Table of Contents
A hypnotic narrative
The New York Times
Better than any movie about the war
BostonHerald
Maybe Vietnam is best seen through a shattered helicopter windshield. Chickenhawk is one bloody, painfully ihonest, and courageous book.
Martin Cruz Smith
When Mason flies, so does his book.
Lee Lescaze, Washington Post Book World
Arresting, lean, cool, grotesque, telling
VillageVoice
More than any other writer, Mason has been able to capture the feeling of what it was like to be there.
John Del Vecchio, author of The 13th Valley
PENGUIN BOOKS
CHICKENHAWK
Robert Mason was born in 1942 and grew up on farms in New Jersey and Florida. His boyhood dream of becoming a pilot was finally realized when he earned his private pilots license prior to his graduation from high school. After studying at the University of Florida from 1960 to 1962 and then working at a variety of jobs for the next two years, he enlisted in the army in 1964. He flew more than 1,000 helicopter combat missions in Vietnam before being discharged in 1968. Mr. Mason is married and the father of one son.
For Patience and Jack
Authors Note
This is a personal narrative of what I saw in Vietnam and how it affected me. The events all happened; the chronology and geography are correct to the best of my knowledge. The names of the characters, other than the names that are famous, and unimportant characteristics of all the persons in the book have been changed so that they bear no resemblance to any of the actual people in order to preserve their privacy and anonymity.
Id like to put in an apology to the grunts, if they resent that term, because I have nothing but respect for them and the conditions under which they served.
I hope that these recollections of my experiences will encourage other veterans to talk. I think it is impossible to know too much about the Vietnam era and its effects on individuals and society.
Instead of dwelling on the political aspects of the war, I have concentrated on the actual condition of being a helicopter pilot in Vietnam in 196566. The events, I hope, will speak for themselves.
I want to thank Martin Cruz Smith, Knox Burger, Gerald Howard, Constance Cincotti, Jack and Betty Mason, Gerald Towler, Bruce and Susan Doyle, and Jim and Eileen Helms for their generous aid and encouragement.
I am particularly indebted to my wife, Patience, for her unflagging support in difficult times, both in the writing of the book and in the life that its about.
1.Heating Burner and Blower Unit
2.Engine
3.Oil Tank Filler
4.Fuel Tank Filler
5.Transmission
6.Hydraulic Reservoir (Pressure Type)
7.Forward Navigation Lights (4)
8.Pilots Station
9.Forward Cabin Ventilator (2)
10.Cargo Suspension Mirror
10A. Pitot Tube (Nose Mount)
11.Tail Rotor (90) Gear Box
12.Aft Navigation Light
13.Tail Rotor Intermediate (45) Gear Box
14.Synchronized Elevator
15.Tail Rotor Drive Shaft
16.Anti-Collision Light
17.Oil Cooler
18.External Power Receptacle
19.Cargo-Passenger Door
20.Passenger Seats Installed
21.Swashplate Assembly
22.Landing Light
23.Copilots Station
24.Search Light
25.Battery
26.Alternate Battery Location (Armor Protection Kit)
27.Pitot Tube (Roof Mount)
28.Aft Cabin Ventilators (2)
29.Stabilizer Bar
29A. Hydraulic Reservoir (Gravity-feed type)
30.Engine Cowling
1. Pilots Entrance Door
2. Sliding Window Panel
3. Hand Hold
4. Shoulder Harness
5. Seat Belt
6. Shoulder Harness Lock-Unlock Control
7. Collective Pitch Control Lever
8. Seat Adjustment Fore and Aft
9. Collective Pitch Down Lock
10. Seat Adjustment Vertical
11. Directional Control Pedal Adjuster
12. Microphone Foot Switch
13. External Cargo Mechanical Release
14. Directional Control Pedals
15. Cyclic Control Friction Adjuster
16. Cyclic Control Stick
17. Microphone Trigger Switch
18. Hoist Switch
19. Force Trim Switch
20. Armament Fire Control Switch
21. External Cargo Electrical Release Switch
22. Search Light ON-OFF Stow Switch
23. Landing Light ON-OFF Switch
24. Landing Light EXTEND-RETRACT Switch
25. Search Light EXTEND-RETRACT LEFT-RIGHT Control Switch
26. Engine Idle Release Switch
27. Collective Pitch Control Friction Adjuster
28. Power Control (Throttle)
29. Power Control Friction Adjuster
30. Governor RPM INCREASE-DECREASE Switch
31. Starter Ignition Trigger Switch
Prologue
I joined the army in 1964 to be a helicopter pilot. I knew at the time that I could theoretically be sent to a war, but I was ignorant enough to trust it would be a national emergency if I did go.
I knew nothing of Vietnam or its history. I did not know that the French had taken Vietnam, after twenty years of trying, in 1887. I did not know that our country had once supported Ho Chi Minh against the Japanese during the Second World War. I did not know that after the war the country that thought it was finally free of colonialism was handed back to the French by occupying British forces with the consent of the Americans. I did not know that Ho Chi Minh then began fighting to drive the French out again, an effort that lasted from 1946 until the fall of the French at Dien Bien Phu, in 1954. I did not know that free elections scheduled by the Geneva Conference for 1956 were blocked because it was known that Ho Chi Minh would win. I did not know that our government backed an oppressive and corrupt leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, and later participated in his overthrow and his death, in 1963.
I did not know any of these facts. But the people who decided to have the war did.
I did know that I wanted to fly. And there was nothing I wanted to fly more than helicopters.
I
Virgins
Wings
The experimental division authorized to try out [the air assault] concept is stirring up the biggest inter-service controversy in years. There are some doubts about how practical such a helicopter-borne force would be in a real war.
U.S. News & World Report. April 20, 1964
June 1964July 1965
As a child I had dreams of levitation. In these dreams I could float off the ground only when no one watched. The ability would leave me just when someone looked.
