Choppers: The Heroic Birth Of Helicopter Warfare

by J.D. Coleman

They ruled the air-and owned the land.

In the fall of 1965 the NVA changes its strategy, and sends its best troops on an assault that will rip Vietnam in half. Halfway around the world, a new American air-mobile force feverishly assembles and trains. And in a place called Pleiku, the two sides come together in a horrific bloody clash.

The were the swift, the the 1st Air Cav.

For one long furious month the newly formed Air Cavalry and the NVA went toe to toe, as the Air Cave unleashed a new form of helicopter warfare and the NVA sent human waves after American-held targets. In this classic book, journalist and military hero J.D. Coleman reconstructs the battles, the men who waged them, the forces that shaped them, and the extraordinary acts of military courage that made Pleiku a resounding U.S. victory-and the birthplace of air-mobile chopper war.

Genres: Military History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Aviation, History, War

332 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1988

About the author

Abandoned by his father as a child Coleman was raised by his mother in Kalispell, Montana.

After graduating from Flathead High School, J.D. joined the Montana Army National Guard in 1948 and in April of that year went on active duty with the U.S. Army. After basic training, J.D. was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division in Sendai, Japan, and proudly became a "rice paddy jumper."

With the start of hostilities in Korea, J.D. served as an Airborne infantryman in the 187th Regimental Combat Team (Airborne) and during the conflict, made two combat jumps behind enemy lines. J.D. was honorably discharged in 1952 after four years of service, returned to Kalispell, where he met his future wife, Madeline Young.

J.D. and Madeline were married Sept. 14, 1952, and the couple moved to Missoula where J.D. pursued a degree in journalism at the University of Montana and graduated in 1956.


While attending the university full time, J.D. worked at a local radio station where he covered local news and sports. After graduation, J.D. worked for a newspaper in Pasco, Wash., and then returned to Missoula and became the assistant sports information director at the University of Montana. He later took the position of news director and editorial writer for Missoula radio station KBTK.

J.D. remained affiliated with the U.S. Army Reserve and received a direct commission as a second lieutenant in 1958. In 1963, J.D. returned to active duty with the U.S. Army and was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., where he was an infantry company commander with the 11th Air Assault Division (test), which was later re-designated the 1st Air Cavalry Division (airmobile). As a captain in August 1965, he deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Cav, initially as assistant public information officer. During this time J.D. wrote the official After Action Report of the Pleiku campaign that was extensively studied by senior leaders in the military; this report later became the basis for his first published book, "Pleiku, The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare."

Later, during his first tour, he was selected for command of a paratrooper infantry rifle company with the First Cavalry Division (B Co. 2/8). There, J.D. served with distinction and was awarded a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with "V" for valor for actions during a pivotal battle in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, during which he and his company of soldiers successfully led the defense of a special forces camp as several battalions of North Vietnamese army regulars furiously assaulted it. The 18 hours of intense combat won his unit the first Valorous Unit Citation ever awarded to a rifle company in Vietnam.

He stayed on active duty until 1979 leaving the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1989, his first book on Vietnam was published, "Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam," covering events of his first tour with the First Cav in Vietnam. He followed up with his second book in 1991, "Incursion: From America's Chokehold on the NVA Lifelines to the Sacking of the Cambodian Sanctuaries." In 2002 his third and final book was published, "WONJU, The Gettysburg of the Korean War."

J.D. Coleman died from Cancer in 2005. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In addition to the Silver Star, he was awarded three Legions of Merit, four Bronze Stars (with the "V" device for valor), two Combat Infantryman Badgess and a Meritorious Service Medal.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given my avid interest in U.S. helicopter warfare, I definitely enjoyed this book. It covers some of the beginnings of the airmobile concept in the Army and then it's first campaign that it was used in--the Pleiku campain in Vietnam in 1965. Some of the info in this book was covered extensively and in more detail in Lt Gen Harold Moore's book We Were Soldiers Once... And Young. That info being the battles that took place at LZ Xray and LZ Albany. However, this book went into further detail of how the airmobile concept originated and evolved, rather than focusing solely on those two battles as Moore's book does. All in all, this was a very good book, but it did have some cons. The few maps that were included were scattered within the text at no specific locations so if you wanted to go back to reference them you had to flip through the entire book. Also, the writer sometimes lost me when referencing some units. Whether this is due mostly to my personal trouble with remembering names I can't say, but the maps and writing in Moore's book (which I had read previously) didn't confuse me anywhere near as much even though they were covering the same men, units, and battles. For those readers who enjoy this book, I would encourage to read Moore's book if you'd like to gain a more intimate understanding of the battles at LZ Xray and LZ Albany

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, competently written military history with a focus on the movements and actions of the units, and the leaders of those units. It also covers the formation of the 1st Air Cavalry Division and the creation of the air cavalry doctrine. Published five years before We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: Ia Drang--The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam J.D. Coleman's book also pays homage to the men who fought in the battle on both sides, but it lacks some of the heavy sentimentality (at times) of Col Hal Moore's heart-felt account. Coleman was also a veteran officer ,who saw active service in Korea and South Vietnam, but his book is a more dispassionate account. A educational piece that is better suited for a classroom of Army R.O.T.C. cadets in their third year instead of a paen to modern day warriors.

I read Col. Moore's book at the end of a fourteen year stretch in the Army back in 1999. I found it an interesting read, but I was past my infatuation with the profession of arms. It was obvious that Moore (he retired as a three star general in the mid-Seventies) never did and his book didn't resonate with me the way it did with so many others. I like Coleman's account more due to it's dry eye approach. Mr. Coleman was also a Korean War veteran who served with the 187th Regimental Combat Team (Airborne) in Korea and lived through two combat jumps. However, Mr. Coleman was enlisted in that war which might have made a difference in his viewpoint. He was a staff officer with the 1st Air Cav when the Battle of Ia Drang occurred in 65 and later commanded an infantry company. He just has a different approach. The only criticism I have is it needs more maps (true of most military history accounts in my opinion) and there aren't any endnotes, but regardless it's a readable book.

[Brian Grouhel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written book about the beginnings of the development and use of helicopters in combat. From the wisp of an idea to full fledged fighting in the Ia Drang Mr. Coleman writes an engaging and fascinating history of the Garry Owens'.

[Liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did NOT read as a “gripping narrative…like a fiction thriller.” Just didn’t prefer the authors writing style

[Steve Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very detailed account of one of the most important early engagements between the NVA and US Airmobile. It encompasses the battle immortalized (in isolation) by the Mel Gibson extravaganza "We Were Soldiers Once". It is an account that won't ,mean much to a reader without a basic understanding of infantry tactics, armaments and order of battle, in battle. It reads like an after action report and it requires constant reference to maps, and those provided are not really adequate to the purpose. I found it fascinating since I have some knowledge of the area and have walked over a lot of the locations mentioned with other books in hand. The Central Highlands centred on Pleiku were always the fulcrum of the war, and strategically, in many ways the conflict was won and lost here for both the French and the Americans.

One thing that was reinforced further by this book as it has been by my own experience and much other reading is the general inherent superiority of the NVA infantryman over his American counterpart. The air mobility and firepower were generally the key to almost all American success. Without them many victories small and large would certainly have been different.

A very useful read