Foto do autor
13 Works 210 Membros 15 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Dick Camp reveals the full scope of the battle for Najaf as it has never been told before. Vivid personal accounts, never-before-seen combat photographs, and official records place the reader alongside U.S. forces while crawling over crypts and burial chambers and occasionally falling into graves, mostrar mais as one company commander describes the action. Camp highlights the heroism, self-sacrifice, and dedication above and beyond the call of duty of U.S. Marines and Soldiers as they fight through the City of the Dead. mostrar menos

Obras de Dick Camp

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Sexo
male

Membros

Resenhas

Assault From the Sky: U.S. Marine Corps Helicopter Operations in Vietnam by Dick Camp is a comprehensive history of Marine Corps' helicopter operations in Vietnam from 1962 through 1975. Camp, Colonel Camp USMC retired, is the author of several books on the combat history of the US Marines. His books cover World War I to Fallujah. Camp served as a company commander at Khe Sanh and retired in 1988. He is currently the Vice President for Museum Operations at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

During the thirteen years of the Marine Corps' involvement in Vietnam, over four hundred helicopters were lost along with eight hundred Marines either as crew or passengers. Each chapter of the book contains the citations of medals earned by Marines in helicopter missions. Descriptions of heroism fill the book. Numerous Silver Stars, Bronze Stars, Naval Commendation Medals, and even a few Medals of Honor.

In the first section of the book, Buildup 1962-1966, Marines begin their involvement in Vietnam. Marines started transporting South Vietnamese troops in 1962 in UH-34 helicopters. Helicopters that the army considered out of date and no longer used. The Marines used these helicopters with distinction. Marines, although not in direct combat, still needed to defend their air bases from Vietnamese sappers -- Company sized units armed with explosives and grenades lead organized attacks against the bases and helicopters.

In the second section, Heavy Combat 1967-1969, Marines are involved in combat, transporting troops, and picking up wounded. Marines again demonstrate the highest traditions of the Corps. Flying into danger to rescue wounded and trapped Marines became common practice for the Marine helicopter crews. Actions at Khe Sanh are covered in detail.

In the final section of the book, The Bitter End 1975, Marines are involved in the evacuation of Americans from Vietnam. In the previous section I ran across the name Lt. Colonel Richard E. Carey as he described the Super Gaggle and what made it a success. In this section Colonel Carey is referred to as Brigadier General Carey and plays an important role in the evacuation of Vietnam.

I met General Carey a year ago. He happened to stop at the bicycle shop where I work. Carey was my commanding general when I was at Quantico. We talked for a bit about Quantico and the Marine Corps Marathon and it was quite a bit different talking to the general now then it was 30 years ago when I had been a private fresh out of Parris Island standing in a CG inspection. He had an outstanding career and it is even more remarkable the role he played in the evacuation of Vietnam.

Assault From the Sky is an excellent history of the Marine Corps' helicopter missions in Vietnam. The book is very well cited in the text and in the bibliography. Information comes from published sources, units records, and personal interviews. Camp does an excellent job of presenting the strategic history as well as the views of the Marines who were actually there. This is an outstanding book for readers interested in Vietnam, military aviation, or the Marine Corps.


… (mais)
 
Marcado
evil_cyclist | Mar 16, 2020 |
Esta resenha foi escrita no âmbito dos Primeiros Resenhistas do LibraryThing.
Boots on the Ground by Dick Camp chronicles the fall of the Taliban after 9/11 in Afghanistan. The book begins with the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union and the continued failure of that invasion to subdue the population, especially in the rural areas and remote mountain valleys. The continued interference of other nations, particulaly Pakistan, lead to the takeover of the govenrment by the Taliban and al-Queda in the late 1990's. They had a reign of terror for the next 5 years enforcing a rigid Islamic state , until 9/11. Then the determination that boots on the ground were needed to stop the terrorists' exporting their brand of rule lead to a series of teams inserted into Afghanistan to direct bombing and develop relationships with opposition leaders. The book goes into detail here with chapters on each team that was inserted and how they did their job. Included are helpful maps. The sections are the war in northren Afghanistan and then southren Afghanistan and are divided as such in the book. Several specific events are described in detail. One was the uprising of captured Taliban prisoners at Qala-I-Jangi, a prison/command center in the south section of the country. The other event depicted in detail was the accidental bombing of friendly troops when communications became garbled. The death of several team members is chronicled clearly. Unfortunately the attention of the military was diverted to Iraq and resouces were drawn to that conflict letting the Taliban hide in the mountain valleys and rural areas
I enjoyed this book, though a lot of the names were difficult to read and a significant amount of military jargon was also used. The bravery of the men who took on these dagerous missions cannot be denied. I give the book 3 1/2 stars
… (mais)
½
 
Marcado
oldman | outras 13 resenhas | Oct 22, 2012 |
This book is more of a mixture of partial memoir, quotes from other works, inserts of commendation letters and maps giving the reader an introduction and overview of the U.S. Involvement in Afghanistan and brief background of the region during during 1979 through 2002 when the U.S. Turned its eyes on Iraq. The first one-third of the book is an overview of the events leading up to the Soviet invasion and subsequent U.S. Involvement. Brief yet helps the reader unfamiliar with the regions history get a rudimentary idea of what had transpired and I think some will find helpful.

The author's main topic is the remaining two-thirds of the book which cover late 2001 through early 2002. The book is broken down by geographic and political divisions and focuses on the various special units and task forces involved during this period. The short but clear overview of these sections covers the work on the ground of the special units of military and CIA for a period of about half a year. The author does cover in some detail what groups where on the ground, when they arrived and what they accomplished in that time period. This introduction gives many references that the reader could choose to follow up for a more in depth accounting.

When it comes US operations in Afghanistan, Camp, like most other authors stop their narrative with Operation ANACONDA in March 2002. Making one think that the U.S. Involvement in this theater of operation took place from September 2001-March 2002, but this is not the case. As I mentioned earlier in this review I think most authors stop at this date as after Operation ANACONDA the U.S.'s focus was Iraq.

The book is easy too read yet some may find the inserts distracting from he flow of the narrative. I found they gave more insight as too what the author was writing about and gave a richer background. I found that this book was worth reading and a good starting point; especially if you know nothing of the conflict.
… (mais)
½
 
Marcado
hermit | outras 13 resenhas | Apr 16, 2012 |
Esta resenha foi escrita no âmbito dos Primeiros Resenhistas do LibraryThing.
Dick Camp's treatment of the early days of the war in Afghanistan occupies a rather unique niche in books that have emerged about that period of time. Unlike several very popular books on the early action ("Jawbreaker", "First In", "Horse Soldiers", etc.) Camp includes a solid amount of historical context, including the withdrawal of the Soviet Union and the rise of the Taliban. Also, by not attempting to cover any one portion of the conflict in great detail (e.g. the early insertion of CIA operatives, the battle of Tora Bora, etc), he provides the reader with a survey of the combat.

It is also interesting to read about the interaction/friction between both the US Defense Dept and the US State Dept as it relates to interactions between the US and Pakistan. The difficulties in the relationship in these current days is the continuation of difficulty that has been sustained over many years.

This book is recommended as a bridge to help readers interested in Operation Enduring Freedom understand the context of the early days of the conflict and will help to stitch together other books on OEF.

Disclosure: I received a copy as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program
… (mais)
½
1 vote
Marcado
ricksbooks | outras 13 resenhas | Apr 11, 2012 |

Listas

You May Also Like

Estatísticas

Obras
13
Membros
210
Popularidade
#105,678
Avaliação
½ 3.3
Resenhas
15
ISBNs
23
Favorito
1

Tabelas & Gráficos