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Pucker Factor 10: Memoir of a U.S. Army Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam
"In 1963…there was no way I could have known, sitting in a classroom on that beautiful campus in Ohio, that by raising my hand I would be going to war in Vietnam and that I would see things, hear things and do things that most people cannot imagine."--James Joyce.
The author was drawn into the United States Army through ROTC, and went through training to fly helicopters in combat over Vietnam. His experiences are notable because he flew both Huey "Slicks" and Huey "Gunships": the former on defense as he flew troops into battle, and the latter on offense as he took the battle to the enemy. Through this book, the author relives his experiences flying and fighting, with special attention given to his and other pilots' day-to-day lives--such as the smoke bombing of Disneyland, the nickname given to a United States Army-sponsored compound for prostitution. Some of the pilots Joyce served with survived the war and went on to have careers with commercial airlines, and many were killed.
The author was drawn into the United States Army through ROTC, and went through training to fly helicopters in combat over Vietnam. His experiences are notable because he flew both Huey "Slicks" and Huey "Gunships": the former on defense as he flew troops into battle, and the latter on offense as he took the battle to the enemy. Through this book, the author relives his experiences flying and fighting, with special attention given to his and other pilots' day-to-day lives--such as the smoke bombing of Disneyland, the nickname given to a United States Army-sponsored compound for prostitution. Some of the pilots Joyce served with survived the war and went on to have careers with commercial airlines, and many were killed.
285 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 24, 2009
Excellent personal account of a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Writer has a knack for telling humorous stories effectively, as well as serious ones.
April 21, 2026
A side effect of today’s swipe-screen tech is that the convenience sometimes tricks people with big thumbs, like me, into opening apps and inadvertently downloading things.
I didn’t recall seeing the title and hadn’t been actively searching for memoirs or war stories, but two things kept me listening. The first was narrator Traber Burns deep timbre and level delivery — it’s a good voice, and one that commands your attention. The second factor was the book’s title: Pucker Factor 10 — that’s guy lingo for things are pretty bad — and having experienced high pucker factors myself, I felt an immediate camaraderie with this author.
To be clear, although they share the same name, this James Joyce is not the same one, or related to the famed Irish author, who penned the monstrous 780-page Ulysses, which I have not read, nor have any immediate urge to do so.
The author of Pucker Factor 10 explains that Joyce and James are very common Irish names. There are countless James Joyces in the world, with another one even appearing along with Joyce in the Army at the same time. The things you learn!
Historical fiction is a favourite genre, and war fiction even more so, although I gravitate toward WWII stories; Vietnam War stories come in at a close second.
This memoir is relatively brief; it is only 285 pages or barely eight and a half hours of listening time. Joyce recounts his experiences concisely with a terrific sense of humour and in this age of hypersensitivity, refreshing candour.
Joyce, while as patriotic as the next good Midwestern American boy, wasn’t all gung-ho about wearing a uniform; instead, he wished to follow in his father's footsteps and become an electrician. His father, however, knowing the value of a good education, told his son that he would teach him the trade only after Joyce attended a Catholic college, earned a degree, and thus gave himself more options.
It was during his college search that Joyce was tricked and lied to by, of all people, a Catholic priest. The priest was part of the college recruitment team, and when Joyce asked the father whether his college had a good baseball program, he told the boy that yes, his college had one of the best in the country. Joyce signed up, but when he arrived on campus, he discovered that the college had no baseball program at all.
It did, however, have an excellent academic reputation and an ROTC program. Joyce weighed his options and stayed. While in the army program, Joyce listened to a pitch for joining the army flight school. Just as Joyce had no particular ambitions to join the army, neither did he feel a pull to become a pilot.
Once more, he weighed the options and found that the benefits of signing up, better living quarters, higher pay, and an all but guaranteed post-service career with the airlines, were all in favour of becoming a pilot. Then the army officer offered up a final selling point. “Army pilots are hot shit, and women seem to have an unusual attraction to them.”
For the young man, inexperienced in women as much as he was with aircraft, it was the deal maker — Joyce was going airborne.
Soon after completing flight school, Joyce was once again seduced by better circumstances guaranteed to helicopter pilots, and it was clear that Vietnam was a certainty, not a possibility. He was going, and if he had to be there, he might as well make the best of it.
We learn of his training, the helicopters, tactics and living conditions. While Joyce’s account is very detailed, it’s more technical than graphic when depicting combat. When Joyce does recount certain missions, close calls, and questionable decisions, it’s plenty blunt.
The book maintains a good sense of reality, infused with humour and humanity. For example, the number of helicopter pilots killed in Vietnam was extremely high, and the dangers were ever-increasing. Joyce knew that it wasn’t exceptional skill that kept him alive; it was purely the odds, and if he continued flying into combat, he would join the KIA list. He had no heroic inclinations, no feeling of duty over survival. Once his one-year tour of duty was up, he was going home and not returning.
After having completed his mandatory three years on active duty, Joyce was honourably discharged from the army and returned to civilian life. He did not become an electrician, nor did he join the airlines. Joyce reveals that while he found flying a good profession, it was, for the most part, a very boring one.
This memoir, while an unintended listen, was very satisfying. It felt thoroughly genuine. There was no over-the-top Americanism, no wild heroics or legendary acts of courage. It’s a good story about a good man, from a good family, who did the best he could with the circumstances given. It’s funny, endearing, and at times, disturbing. It’s also another excellent view into the Vietnam War, told honestly and well.
I have nothing to criticize about the book. It is well-written, and Joyce had a good editor who cared enough to respect both the author’s experience and his service. If you like war memoirs, Pucker Factor 10 is a five-star read.
I didn’t recall seeing the title and hadn’t been actively searching for memoirs or war stories, but two things kept me listening. The first was narrator Traber Burns deep timbre and level delivery — it’s a good voice, and one that commands your attention. The second factor was the book’s title: Pucker Factor 10 — that’s guy lingo for things are pretty bad — and having experienced high pucker factors myself, I felt an immediate camaraderie with this author.
To be clear, although they share the same name, this James Joyce is not the same one, or related to the famed Irish author, who penned the monstrous 780-page Ulysses, which I have not read, nor have any immediate urge to do so.
The author of Pucker Factor 10 explains that Joyce and James are very common Irish names. There are countless James Joyces in the world, with another one even appearing along with Joyce in the Army at the same time. The things you learn!
Historical fiction is a favourite genre, and war fiction even more so, although I gravitate toward WWII stories; Vietnam War stories come in at a close second.
This memoir is relatively brief; it is only 285 pages or barely eight and a half hours of listening time. Joyce recounts his experiences concisely with a terrific sense of humour and in this age of hypersensitivity, refreshing candour.
Joyce, while as patriotic as the next good Midwestern American boy, wasn’t all gung-ho about wearing a uniform; instead, he wished to follow in his father's footsteps and become an electrician. His father, however, knowing the value of a good education, told his son that he would teach him the trade only after Joyce attended a Catholic college, earned a degree, and thus gave himself more options.
It was during his college search that Joyce was tricked and lied to by, of all people, a Catholic priest. The priest was part of the college recruitment team, and when Joyce asked the father whether his college had a good baseball program, he told the boy that yes, his college had one of the best in the country. Joyce signed up, but when he arrived on campus, he discovered that the college had no baseball program at all.
It did, however, have an excellent academic reputation and an ROTC program. Joyce weighed his options and stayed. While in the army program, Joyce listened to a pitch for joining the army flight school. Just as Joyce had no particular ambitions to join the army, neither did he feel a pull to become a pilot.
Once more, he weighed the options and found that the benefits of signing up, better living quarters, higher pay, and an all but guaranteed post-service career with the airlines, were all in favour of becoming a pilot. Then the army officer offered up a final selling point. “Army pilots are hot shit, and women seem to have an unusual attraction to them.”
For the young man, inexperienced in women as much as he was with aircraft, it was the deal maker — Joyce was going airborne.
Soon after completing flight school, Joyce was once again seduced by better circumstances guaranteed to helicopter pilots, and it was clear that Vietnam was a certainty, not a possibility. He was going, and if he had to be there, he might as well make the best of it.
We learn of his training, the helicopters, tactics and living conditions. While Joyce’s account is very detailed, it’s more technical than graphic when depicting combat. When Joyce does recount certain missions, close calls, and questionable decisions, it’s plenty blunt.
The book maintains a good sense of reality, infused with humour and humanity. For example, the number of helicopter pilots killed in Vietnam was extremely high, and the dangers were ever-increasing. Joyce knew that it wasn’t exceptional skill that kept him alive; it was purely the odds, and if he continued flying into combat, he would join the KIA list. He had no heroic inclinations, no feeling of duty over survival. Once his one-year tour of duty was up, he was going home and not returning.
After having completed his mandatory three years on active duty, Joyce was honourably discharged from the army and returned to civilian life. He did not become an electrician, nor did he join the airlines. Joyce reveals that while he found flying a good profession, it was, for the most part, a very boring one.
This memoir, while an unintended listen, was very satisfying. It felt thoroughly genuine. There was no over-the-top Americanism, no wild heroics or legendary acts of courage. It’s a good story about a good man, from a good family, who did the best he could with the circumstances given. It’s funny, endearing, and at times, disturbing. It’s also another excellent view into the Vietnam War, told honestly and well.
I have nothing to criticize about the book. It is well-written, and Joyce had a good editor who cared enough to respect both the author’s experience and his service. If you like war memoirs, Pucker Factor 10 is a five-star read.
November 30, 2021
Excellent Read
The author has a very good style of mixing humor with the terror of war.
About the only disappointment was that a veteran would call The Medal of Honor the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The author has a very good style of mixing humor with the terror of war.
About the only disappointment was that a veteran would call The Medal of Honor the Congressional Medal of Honor.
March 2, 2019
This is a pretty decent book. While Chickenhawk stands at the top of the heli memoir this one is solid.
December 20, 2025
one of my top 5 war books. outstanding.
February 4, 2026
Wonderful, I will be sending this to a few of my buddies. Perhaps flight school needs a mandatory reading list.
March 24, 2017
Great book
Very well written by someone who was actually there!!!!!!! I know I was there for 14 months myself! The Army considered gunships part of Artillery and slicks supplied us artillery guys with everything,so we came to know them and there callsigns very well!!!!!!!
Very well written by someone who was actually there!!!!!!! I know I was there for 14 months myself! The Army considered gunships part of Artillery and slicks supplied us artillery guys with everything,so we came to know them and there callsigns very well!!!!!!!
August 5, 2012
As a Vietnam Infantry veteran, I have always held the chopper pilots in the highest regard for always being there when needed. Without them, we would not have survived. I had jumped from choppers into hot LZ's, finding the deepest depression or fattest tree for protection before returning fire - pucker factor ten-thousand! These pilots were relentless and continued to ferry and land reinforcements with not much protection for themselves. They flew their machines through steady streams of gunfire, and yet,they continued as if they were invincible. Dust off's, ash and trash runs, troop deployments and evacuations and over-head support were all part of their everyday job.
Mr Joyce does a wonderful job with this well-told story and offers the reader an in-depth look at the everyday life of these flying warriors, which isn't, by the way, a nine to five job. The book follows Mr. Joyce from the first day he volunteers to fly planes in college, through his fixed wing flight training and later reassignment to a helicopter squadron, and then during his tour in Vietnam. The author also has a fantastic sense of humor that sometimes catches you off-guard and will make you laugh out loud. After reading Pucker Factor 10, I have bumped up these pilots a couple of notches on my high esteem list. I also have a much better understanding of what these sky warriors had to endure in order to survive...sadly, many did not!
Five stars and highly recommended!
Mr Joyce does a wonderful job with this well-told story and offers the reader an in-depth look at the everyday life of these flying warriors, which isn't, by the way, a nine to five job. The book follows Mr. Joyce from the first day he volunteers to fly planes in college, through his fixed wing flight training and later reassignment to a helicopter squadron, and then during his tour in Vietnam. The author also has a fantastic sense of humor that sometimes catches you off-guard and will make you laugh out loud. After reading Pucker Factor 10, I have bumped up these pilots a couple of notches on my high esteem list. I also have a much better understanding of what these sky warriors had to endure in order to survive...sadly, many did not!
Five stars and highly recommended!
August 14, 2016
Excellent book
I could not put this book down. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the author's experiences as a pilot in Vietnam, and his respectable decision to stop flying following his service in the war. This book contains one exceptionally remarkable section in which the author ties his experience to Einstein's Theory of Relativity and the facts about time which that theory offers. Real life examples which relate to complex scientific theories always provide interesting insight to the nature of humanity. All in all, this book serves as an interesting lesson about not only Vietnam, but also the implications war has on humanity.
I could not put this book down. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the author's experiences as a pilot in Vietnam, and his respectable decision to stop flying following his service in the war. This book contains one exceptionally remarkable section in which the author ties his experience to Einstein's Theory of Relativity and the facts about time which that theory offers. Real life examples which relate to complex scientific theories always provide interesting insight to the nature of humanity. All in all, this book serves as an interesting lesson about not only Vietnam, but also the implications war has on humanity.
July 10, 2016
Fantastic!
Flying right there with him......couldn't put it down! One of the best Vietnam books I have read......honest, exciting and realistic.
Flying right there with him......couldn't put it down! One of the best Vietnam books I have read......honest, exciting and realistic.
September 25, 2016
Truth/accuracy
This story made emotions of the pilots palpable. All aspects of Vietnam Nam were covered from humor to terror to bravery
This story made emotions of the pilots palpable. All aspects of Vietnam Nam were covered from humor to terror to bravery
April 13, 2017
Here we have yet another Vietnam memoir, this one with an interesting perspective. Joyce was what we called 'dual rated,' that is, a fixed wing and rotary wing qualified aviator, a fellow who flew both airplanes and helicopters. So his eyewitness account of the war in South Asia was a bit different from the start. Joyce didn't fly airplanes in Vietnam, but his background put him in a different position vis a vis the war. Interesting, given his ability to fly airplanes that he elected to fly helicopters, especially in a Cav unit. From my own experience flying helicopters in Vietnam, I was mighty glad not to be a Cav pilot. Those guys had it rough.
In any case, Joyce's book is cram packed with anecdotal flying info, engaging, often terrifying accounts of close calls and enemy interaction. The writing is taut, the voice is consistent, and the author writes with a kind of panache that sets him apart from similar writers. His style has a kind of snark to it that makes the reader feel we're being given something in confidence.
A flew minor glitches in the book that a good edit would have uncovered: the term 'autorotation' is one word, not two; Vung Tau & Cam Ranh are misspelled; lots of words run together (likethis); he refers to Warrant grade 5. Not sure when this reference was made, but that grade level came along very recently, around 1995 or so, I believe.
Pucker Factor 10 is as good a rendition of what flying helicopters in Vietnam was really like. I recommend it to anyone who wants the real, gritty and unvarnished truth of that.
Byron Edgington author of A Vietnam Anthem. A Vietnam Anthem
In any case, Joyce's book is cram packed with anecdotal flying info, engaging, often terrifying accounts of close calls and enemy interaction. The writing is taut, the voice is consistent, and the author writes with a kind of panache that sets him apart from similar writers. His style has a kind of snark to it that makes the reader feel we're being given something in confidence.
A flew minor glitches in the book that a good edit would have uncovered: the term 'autorotation' is one word, not two; Vung Tau & Cam Ranh are misspelled; lots of words run together (likethis); he refers to Warrant grade 5. Not sure when this reference was made, but that grade level came along very recently, around 1995 or so, I believe.
Pucker Factor 10 is as good a rendition of what flying helicopters in Vietnam was really like. I recommend it to anyone who wants the real, gritty and unvarnished truth of that.
Byron Edgington author of A Vietnam Anthem. A Vietnam Anthem
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews