Pucker Factor 10: Memoir of a U.S. Army Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam

by James Joyce

Overview

“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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786454051
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/23/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	212
Sales rank:	175,807
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

James Joyce is the author of Pucker Factor 10: Memoir of a U.S. Army Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam and has written numerous articles for newspapers such as the Durango Herald and the Chicago Tribune. He is CEO of Green Mountain International, a global purveyor of polyurethane construction products, and lives in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Date of Birth:

February 2, 1882

Date of Death:

January 13, 1941

Place of Birth:

Dublin, Ireland

Place of Death:

Zurich, Switzerland

Education:

B.A., University College, Dublin, 1902

Website:

http://www.jamesjoyce.ie

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface 1
Frequently Used Terms 3

1. Who Wants to Go to Flight School? 5
2. Fly This, Fly Anything 11
3. Lost Over Cleveland 20
4. Army Flight School 26
5. Boredom, Terror and Joy 34
6. Showing Off 40
7. Transition School 48
8. Welcome to Vietnam 54
9. Learning the Ropes 62
10. Missions 68
11. Settling Into the Cav 80
12. A KKK Officer 88
13. Rats 93
14. They Booed Bob Hope 99
15. To the Field 106
16. Wildlife 114
17. Ancillary Missions 119
18. There Is No Time 126
19. Infusion and Disneyland 135
20. Saigon 142
21. Welcome to the Ninth 146
22. The Major’s Story 155
23. The Ox Cart 160
24. The Screaming 165
25. A Medal and a Promotion 172
26. Our Allies and the Last Mission 179
27. Welcome Home 185
28. I Get a Job 189
29. The Last Flight 192

Epilogue 1: Flying 197
Epilogue 2: War 198
Military History of James Joyce 201
Index 203