Summary of Patrick Henry Brady & Meghan Brady Smith'sDead Men Flying

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 I had just graduated from flight school and volunteered for Viet Nam. I hoped a combat tour would help me improve my mediocre career. The 57th Medical Detachment was the only helicopter ambulance unit in Viet Nam.
#2 The third commander of the 57th was Major Charles Kelly. He was reputed to be a bit of a rascal to work with, and he was getting weary of being separated from his beloved wife Jessie and their children.
#3 The first words I heard from him were, We never covered ourselves with glory today. During that morning’s operation, an American helicopter had gone down in the South China Sea. Kelly and his crew were overhead, heard the call for help, and almost beat the falling bird to the water.
#4 The crew of a Dust Off mission consisted of the pilot, a co-pilot, a medic to tend the wounded, and a crew chief who owned and maintained the helicopter. The medic and crew chief also served as door gunners covering the flanks of the helicopter on approach and take off.

Sujets

• Love
• Love (disambiguation)
• Vietnam War

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 23 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669358138
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Patrick Henry Brady & Meghan Brady Smith's Dead Men Flying
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I had just graduated from flight school and volunteered for Viet Nam. I hoped a combat tour would help me improve my mediocre career. The 57th Medical Detachment was the only helicopter ambulance unit in Viet Nam.

#2

The third commander of the 57th was Major Charles Kelly. He was reputed to be a bit of a rascal to work with, and he was getting weary of being separated from his beloved wife Jessie and their children.

#3

The first words I heard from him were, We never covered ourselves with glory today. During that morning’s operation, an American helicopter had gone down in the South China Sea. Kelly and his crew were overhead, heard the call for help, and almost beat the falling bird to the water.

#4

The crew of a Dust Off mission consisted of the pilot, a co-pilot, a medic to tend the wounded, and a crew chief who owned and maintained the helicopter. The medic and crew chief also served as door gunners covering the flanks of the helicopter on approach and take off.

#5

I experienced the burning ears phenomenon many times, and it was a feeling I did not enjoy. I would never fly without zippers in my boots from then on. The rules should be changed, I thought, as a FNG.

#6

I was a captain and outranked my co-pilot, but he would be in charge until I got checked out in the area. He was a bit too cavalier for my tastes, and he seemed more curious than caring about the few patients we carried.

#7

There are two types of flying: flying a helicopter and riding in it. Flying a helicopter is an artform, while riding in it is just science. In a helicopter, man and machine truly bond.

#8

I was fascinated by the incredible variety of landscape around Pleiku, and how it could be seen from altitude and at ground level. I was only vaguely aware of how important this would be in my later flying.

#9

I became a medic by virtue of being a psychology major in ROTC. I had no stomach for a needle or blood, but I was able to fly across Vietnam and kill people without any problem.

#10

I once picked up a sick young girl from a nearby village. The physician at the dispensary in Pleiku ordered her isolated in another room, saying she had rabies. I was shocked by the physician’s cold-blooded treatment of the poor girl.

#11

The Montagnards were a family-centered matrilineal society. They were very brave, and loyal, but they were also very cheerful and happy. They were eager to sell us their wares, which included rat traps, crossbows, and a VC gong.

#12

Dr. Patricia Smith, next to Kelly, was the most fascinating person I met in Viet Nam. She was a tall blue-eyed woman, attractive in a way we all find our mothers attractive. She was also very busy and not into idle chatter.

#13

After nine months of construction, Smith’s hospital, named Minh-Quy, opened in July 1963. It was full from day one, caring for 150–200 inpatients, mostly Montagnards, and 75–150 outpatients per day.

#14

The doctor, Pat Smith, was a legend to all who served in the Kontum area. She had served those primitive people for 16 years, a female physician, unprotected in the jungle, surrounded by the enemy, fearlessly saving countless lives especially children and mothers in childbirth.

#15

I was assigned to fly helicopters at Pleiku Air Base, and my first hot combat mission was for patients wounded in an outpost still under attack by the VC. I had never been through such a maneuver, and my heart was in my helmet about to quit as we fell like a rock.

#16

The only area we had any hopes of being secure was our PZ, so the shortest, fastest route in from altitude was the safest. I found this theory pretty common and mastered the combat approach. But I did not like the float at the bottom.

#17

The support of the people is essential for an insurgent group to win. The Red Cross helicopter was a great force in the battle for the hearts and minds, as were our Special Forces and Medical Civic Action Program teams.

#18

I had been at Pleiku less than two months when Kelly came to visit. The teamwork of the Montagnards and Special Forces had subdued the communists’ activity in the Highlands. We were carrying few casualties and things were heating up in the Mekong Delta south of Saigon.

#19

I was assigned to Saigon with the 101st Airborne Division, and I was amazed by how different the culture was there than it was in Vietnam. The streets were full of beautiful panhandlers, and I bought a beautiful Myna bird for $3. I could also buy exotic pets unaffordable in the states.

#20

In 1964, there were seven coups in Vietnam, and the country was dangerous, especially the bars. One night, three of us were in a jeep on the way to work when suddenly there was a loud pop and a sizzle, and then smoke filled the jeep. The driver hit at the brake, and I was trapped in the back seat. I noticed that the problem was a live wire on the radio that came loose and was jumping wildly.

#21

I had a different idea of command than most of the other pilots in the unit. I believed that the pilot was just another equipment operator, and should be subject to the same rules as the rest of the Army.

#22

The losses we experienced were nothing compared to the carnage caused by the terrorist tactics of the communists. The enemy was not the only source of fatalities, as many were killed by friends who were ignorant of the situation, or poor communicators.

#23

The crew was terrified by what they had seen.