Rattler One-Seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's War Story cover art

Rattler One-Seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's War Story

North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series

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Rattler One-Seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's War Story

By: Chuck Gross
Narrated by: Gerry Burke
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About this listen

Rattler One-Seven puts you in the helicopter seat, to see the war in Vietnam through the eyes of an inexperienced pilot as he transforms himself into a seasoned combat veteran. At the age of twenty, Chuck Gross spent his 1970-71 tour with the 71st Assault Helicopter Company flying UH-1 Huey helicopters. He inserted special operations teams into Laos and participated in Lam Son 719, a misbegotten attempt to assault and cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, during which his helicopter was shot down and he was stranded in the field.

Soon after the war he wrote down his adventures, while his memory was still fresh with the events. Rattler One-Seven (his call sign) is written as Gross experienced it, using these notes along with letters written home to accurately preserve the mindset he had while in Vietnam.

©2004 Chuck Gross (P)2013 Redwood Audiobooks Air Forces Americas Armed Forces Military Military & War United States Vietnam War War Veteran Memoir Aviation US Air Force Biography Vietnam War Memoir

Critic Reviews

"Exciting reading! Chuck Gross vividly tells the dramatic account of being a combat helicopter pilot in such a way that you feel you are there. Rattler One-Seven is a compelling memoir of what it was like to fly combat helicopters in Vietnam. It is a must-read for all military and aviation enthusiasts." (Chuck Carlock, author of Firebirds)
"Gross' memoir is worth reading. His stories should find an audience among serious collectors of books about Vietnam." ( Military History of the West)
"Chuck Gross' book tells exactly what it was like to fly a Huey slick in combat in the Vietnam War. The only things missing are the smells of gunpowder and the incredible noise as he takes the reader on combat assaults into hot landing zones." (James Joyce, author of Pucker Factor 10)
All stars
Most relevant  
A ripper insight to one individual’s trials and tribulations and growing up fast in Vietnam.

Insight

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Regular mispronunciation of both American and Vietnamese terms were a major distraction in this reading.

Basic but clear content. Pronunciation issues.

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While an enjoyable, informative and entertaining Vietnam Huey Pilot's account of his tour, Rattler 1-7 doesn't quite reach the standard of books like "Chickenhawk" or "Low Level Hell" when it comes to the feeling of bringing you "into the cockpit" with the author. More a broad account of Chuck Gross' Vietnam experience than a progressive narrative of a tour from start to finish, anecdotal stories of different events are sprinkled throughout to keep the reader engaged, resulting in a decently enjoyable book for anyone interested in the Vietnam War or combat helicopter operations.

Unfortunately, the real problem with this audiobook is going to irritate the exact reader/listener I have just described above. The narrator's inability to pronounce very common phrases in the military and aviation world correctly takes away from the experience.

Good story let down by poor narration

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