Author Bill Peterson is a great storyteller! His writing style is down to earth and easy to read. The author's last award-winning book, Missions of Fire and Mercy, is compelling, riveting, and an educational tome - a story of remarkable courage. I look forward to reading more from this author."

I just had an opportunity to review excerpts from Bill Peterson's new book, Chopper Warriors. For those of us who read Bill's first book, Missions of Fire and Mercy, this new book continues to share many new and gripping stories based on his experiences as a helicopter gunner during the Vietnam War. Bill writes in a straightforward, down to earth manner about life in a war zone. His work is honest, personal, and real. When I read his stories it becomes clearer to me why so many of our veterans come home with PTSD and why it is so important for our nation to only send our young people into war when there is a very compelling reason. I highly recommend Mr. Peterson's new book, Chopper Warriors, to readers who wish to better understand life on a helicopter gun ship and the personal sacrifices associated with combat.

Authentic writing of real life experience of wartime. Compelling with an insight given only from someone who lived it.

The Vietnam War - one of the longest, most complex, and controversial in American history - left many citizens uncertain what to think about its origin, length, and its long-range consequences. But an impressive number of American soldiers who actually fought in the conflict are determined to make sure that the public will have abundant documentation of the will courage, ingenuity, and brotherly valor daily invested in each other's lives and their country's honor.

One of those candid, tell-it-like-it-was authors is Bill Peterson - born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In this second book, Chopper Warriors, he has joined mind and memory with fellow veterans to tell one of the most remarkably thorough accounts of the war in the long years that haunted the nation.

As Bill's "big sister", I could not be more proud of your accomplishments! Bill, you are my personal hero. Until you wrote your harrowing stories of Viet Nam in Missions of Fire and Mercy, I had never really heard your heart concerning that war. Cindi is amazing for loving you through your nightmares for so many years. Now that you are writing your memories, there is fresh relief and a new kind of healing - not just for you, Bill, but for all your readers who shared that horrific war.

That God has gifted you with so many wonderful talents, in addition to writing, is an inspiration to all who know you. You have made more with what God has given than anyone else I know. Your life of faith consistently reflects the glory of God and His amazing creation. I know you will one day hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

I first met Bill in 1979 when I relocated to his tiny hometown of Carney, Michigan. Our wives had gotten to know each other at the small rural church that our young families attended, and through the church we became close friends. I was immediately impressed with Bill's humor and his quiet, humble, forthright personality. At the time I met Bill he had been building log homes and was running a small trucking business with his brother.

Although I had been in the military during the mid 60's and early 70's, for some reason the subject of military service never came up for several years. It wasn't until my wife mentioned that Bill's wife, Cindi, had spoken of the military service medals Bill earned while serving in Viet Nam that I became aware of the horrific battle experiences he had been through. Bill's low-key personality had never exhibited any hint of the firefights he had been in.

When I broached the topic with Bill he quietly replied that thousands of others had also been through it, and many with less fortunate outcomes.

Bill's written accounts of his combat experiences convey to the reader the realization that our country has thousands of unsung military heroes walking among us who deserve our deepest gratitude and respect.

Thank you, Bill, and all of our military veterans.

Bill Peterson has done it again. His first book, Missions of Fire and Mercy, is a classic about the helicopter war during the Vietnam conflict. One of the best in my library. Now his second book is even better. I know it is going to bless you as it has me. We were both soldiers once...and young.

Bill Peterson's book, Missions of Fire and Mercy, is filled with thrilling and technically accurate day-to-day descriptions of his tour and experiences as a crew chief in Vietnam. He is a gifted storyteller who writes no "fluff copy". His attention to detail is outstanding, and in the end he is able to make a great page turning story out of the not so great "Vietnam Conflict". His award winning Missions of Mercy and Fire resonates with history and invokes both good and bad memories of the 60's and 70's. I cannot wait for the newest installment Chopper Warriors. It is guaranteed to be a historically accurate look at our involvement in Viet Nam through Bill's eyes and experiences.

I met Bill through a mutual friend. Talking with Bill about his time in Viet Nam and the time I spent there, we found that we had many things in common. Reading his first book Missions of Fire and Mercy brought back many memories. Some of them I had pushed to the far back of my mind and forgotten. For those who have never been in any branch of the military or been in a war zone, Bill's first book Missions Of Fire and Mercy and his new book Chopper Warriors are must reads. They give an insight into the daily life of what it is like to be in an Army Aviation unit in combat. Once you start reading, you will not want to put them down until you reach the end. The Viet Nam veterans are finally being shown some of the respect that they should have been given years ago. I pray that no other American Service Personnel are treated in that manner ever again. I am looking forward to reading the entire Chopper Warriors book.

Mr. Peterson has done it again...two books in a row that are "must reads"! In his first book, Missions of Fire and Mercy: Until Death Do Us Part, he chronicles his year in Viet Nam, 1967-68, as a Crew Chief and Door Gunner in an UH1H "Huey" helicopter. Through the seemingly innocent device of his letters home (saved by his parents and girlfriend) Mr. Peterson draws you into the intense battle horrors that transformed him from an innocent, naïve midwestern boy into a battle hardened combat hero!

His current book, Chopper Warriors, demonstrates both his maturation as an author and his personal growth in dealing with his lifelong struggle with the aftermath of that year of combat...PTSD. If anything, Mr. Peterson's ability to describe vividly the horrors and fears of intense combat has become even more graphic. Chopper Warriors is an anthology of combat experiences lived both by himself and other veterans whom he interviewed. Each episode leaps off the page because of Mr. Peterson's vivid narrative skill that immerses you, the reader, in that epic struggle between fear and personal courage that every combat veteran must face. This ultimate moral dilemma and personal struggle is as relevant today and to our current veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and their families as it was to veterans and their loved ones experiencing the social upheaval of the Viet Nam era. And, no one describes that struggle and the horror of intense combat as well as Mr. Peterson. Chopper Warriors must be read by all who wish to truly experience empathy for the young men we send off to foreign lands and into combat!