More than five years ago, Gary Bowman of Loveland, Colorado, completed Of Helicopters and Heroes, a fictional account of a Huey helicopter crew chief’s one year tour in Vietnam. Inspired by real events, it includes photos and after-action reports to document the work’s historical accuracy. This 180-page, well-crafted tale offered a compelling narrative of challenge, hardship, and survival. A soldier’s humor balances the grimness of what had to be done.
Now Home and Abroad is pleased to confirm that the book is available to all readers.
Amazon’s site identifies its unique contribution: “Of Helicopters and Heroes follows a young Tim Burroughs as he navigates life during a tour as a helicopter crew chief and door gunner with the 101st Airborne Division in northern South Vietnam. While written as a work of fiction, it is based on the experiences of the author and the experiences of the crew members and pilots he flew with. Many books have been written about flying a Huey helicopter from the perspective of pilots. But very few have been written from the perspective of the enlisted guy. The guy in the back seat. This book hopes to fill that void.”
Printing of the original product was made possible by generous donations from the Piedmond Area Veterans Council (Farmville, Virginia), the Longwood University Foundation, and generous individuals in the community.