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THOSE LEFT BEHIND
A routine mission in Vietnam. Last flight of the day. Chinook 07999 with its crew of five picked up fifteen passengers heading back to the rear. Some had finished their tour and were heading home. Others were going on R & R to see their wives. As luck would have it, an additional mission was assigned to them. They were to pick up some empty fuel blivets from navy river boats that had been refueled. A milk run. Easy peasy. But nothing was easy in Vietnam.
As they flew in, the VC were waiting. Rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire impacted the ship bringing it down in a ball of fire. In the ensuing crash nine would eventually lose their lives, others horrifically wounded. Their families back home had no idea what was happening thousands of miles away.
This is the story of the men involved in this crash and their families. The wounded and the dead. The families of those who survived and those who did not. The heartbreak and the sorrow of learning to live with loss. The lives of everyone involved were changed that day. We veterans of the Vietnam War never had the luxury of mourning our dead. We were forced to move on. But it never left us. For the families it lingered the rest of their lives. This is their story.
As they flew in, the VC were waiting. Rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire impacted the ship bringing it down in a ball of fire. In the ensuing crash nine would eventually lose their lives, others horrifically wounded. Their families back home had no idea what was happening thousands of miles away.
This is the story of the men involved in this crash and their families. The wounded and the dead. The families of those who survived and those who did not. The heartbreak and the sorrow of learning to live with loss. The lives of everyone involved were changed that day. We veterans of the Vietnam War never had the luxury of mourning our dead. We were forced to move on. But it never left us. For the families it lingered the rest of their lives. This is their story.
371 pages, Paperback
Published September 27, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 23, 2021
A Story that Needed to be Told
An unusual story about the war in Vietnam, told from the perspective of those who were part of a tragic event and by their families and their friends. One doesn't always get to know how the people who loved the victims felt, then and for years after, but Jack McCabe was able to reach out to many of the families, wives, and others and help us to understand the many emotions that follow the funerals or the physical recoveries of those involved.
I have read many books about the involvement of Americans in Vietnam. I rank this one as one of the best.
An unusual story about the war in Vietnam, told from the perspective of those who were part of a tragic event and by their families and their friends. One doesn't always get to know how the people who loved the victims felt, then and for years after, but Jack McCabe was able to reach out to many of the families, wives, and others and help us to understand the many emotions that follow the funerals or the physical recoveries of those involved.
I have read many books about the involvement of Americans in Vietnam. I rank this one as one of the best.
November 30, 2021
Truth be told.
I liked this book for it's honesty and truthfulness. I flew on Chinooks for the First Air Cavalry in 1967-8. But up North , the entire year. I consider Jack to be a good friend because of his straight forward news and honesty, just as this book has been written.
I liked this book for it's honesty and truthfulness. I flew on Chinooks for the First Air Cavalry in 1967-8. But up North , the entire year. I consider Jack to be a good friend because of his straight forward news and honesty, just as this book has been written.
January 15, 2023
This a compelling story about the effects of the Vietnam war on those who served and their families.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews