Outlaws in Vietnam: 1966-67 in the Delta

I learned about this book from David’s obituary and ordered it. He was an Old Hutman working for the Appalachian Mountain Club in the1960’s, I think. Anything written by Old Hutmen deserves my attention. Great read and long - over 400 pages. It describes the missions he served in Vietnam with great clarity and objectivity as well as emotionally and honesty. Would recommend this book to anyone who has a curiosity about the Vietnam war.

Really good account of life for the helicopter pilots in this group. Couldn't put it down. Some of the stories told are head-shakers, for sure. How we got such men to do this dangerous job despite some of the stupidity of their higher leaders, escapes me.

I found the book very enlightening of one mans experience in combat

I have always been a Huey nut and have read many books on Vietnam Huey pilots. I have enjoyed EVERY one of them. Outlaws in Vietnam was an excellent book. Some say that one book is better than the other but I don't believe that. No matter what, if a person is interested in the history of the helicopter war in Vietnam, getting the perspective from every crew member, regardless of rank, and what they went through is what's important, in my opinion. I noticed some say that Mr. Eastman was disrespectful toward the warrants. I've read books written by warrants where they throw commissioned officers under the bus also. I was an NCO in the army and I saw it goes both ways. No matter what rank, some are good and some are bad.Anyway, I recommend this book to anybody who is interested in the history of army aviation.

If you want to know what it was like to be an Army helicopter pilot flying in the Delta, you won't find a better book. I found Dave's book to be an excellent recollection of that year with the Outlaws. I arrived in the 2nd Platoon, 175th AHC in Nov 1966, about 6 weeks after Dave. Dave was my initial section leader. As a couple of young early twenty-something's we never thought we would survive a year of flying combat assaults carrying ARVN troops into combat and single ship missions supporting Advisors and Special Forces troops at small outposts spread across the vast Delta.I participated in many of the operations he recounts in the book; Easter Sunday, lightning Bug missions, caught on the ramp in a mortar attack, the Red smoke grenade in the club, the aircraft sitting down in a minefield, resupplying small isolated SF outposts, the fear and great flying we all experienced. The events he describes are from a journal I recall he kept. He does an excellent job of recounting many separate stories and events that occurred during the year. The reader will soon realize the danger associated with the different missions a slick pilot and the Mavericks (our gunships) flew. He holds nothing back. The photos and names bring back a lot of memories. Although he is hard at times on certain people he came in contact with, he is also critical of himself and very honest and straight forward in how he saw his year of flying with the Outlaws. You can't ask for more.You will be hard pressed to find a more honest and insightful read about what it was like to be a Slick Pilot flying in the Delta during the VietNam war.

Excellent look at a young aviators life during the vietnam conflict. Told in an almost conversational manner, it conveys the warm and compassionate personality of the author. Told with honesty and clearly explained backround from an avionics standpoint. I was very impressed with his accessment of the culture of the Army and the others serving with him, as well as the vietnamese people he trained and observed in action. wonderfully told with a very natural voice.

So much time has passed since Viet Nam and my curiosity has been reawakened. When the war was happening, I was too young to ask questions, or perhaps wrapped up in my young life. Now, at age sixty seven, I look back and see how very young the boys were that went to war, who never returned and never got to become men and I want to understand what happened and why. Who were these boy who went to war? Why were they hated when they returned? What happened? Having seen many films about the horrors of the war, I found Eastmans description of the men in the Outlaws quite wonderful. They were human beings with special abilities. I could hardly put the book down once I began reading it. I could feel the love and respect they had for one another and I began to understand how women can never feel this kind of closeness with men. When your life depends on another you carve a very deep trust and a different kind of friendshop that survives a lifetime. I think it is a wonderful book for women to read so they can understand how men fight and also heal together. After the war many men were unable to share their experience except with one another. This group was fortunate and able to be together and share what happened. I also learned how the helicopters changed warfare, being able to drop and pick up soldiers. They no longer had to parachute in and be left alone. I also realize that real individuals with humane thoughts and actions did not survive at times. I hope this book becomes a film so others can see a different view of this war which has left so many wounds that still fester.Don't miss it.

Fast paced recounting of the extraordinary experiences of an Army aviator in Viet Nam from arrival to his DEROS during dangerous and turbulent times!