won't learn how to fly from this, and you won't quite get a visceral sense of what it was like, but it was still solid.
The biggest flaw, apart from the "not quite there" descriptive content, is the editing. The book badly needs to be reedited. There are too many times when a term/concept is used early in the book (the first third or so) and then defined in the last third of the book. There are also several anecdotes, descriptions, and passages that are repeated throughout the book.
With that, another flaw is a lack of narrative thread. There is no unifying story here (although the training part flows pretty linearly); it's a collection of anecdotes and stories-within-a-story. That doesn't mean it's not well worth reading (because it is), but it does mean it's a little less than it could have been.
February 2, 2017
Very interesting book. My father was a door gunner on a huey in Vietnam for a tour and never spoke in detail about it. He is now passed, so I picked this book up to maybe get a better understanding of what he had gone through.
The Author had very interesting stories, however I was looking for possibly more depth of some of the specific missions.
This is not a knock on the book however, although at times it was breezy, it is still very worth a read. It is beyond crazy to think of 22 year old kids, drafted, and flying helicopters in and out of areas where you are taking constant fire from the enemy. Vietnam truly was a hell hole of a war for our soldiers, that forever changed a generation.
The Author had very interesting stories, however I was looking for possibly more depth of some of the specific missions.
This is not a knock on the book however, although at times it was breezy, it is still very worth a read. It is beyond crazy to think of 22 year old kids, drafted, and flying helicopters in and out of areas where you are taking constant fire from the enemy. Vietnam truly was a hell hole of a war for our soldiers, that forever changed a generation.
May 30, 2016
Gives you the feeling of being right there with him in the chopper. This tells it like it was and you can feel it. Great book!
Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrator was fantastic!
Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrator was fantastic!
March 22, 2017
Excellent read
I'm a Viet Nam era VETERAN who served my country stateside never serving over seas or seeing combat. The way Mr. Harrison wrote this book I felt as if I was next to him in the choppers he flew this is an excellent read and very hard to put down.
I'm a Viet Nam era VETERAN who served my country stateside never serving over seas or seeing combat. The way Mr. Harrison wrote this book I felt as if I was next to him in the choppers he flew this is an excellent read and very hard to put down.
July 10, 2019
Mark Garrison writes a factually interesting collection of memories around what his vietnam experiences were like. Unfortunately, writing so far after the events, this reads more like a veterans distant memories than a cohesive narrative, as Mr. Garrison glosses over many of the details that set the place in favor of some of the more crisp memories he has around actions. Maybe I am biased after having just read Robert Mason's Chickenhawk just before this, but I found this book lacking in the impact of what could be a very powerful narrative.
August 23, 2016
Great and Informative Book
I liked the way the author covered his experience in Vietnam. His story shows the determination of men trying to save one another and stay human under the most trying of circumstances.
I liked the way the author covered his experience in Vietnam. His story shows the determination of men trying to save one another and stay human under the most trying of circumstances.
April 5, 2018
Entertaining and insightful!
I just finished reading GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS. This was the first Viet Nam book that I have ever read. I remember the nightly newscasts about the war years of the 60's and early 70's. I also remember the protests and marches that were turning violent. I was only in elementary school when Garrison was saving soldiers on the other side of the world, but I am quite proud of his journey. We are fortunate that he was able to put his memories in writing. I have learned so much. I am extremely impressed with Garrison's storytelling ability. His voice was powerful and well suited for this genre. Although I have never met Garrison, I feel I know him. A friend of his told me about this book, and I am glad I read it. Thank you, M.F. From S. H.
I just finished reading GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS. This was the first Viet Nam book that I have ever read. I remember the nightly newscasts about the war years of the 60's and early 70's. I also remember the protests and marches that were turning violent. I was only in elementary school when Garrison was saving soldiers on the other side of the world, but I am quite proud of his journey. We are fortunate that he was able to put his memories in writing. I have learned so much. I am extremely impressed with Garrison's storytelling ability. His voice was powerful and well suited for this genre. Although I have never met Garrison, I feel I know him. A friend of his told me about this book, and I am glad I read it. Thank you, M.F. From S. H.
January 6, 2019
Awesome
I loved this book , written from the heart and from inside the cockpit ! I almost wished I was there ... God Bless you sir.
I loved this book , written from the heart and from inside the cockpit ! I almost wished I was there ... God Bless you sir.
April 26, 2024
This self-published memoir was a collection of amusing anecdotes, but did not probe very deeply into its subject matter. It's full of self-hero worship and humble brags, and casual references to bodies disintegrating. The author doesn't think too deeply about his or his countries' involvement in a failed American war of aggression fought over ideology. His criticisms are mainly confined to the fact that America had limited war aims.
I did not expect a hand-wringing account, but it stuns me that the environmental destruction wrought by Agent Orange and the slaughter of people should be treated as one big frat party managed by adolescents wielding weapons of enormous destructive power. If I was Vietnamese and read this it would be difficult not to arrive at the conclusion that Americans are basically crass, amoral, conformist drones who do the mindless killing their country bids them do with nary a care in the world.
That said, I appreciated the details of the daily life in a helicopter platoon during the height of the Vietnam War. Unlike more serious Vietnam nonfiction, this reads like screwball comedy, like several episodes of MASH strung together. But although it took place during the Korean War, everybody knows MASH was really about Vietnam (the TV show, at least). And for those who paid attention, behind the pranks and physical hijinks, MASH was black comedy that was highly critical of U.S. policy. There is none of that depth in Garrison's book, just a bunch of drunk good 'ol boys tryin' to pass the time "in country" until they can get home and write their self-congratulatory hero narratives about being "in the shit." If Garrison wrote this even ten years after his experience, he might be forgiven for sentimentalizing his juvenile antics, but he wrote this thing as an old guy, with many decades worth of reflection under his belt. Even after all that, 'Nam was just a big party? I don't know if that's truth or delusion, but whatever else it is, it's twisted and ugly--I mean, unless those photos of napalmed Asian kids do nothing but make you chortle. I mean, Christ, even Oliver Stone was capable of more depth!
But what can you expect from a guy whose reaction is basically "aw shucks" even to the knowledge of what Agent Orange did to our own people? Garrison talks about how the powerful weapons in his attack helicopter had a "safe mode" (I'm paraphrasing; I don't remember nor do I care what the exact term was) to avoid accidents. I wonder if soldiers' consciences also have a "safe mode" or an off switch, so they can merrily--or indifferently--watch themselves obliterate human beings with the press of a button. As presented in the book, it's obvious that Garrison did not revel in killing, but it didn't bother him or even seem to affect him one way or another...again, if one goes by what it says in this book. This is, perhaps, the most disturbing and lasting legacy of warfare, the utter indifference to human suffering required in order to kill regularly and methodically. After one's conscience is switched into "safe mode" I'm not sure it can ever come back on, because if it did, how could you not be riddled by regrets?
It appears that their mission was vague and aimless, roving around the countryside burning down the jungle in the hopes of being shot at, so they could have an excuse to shoot back. If this was truly America's counterinsurgency strategy, then it's very easy to see why we lost war, from a purely military perspective. But unlike Garrison's suggestions, we did not lose the war simply because of military mismanagement, but because of our cultural and moral failures.
Even despite our vastly superior killing technology and infinite resources at our fingertips, the war was lost because America was lost. We fought a war whose mission was defined by government bureaucrats, with success and failure measured by statistics. But proudly displayed kill counts and acres of jungle destroyed could demonstrate nothing aside from how little our government understood the big picture, or the reasons why the North fought us so doggedly.
The psychology of the Vietnamese was as impenetrable to U.S. airmen as the jungle beneath them--although it's not like any of the U.S. soldiers depicted here are trying to penetrate anything besides the tops of their beer cans. Behind the keggers, the pranks, the drunken soirees, the whorehouse initiations there resides an emptiness, a deep-seated, abiding indifference to who we were fighting and why. Even the casual racism displayed by our soldiers seems more centered in ennui and dismissal of the unknown as opposed to hatred. The arrogance of American culture is rooted in our decadence, which affords us the luxury of apathy. It is born of feeling so sure of our superiority, that attempting to understand the people we dismiss seems pointless and irrelevant--even in war.
Garrison tells an anecdote about two Malayan sun bear cubs his unit adopted after killing their mother. They keep the bears in a cage, getting them drunk and wrestling with them for their amusement. Although this story was intended as a lighthearted anecdote, it reflects a truth about our culture as viewed in a funhouse mirror and makes a fitting symbol of the American presence in places that we have destroyed and then tried to reconstruct in our own image. It's not enough for us to obliterate wild beauty in our efforts to dominate it. We have to capture it, enslave it, imprison it, and then turn it into a circus act freak show in order to render it as stupid and impotent as our own culture. In all the decades of reading and media viewing and living and traveling I've done, I have never seen a better analogy for the effects of American power and influence in other parts of the world than Garrison's drunken sun bear escapades.
Behind the good-old-boys-having-a-good-'ol-time tone there lurks an ugly emotional dishonesty. Garrison is the hero of his memoir, making himself seem like a gentleman even when visiting a whorehouse. He and the friends he named didn't have any but the most superficial doubts or make any mistakes--if you believe his memoir. Who knows? Maybe the Vietnam War was just a big frat party with occasional interruptions for killing and being killed. It makes me wonder how much denial and delusion these guys needed to cloak themselves in, in order to perform the brutal, futile, inhumane actions they were tasked with. In that context, in light of a vague mission and frenetic but purposeless activity, Garrison's perspective makes a lot of sense. But in a memoir penned with forty years' worth of hindsight, it's fair for the reader to expect a slightly more self-actualized account.
The book reads fairly easily despite the numerous structural problems with it, and its many amateurish mistakes: odd turns of phrase, unnecessary repetition, and shallow anecdotes that trail off without illuminating anything or connecting to a larger theme, and just overall sloppy writing. The writing is good enough that a decent editor could have corrected many of these issues. I would recommend this book for someone wanting a detailed but whitewashed "slice of life" set of anecdotes and trivial details about chopper pilots in 'Nam, but not for anyone who desires a deeper understanding or an emotional reckoning. For that, most folks would be better served by reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
I did not expect a hand-wringing account, but it stuns me that the environmental destruction wrought by Agent Orange and the slaughter of people should be treated as one big frat party managed by adolescents wielding weapons of enormous destructive power. If I was Vietnamese and read this it would be difficult not to arrive at the conclusion that Americans are basically crass, amoral, conformist drones who do the mindless killing their country bids them do with nary a care in the world.
That said, I appreciated the details of the daily life in a helicopter platoon during the height of the Vietnam War. Unlike more serious Vietnam nonfiction, this reads like screwball comedy, like several episodes of MASH strung together. But although it took place during the Korean War, everybody knows MASH was really about Vietnam (the TV show, at least). And for those who paid attention, behind the pranks and physical hijinks, MASH was black comedy that was highly critical of U.S. policy. There is none of that depth in Garrison's book, just a bunch of drunk good 'ol boys tryin' to pass the time "in country" until they can get home and write their self-congratulatory hero narratives about being "in the shit." If Garrison wrote this even ten years after his experience, he might be forgiven for sentimentalizing his juvenile antics, but he wrote this thing as an old guy, with many decades worth of reflection under his belt. Even after all that, 'Nam was just a big party? I don't know if that's truth or delusion, but whatever else it is, it's twisted and ugly--I mean, unless those photos of napalmed Asian kids do nothing but make you chortle. I mean, Christ, even Oliver Stone was capable of more depth!
But what can you expect from a guy whose reaction is basically "aw shucks" even to the knowledge of what Agent Orange did to our own people? Garrison talks about how the powerful weapons in his attack helicopter had a "safe mode" (I'm paraphrasing; I don't remember nor do I care what the exact term was) to avoid accidents. I wonder if soldiers' consciences also have a "safe mode" or an off switch, so they can merrily--or indifferently--watch themselves obliterate human beings with the press of a button. As presented in the book, it's obvious that Garrison did not revel in killing, but it didn't bother him or even seem to affect him one way or another...again, if one goes by what it says in this book. This is, perhaps, the most disturbing and lasting legacy of warfare, the utter indifference to human suffering required in order to kill regularly and methodically. After one's conscience is switched into "safe mode" I'm not sure it can ever come back on, because if it did, how could you not be riddled by regrets?
It appears that their mission was vague and aimless, roving around the countryside burning down the jungle in the hopes of being shot at, so they could have an excuse to shoot back. If this was truly America's counterinsurgency strategy, then it's very easy to see why we lost war, from a purely military perspective. But unlike Garrison's suggestions, we did not lose the war simply because of military mismanagement, but because of our cultural and moral failures.
Even despite our vastly superior killing technology and infinite resources at our fingertips, the war was lost because America was lost. We fought a war whose mission was defined by government bureaucrats, with success and failure measured by statistics. But proudly displayed kill counts and acres of jungle destroyed could demonstrate nothing aside from how little our government understood the big picture, or the reasons why the North fought us so doggedly.
The psychology of the Vietnamese was as impenetrable to U.S. airmen as the jungle beneath them--although it's not like any of the U.S. soldiers depicted here are trying to penetrate anything besides the tops of their beer cans. Behind the keggers, the pranks, the drunken soirees, the whorehouse initiations there resides an emptiness, a deep-seated, abiding indifference to who we were fighting and why. Even the casual racism displayed by our soldiers seems more centered in ennui and dismissal of the unknown as opposed to hatred. The arrogance of American culture is rooted in our decadence, which affords us the luxury of apathy. It is born of feeling so sure of our superiority, that attempting to understand the people we dismiss seems pointless and irrelevant--even in war.
Garrison tells an anecdote about two Malayan sun bear cubs his unit adopted after killing their mother. They keep the bears in a cage, getting them drunk and wrestling with them for their amusement. Although this story was intended as a lighthearted anecdote, it reflects a truth about our culture as viewed in a funhouse mirror and makes a fitting symbol of the American presence in places that we have destroyed and then tried to reconstruct in our own image. It's not enough for us to obliterate wild beauty in our efforts to dominate it. We have to capture it, enslave it, imprison it, and then turn it into a circus act freak show in order to render it as stupid and impotent as our own culture. In all the decades of reading and media viewing and living and traveling I've done, I have never seen a better analogy for the effects of American power and influence in other parts of the world than Garrison's drunken sun bear escapades.
Behind the good-old-boys-having-a-good-'ol-time tone there lurks an ugly emotional dishonesty. Garrison is the hero of his memoir, making himself seem like a gentleman even when visiting a whorehouse. He and the friends he named didn't have any but the most superficial doubts or make any mistakes--if you believe his memoir. Who knows? Maybe the Vietnam War was just a big frat party with occasional interruptions for killing and being killed. It makes me wonder how much denial and delusion these guys needed to cloak themselves in, in order to perform the brutal, futile, inhumane actions they were tasked with. In that context, in light of a vague mission and frenetic but purposeless activity, Garrison's perspective makes a lot of sense. But in a memoir penned with forty years' worth of hindsight, it's fair for the reader to expect a slightly more self-actualized account.
The book reads fairly easily despite the numerous structural problems with it, and its many amateurish mistakes: odd turns of phrase, unnecessary repetition, and shallow anecdotes that trail off without illuminating anything or connecting to a larger theme, and just overall sloppy writing. The writing is good enough that a decent editor could have corrected many of these issues. I would recommend this book for someone wanting a detailed but whitewashed "slice of life" set of anecdotes and trivial details about chopper pilots in 'Nam, but not for anyone who desires a deeper understanding or an emotional reckoning. For that, most folks would be better served by reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
August 15, 2020
Not for the week hearted.
This book is only for those who appreciate the sacrifices our solders have made during mostly the Draft era. Not discounting the volunteer service men of today. We were call & we went, that was it! No questions as to how and where we were to serve, you received orders pick up yr shit and Said Yes Sir.some of us we’re more fortunate & lucky. To these men I’m great full for yr service.
This book is only for those who appreciate the sacrifices our solders have made during mostly the Draft era. Not discounting the volunteer service men of today. We were call & we went, that was it! No questions as to how and where we were to serve, you received orders pick up yr shit and Said Yes Sir.some of us we’re more fortunate & lucky. To these men I’m great full for yr service.
August 17, 2016
Excellent
The book really seemed to come from the heart! And I know my uncle credited his survival to some of these pilots. Sadly he was was diagnosed with cancer as a result of agent Orange and is fighting for his life right now. I loved the book and feel that the service men who fought over there were never given the credit and respect they deserve.
The book really seemed to come from the heart! And I know my uncle credited his survival to some of these pilots. Sadly he was was diagnosed with cancer as a result of agent Orange and is fighting for his life right now. I loved the book and feel that the service men who fought over there were never given the credit and respect they deserve.
May 11, 2016
This is a truly fantastic read. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read about your experiences.
The author's dedication to the mission of protecting and saving the lives of his fellow soldiers is truly inspirational. I am so thankful for our country's warriors.
The author's dedication to the mission of protecting and saving the lives of his fellow soldiers is truly inspirational. I am so thankful for our country's warriors.
February 9, 2017
Very fine and accurate depiction of gunship flying
This book tells it just like I remember from my time in Vietnam. Enjoyed reliving the experience in this book. Hard to believe it's been 46 years.
This book tells it just like I remember from my time in Vietnam. Enjoyed reliving the experience in this book. Hard to believe it's been 46 years.
August 8, 2017
While the book was entertaining, it was poorly written (and, apparently had no proof-reading done). Mr. Garrison repeated himself, repeatedly. Mr. Garrison was at Pleiku and Dak To about the same time I was in Chu Lai. I wish he would have shipped some of the beer he guzzled up to us!
May 20, 2018
The title says it all… Mark Garrison was a helicopter pilot with the US Army in one of the most thankless and ill-advised military campaigns that the US has undertaken. The grit required for, and the despair felt by the author in the task that he was called upon to undertake has been poignantly brought.
As was the case with a lot of twenty-year-old kids from poor families in the United States, at that point in time, Garrison had to unceremoniously pull out of studies and was drafted into the Army to fight a war that was imposed on to the country, by the machinations of a few politically powerful individuals. Garrison does make it amply clear that he joined the Army not out of choice, but purely out of compulsion. There was no way a person of his background could dodge the draft, but there were numerous instances wherein kids from influential American families had managed to do just that.
Garrison starts off with the experiences that he had during training. There is lot of humor that is interspersed in the narrative. Something that does come out very clearly in the narrative is that the author had a healthy respect for the institution of the US Army, even as he was circumspect of the war in Vietnam. He was admitted into the Warrant Officer Pilot Training program of the US Army, which trained raw recruits into crack helicopter pilots. The Aviation wing of the US Army was a vital cog in the scheme of things in the Vietnam campaign. Given the rough terrain and the dense jungles in that part of the world, helicopters played a vital role in troop insertion and extraction, as well as providing fire support to the troops on the ground with the help of helicopter gunships.
Garrison explains in detail about the training that he received on various types of helicopters, finally culminating in attaining proficiency in flying the jet-propelled Huey Bell helicopters, which was the main workhorse of the Army in Vietnam. The author goes into a lot of intricate details of flying and does attempt to throw light on the mechanics of flying a chopper. It all does make interesting reading, albeit a bit overwhelming for someone who does not have the necessary exposure to things mechanical.
The scene then shifts to the real action in Vietnam, where Garrison finds himself in life and death situations that he had never imagined he would find himself in. Garrison realizes that flying the machine in a war scenario was a totally different ball game altogether. He had the feeling that he was re-learning all that he had picked up during training. However, it is to his credit that he managed to adapt to the difficult situation in a short span of time. Initially, he was tasked with flying those Hueys which were involved in the insertion and extraction of troops. Garrison explains in detail about a number of individual sorties that he was involved in. Flying into a hail of bullets and risking one’s life in the line of duty, became a daily routine for him, so much so that the reader also begins to get lulled into the mindset that this is all a norm in an area of conflict. But the loss of life that happens is something which cannot be discounted or justified, ever.
Garrison then gets assigned to the Crocs or the helicopter gunships that have lethal fire power on them in the form of an array of machine guns and lethal rockets. These aircraft were used to provide fire cover to the unarmed slicks (troop carriers) and to the troops on the ground. More precision and grit was needed to fly these mean machines and invariably the more daring and competent pilots used to get assigned to the helicopter gunships. The pilot community in the 119 Helicopter Squadron was painfully aware of the futility of the war they were fighting and this came up for discussion more often than not. However, Garrison says that the only thing that made flying the machines in the dangerous combat situations worthwhile was the realization that they were contributing in a meaningful manner by saving American lives (those of the infantry and other special forces on the ground who were totally dependent of the choppers for their survival). Garrison speaks of the large number of faceless American soldiers that he was able to extricate from difficult combat situations on the ground, and that sense of satisfaction more than made up for all the despair he felt about the war, which according to him, the American soldier was forced to fight blindfolded and with his arms tied to the back.
This is a unique book that throws light on the Vietnam war purely from the perspective of a soldier. The refrain of the futility of armed combat does ring throughout the book, but at the same time, the love, respect and sense of duty that pervades Garrison’s conscience towards his brothers in arms is touching.
As was the case with a lot of twenty-year-old kids from poor families in the United States, at that point in time, Garrison had to unceremoniously pull out of studies and was drafted into the Army to fight a war that was imposed on to the country, by the machinations of a few politically powerful individuals. Garrison does make it amply clear that he joined the Army not out of choice, but purely out of compulsion. There was no way a person of his background could dodge the draft, but there were numerous instances wherein kids from influential American families had managed to do just that.
Garrison starts off with the experiences that he had during training. There is lot of humor that is interspersed in the narrative. Something that does come out very clearly in the narrative is that the author had a healthy respect for the institution of the US Army, even as he was circumspect of the war in Vietnam. He was admitted into the Warrant Officer Pilot Training program of the US Army, which trained raw recruits into crack helicopter pilots. The Aviation wing of the US Army was a vital cog in the scheme of things in the Vietnam campaign. Given the rough terrain and the dense jungles in that part of the world, helicopters played a vital role in troop insertion and extraction, as well as providing fire support to the troops on the ground with the help of helicopter gunships.
Garrison explains in detail about the training that he received on various types of helicopters, finally culminating in attaining proficiency in flying the jet-propelled Huey Bell helicopters, which was the main workhorse of the Army in Vietnam. The author goes into a lot of intricate details of flying and does attempt to throw light on the mechanics of flying a chopper. It all does make interesting reading, albeit a bit overwhelming for someone who does not have the necessary exposure to things mechanical.
The scene then shifts to the real action in Vietnam, where Garrison finds himself in life and death situations that he had never imagined he would find himself in. Garrison realizes that flying the machine in a war scenario was a totally different ball game altogether. He had the feeling that he was re-learning all that he had picked up during training. However, it is to his credit that he managed to adapt to the difficult situation in a short span of time. Initially, he was tasked with flying those Hueys which were involved in the insertion and extraction of troops. Garrison explains in detail about a number of individual sorties that he was involved in. Flying into a hail of bullets and risking one’s life in the line of duty, became a daily routine for him, so much so that the reader also begins to get lulled into the mindset that this is all a norm in an area of conflict. But the loss of life that happens is something which cannot be discounted or justified, ever.
Garrison then gets assigned to the Crocs or the helicopter gunships that have lethal fire power on them in the form of an array of machine guns and lethal rockets. These aircraft were used to provide fire cover to the unarmed slicks (troop carriers) and to the troops on the ground. More precision and grit was needed to fly these mean machines and invariably the more daring and competent pilots used to get assigned to the helicopter gunships. The pilot community in the 119 Helicopter Squadron was painfully aware of the futility of the war they were fighting and this came up for discussion more often than not. However, Garrison says that the only thing that made flying the machines in the dangerous combat situations worthwhile was the realization that they were contributing in a meaningful manner by saving American lives (those of the infantry and other special forces on the ground who were totally dependent of the choppers for their survival). Garrison speaks of the large number of faceless American soldiers that he was able to extricate from difficult combat situations on the ground, and that sense of satisfaction more than made up for all the despair he felt about the war, which according to him, the American soldier was forced to fight blindfolded and with his arms tied to the back.
This is a unique book that throws light on the Vietnam war purely from the perspective of a soldier. The refrain of the futility of armed combat does ring throughout the book, but at the same time, the love, respect and sense of duty that pervades Garrison’s conscience towards his brothers in arms is touching.
August 8, 2019
Mark Alexander has written a compelling memoir of his tour of duty as a chopper pilot in the Vietnam War. Although the writing is sometimes pedestrian and there are repeated passages on more than a few occasions, the reader quickly becomes immersed in the anguish and anxieties of a young man in his very early twenties who had to leave school, became draft eligible and decided to apply to flight school rather than be inducted into the infantry.
His journey through helicopter flight training is both informative and amusing at times. However, the real action begins when he sets foot in-country for his tour.
There are basically two kinds of choppers (from the same Model UH-1C, Huey). One carries troopers (the slick) and the other guns and rockets (gunships).
All pilots started out as co-pilots driving slicks. Flying every day, seven days a week, on multiple missions, Alexander had to master the climate, winds, idiosyncrasies of the ships and the men. There were many close calls and harrowing experiences in this learning phase. Eventually he became proficient enough to fly a gunship whose main mission was to escort the slicks into and out of hot LZs (landing zones) whose missions were to either extract or insert troops and supplies.
The grind of the workload and the pressure of the missions wore away at the pilots. They began to question, as many others did, the reason we were fighting this war while not being allowed to win it. Finally, the pilots of his company adopted the mission to get every American soldier out alive that they could. That was why they were there. This gave some meaning and purpose to their extraordinary efforts and allowed them to retain some semblance of sanity.
There are wild action sequences, poignant moments and acts of exemplary bravery. Guts and Gunships turned out to be a page turner I could not put down.
John E Nevola - Author of The Last Jump, The Final Flag and The Revenge of the Pearl Harbor Survivors.
U.S. Army Veteran – SP/5
Military Writer's Society of America
His journey through helicopter flight training is both informative and amusing at times. However, the real action begins when he sets foot in-country for his tour.
There are basically two kinds of choppers (from the same Model UH-1C, Huey). One carries troopers (the slick) and the other guns and rockets (gunships).
All pilots started out as co-pilots driving slicks. Flying every day, seven days a week, on multiple missions, Alexander had to master the climate, winds, idiosyncrasies of the ships and the men. There were many close calls and harrowing experiences in this learning phase. Eventually he became proficient enough to fly a gunship whose main mission was to escort the slicks into and out of hot LZs (landing zones) whose missions were to either extract or insert troops and supplies.
The grind of the workload and the pressure of the missions wore away at the pilots. They began to question, as many others did, the reason we were fighting this war while not being allowed to win it. Finally, the pilots of his company adopted the mission to get every American soldier out alive that they could. That was why they were there. This gave some meaning and purpose to their extraordinary efforts and allowed them to retain some semblance of sanity.
There are wild action sequences, poignant moments and acts of exemplary bravery. Guts and Gunships turned out to be a page turner I could not put down.
John E Nevola - Author of The Last Jump, The Final Flag and The Revenge of the Pearl Harbor Survivors.
U.S. Army Veteran – SP/5
Military Writer's Society of America
January 6, 2017
Very much enjoyed the author's stories. I would thank him for his service. Packed full of action and the subsequent decompression after full days after combat missions. Was a great read, and did a good job of putting you in the action.
Not too long ago I also read "Bonnie Sue" by Stuckey and there is some comparison to be made. Bonnie Sue was regarding Marine aviators vs the Air Corps pilots in this book. It is hard to tell if the Marines just had a harder time, in a harder area, but I left the Bonnie Sue book feeling the dirt and blood of the conflicts. This book seemed to have a bit more of a candy coat, while still not shying away from the horrors or war. I'm glad for the author if the case is that none of this fellow pilots were KIA or MIA, but I came away with a bit "how was it so much worse for the USMC or was this Air Corps book a bit watered down by the author?".
I still would recommend this book without reservation for anyone wanting to increase their knowledge on non-fixed wing operations in 'nam. Very enjoyable, if not too much so.
Edit to Add: About 2/3 of the way through the audiobook, without warning, you are presented an approximately 1 minute audio clip of the recorded air radio traffic from the author and other aircraft. What a pleasant surprise! Bravo for finding and including it. It added a good amount to the immersion.
Not too long ago I also read "Bonnie Sue" by Stuckey and there is some comparison to be made. Bonnie Sue was regarding Marine aviators vs the Air Corps pilots in this book. It is hard to tell if the Marines just had a harder time, in a harder area, but I left the Bonnie Sue book feeling the dirt and blood of the conflicts. This book seemed to have a bit more of a candy coat, while still not shying away from the horrors or war. I'm glad for the author if the case is that none of this fellow pilots were KIA or MIA, but I came away with a bit "how was it so much worse for the USMC or was this Air Corps book a bit watered down by the author?".
I still would recommend this book without reservation for anyone wanting to increase their knowledge on non-fixed wing operations in 'nam. Very enjoyable, if not too much so.
Edit to Add: About 2/3 of the way through the audiobook, without warning, you are presented an approximately 1 minute audio clip of the recorded air radio traffic from the author and other aircraft. What a pleasant surprise! Bravo for finding and including it. It added a good amount to the immersion.
May 10, 2020
Guts 'n Gunships (2015) by Mark Garrison is a biographical tale about flying helicopters for the US Army in the late 1960s and in Vietnam. Garrison, with the nickname Pigpen, did a yearlong tour of duty in Vietnam. He few 'slicks' for troop transport and 'guns' and 'hogs' that carried heavier rockets and guns and were used for attacking enemy troops.
The book is quite a ride. It covers Pigpen's learning to fly and then his deployment to camp Holloway in Vietnam. There he started off flying troop transports but eventually changed to flying overloaded Hueys with more armament.
In the course of a year his aircraft were frequently damaged by gunfire and more. The stories of the missions are quite incredible. The mission are interspersed with stories of the pilots lives in camp. The lives of these men, mostly in their 20s are quite incredible. Facing death daily and then coming back to their camp to drink and amuse themselves. It's amazing to think what these guys were doing at such a young age.
Gut 'n Gunships is a pretty remarkable read. The chapters are short and engaging. For anyone interested in combat flying in Vietnam it's definitely worth a look.
The book is quite a ride. It covers Pigpen's learning to fly and then his deployment to camp Holloway in Vietnam. There he started off flying troop transports but eventually changed to flying overloaded Hueys with more armament.
In the course of a year his aircraft were frequently damaged by gunfire and more. The stories of the missions are quite incredible. The mission are interspersed with stories of the pilots lives in camp. The lives of these men, mostly in their 20s are quite incredible. Facing death daily and then coming back to their camp to drink and amuse themselves. It's amazing to think what these guys were doing at such a young age.
Gut 'n Gunships is a pretty remarkable read. The chapters are short and engaging. For anyone interested in combat flying in Vietnam it's definitely worth a look.
August 10, 2018
Helicopters
I completely enjoyed this book! I found the story of Mr. Garrisons' tour in Vietnam to be well written and more than interesting. I know a fair amount about helicopters as I worked and flew in them when I was in the Marine Corps. I never got to fly in a UH-1 but have always wanted to. I found the narrative to be without embellishments just straight up, this is the way it was. The book had some very humourous things that happened that I could identify with and as almost all books about combat ,very sobering and tearful events.
I have several friends that served in Vietnam who had pilots just like you,Mr. Garrison, who fulfilled their mission to get them home alive and they deeply appreciate how dedicated you pilots were.
Read this book! It won't bore you at all and you will stay up late not wanting to put it down.
I completely enjoyed this book! I found the story of Mr. Garrisons' tour in Vietnam to be well written and more than interesting. I know a fair amount about helicopters as I worked and flew in them when I was in the Marine Corps. I never got to fly in a UH-1 but have always wanted to. I found the narrative to be without embellishments just straight up, this is the way it was. The book had some very humourous things that happened that I could identify with and as almost all books about combat ,very sobering and tearful events.
I have several friends that served in Vietnam who had pilots just like you,Mr. Garrison, who fulfilled their mission to get them home alive and they deeply appreciate how dedicated you pilots were.
Read this book! It won't bore you at all and you will stay up late not wanting to put it down.
August 31, 2018
I received a copy of this book for free through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
Fantastic! Mark Garrison writes an honest and raw reflection on his years flying helicopters in Vietnam. His stories run the gamut from hilarity to heartbreak which drew me in immediately. Having read numerous war history books, it's always refreshing to get a perspective from someone who was there, told in his voice. Garrison delivers. The perspective was also unique coming from a helicopter pilot.
An important chronicle of one man's journey to the skies of Vietnam and should not be missed by anyone looking for a unique perspective on Vietnam.
Fantastic! Mark Garrison writes an honest and raw reflection on his years flying helicopters in Vietnam. His stories run the gamut from hilarity to heartbreak which drew me in immediately. Having read numerous war history books, it's always refreshing to get a perspective from someone who was there, told in his voice. Garrison delivers. The perspective was also unique coming from a helicopter pilot.
An important chronicle of one man's journey to the skies of Vietnam and should not be missed by anyone looking for a unique perspective on Vietnam.
February 9, 2019
reading this was like sitting down and talking to Mr Garrison. He tells it like he lived it. Garrison tells us of his year in Vietnam 1968-69. That was a big time in that war, a lot was going on, he saw a lot of it in his corner of the war. In time, he and others began to question why they were there. Garrison and the rest of the chopper crews of his unit, settled on that their job was to get American soldiers home. Which they did to the best of their abilities. I liked this book, it's the kind of first person accounts that helps you understand what they went thru.
November 25, 2022
This author takes you flying with him… into hot LZ’s
This is his story, this is about his contributions to save American lives.
An honest telling of a young naive man, little more than a boy really who learns how fly helicopters and ends up in Viet Nam doing Med-evacs, usually while under enemy fire. From Med-evac flights he switched over to gunships and rained hell down upon the enemy. Often times his actions and those of his fellow pilots saved countless numbers of G.I.’s who otherwise would end up with their names on the Wall.
This is his story, this is about his contributions to save American lives.
An honest telling of a young naive man, little more than a boy really who learns how fly helicopters and ends up in Viet Nam doing Med-evacs, usually while under enemy fire. From Med-evac flights he switched over to gunships and rained hell down upon the enemy. Often times his actions and those of his fellow pilots saved countless numbers of G.I.’s who otherwise would end up with their names on the Wall.
December 9, 2025
I Was There
That book brought back memories. I was stationed in Qui Nhon in 1970-71. I was stationed with the 540th Trans company at the very same Hanger where Pig Pen brought his C model in for repairs. I worked on those birds. I remember convoys thru Ankhe Pass. You developed a strong sphincter muscle by doing that. I went to DC last April on an Honor Flight with a friend of mine that I went to high school with in Spokane. The Wall was so hard to take in. It was so big, it was overpowering. To Mister Garision, I have just 2 words to say. WELCOME HOME!
That book brought back memories. I was stationed in Qui Nhon in 1970-71. I was stationed with the 540th Trans company at the very same Hanger where Pig Pen brought his C model in for repairs. I worked on those birds. I remember convoys thru Ankhe Pass. You developed a strong sphincter muscle by doing that. I went to DC last April on an Honor Flight with a friend of mine that I went to high school with in Spokane. The Wall was so hard to take in. It was so big, it was overpowering. To Mister Garision, I have just 2 words to say. WELCOME HOME!
March 4, 2017
This is a great book!!!!!
Having been in Vietnam my self during the same time period, I can totally relate! I was in artillery on many of these LZs he was describing! Any where we were sent it was by slick, food, mail, all resupply was by slicks! Guns were moved by Chinook s with gunships as escorts!So yes I have met these heroes first hand, up close! Thanks to all Vietnam pilots both rotor and fixed wing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Having been in Vietnam my self during the same time period, I can totally relate! I was in artillery on many of these LZs he was describing! Any where we were sent it was by slick, food, mail, all resupply was by slicks! Guns were moved by Chinook s with gunships as escorts!So yes I have met these heroes first hand, up close! Thanks to all Vietnam pilots both rotor and fixed wing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 28, 2017
Helicopter Pilot
Here's a guy doing what I always wanted to do and made a really good book of it. One of my cousins and a neighbors kid both became helicopter pilots during the Vietnam War. I never could pass the physical due to vision problems and wound up working for the Navy on jet attack aircraft at NARFJAX. A lot of my friends died in that shithole country and I always thought if JFK hadn't been assassinated, we wouldn't have been in that war.
Here's a guy doing what I always wanted to do and made a really good book of it. One of my cousins and a neighbors kid both became helicopter pilots during the Vietnam War. I never could pass the physical due to vision problems and wound up working for the Navy on jet attack aircraft at NARFJAX. A lot of my friends died in that shithole country and I always thought if JFK hadn't been assassinated, we wouldn't have been in that war.
December 20, 2019
Get better
Some aviation centred books cloud the main story in aircraft technical speech a little too much, some not enough. This book has that lovely balance however, the underlying futility of the Vietnam war - fight but not allowed to win is the clincher. How this pilot fought each day knowing that truth yet maintained his focus is a truly amazing read. A patriot, a pilot and a real human being.
Some aviation centred books cloud the main story in aircraft technical speech a little too much, some not enough. This book has that lovely balance however, the underlying futility of the Vietnam war - fight but not allowed to win is the clincher. How this pilot fought each day knowing that truth yet maintained his focus is a truly amazing read. A patriot, a pilot and a real human being.
March 20, 2020
You just keep your damn mouth shut and suck down your PBRs as Mark Garrison tells you what it was like driving a Huey in Vietnam. The tales sometime seem a bit disconnected like, “Oh, yeah, remember when we…” But he covers it all from flight training to checkrides to combat to coming back home to the very worst of America.
January 28, 2022
Great Book to Read
Really enjoyed reading Guts N' Gunships. I was based in Lai Khe in III Corp, A Btry, 8/6 Arty, 1st Inf. Div. in 68 and the choppers refueled across the road from our location and I would see them every day. I only had the opportunity to ride in a chopper less than a dozen times and never in a combat situation. I have the greatest amount of respect for all the pilot's and door gunners. They are some very brave souls.
Really enjoyed reading Guts N' Gunships. I was based in Lai Khe in III Corp, A Btry, 8/6 Arty, 1st Inf. Div. in 68 and the choppers refueled across the road from our location and I would see them every day. I only had the opportunity to ride in a chopper less than a dozen times and never in a combat situation. I have the greatest amount of respect for all the pilot's and door gunners. They are some very brave souls.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews