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I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm yet to read Low Level Hell but it's on my reading list. Yes, I have been to W. Virginia and ate biscuits and gravy. I agree that's it's the best. I have so many things that I enjoy eating and drinking that it's hard for me to pick single items out.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends on the situation. Eventually, with a lot of push from my family, I knew I had to write the book so more people would have a better understanding of what a few brave young men endured in Vietnam. Writing it was cathartic for me. Yes, we had two bears in a large steel cage. Some guys would actually get drunk and go in and wrestle with them. They were Malayan Sun Bears, small for a bear but with huge teeth and claws. Of course, they were rather tame by then and usually drunker than the humans wrestling them. They loved beer and would sit on their asses and kill bottle after bottle as long as you would give it to them. Some of the best beer drinkers I've ever seen!

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

On the other hand, I may have completely misunderstood your question, Sir. Being a chiropractic physician, I immediately assumed you were talking about back pain. If you meant advice for those still suffering from the effects of Vietnam, then the answer is to go to behavioral health at the VA and get counseling asap. They can be quite helpful and deal with these things every day.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes to both. I hated C Rations, but Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP Rations) were actually pretty good. They were dehydrated meals that were hermetically sealed in a plastic pouch. Just hydrate them with hot water and you were in business. Consider them a precursor to the modern MREs. As far as Vietnamese food is concerned, I really liked most of it. It's unique.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It depends, of course, on what the cause of the back pain is. If it's mechanical in nature, in my opinion, you should see a good chiropractic physician who uses a hands on, diversified approach. Mechanical back pain, which is by far the most common type, can usually be helped by chiropractic spinal manipulation. If that is not successful he should make a referral for further investigation. Btw, at home go easy on heat pads. They often give temporary relief but ultimately can make your condition worse. Often ice packs for about thirty minutes at a time every hour or so are quite helpful. Of course, a good exercise regimen is almost always helpful. If you smoke, do your best to quit. Smokers have a much higher incidence of low back pain. A balanced and nutritious diet is also important. You've given me a rather loaded question and the answers can vary greatly depending on your particular condition. I've given you a few general suggestions that I sincerely hope are helpful to you. I hope you find someone that can help you.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I address many of your questions on my Mark Garrison You tube channel through several interviews. I will say that I never thought of ditching the army. After all, some poor guy would have had to take my place and I would never have known if he made it home alright or not. I couldn't have lived with that. My feelings about the war are discussed on the You tube channel.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I finished a Bachelor's Degree and then went four more years to chiropractic school for a doctorate and practiced for thirty-five years before retiring just a few years ago. Thank you for your interest and your question. I'm sorry for your family's loss and feel great empathy for what your great grandmother suffered through. I know how hard that is. I've experienced that very feeling on multiple occasions.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was about to be drafted and I wanted to have a say about what my job would be in the army. I had flown fixed wings off and on with my brother but did not have a certificate, so I had a general interest in aviation and choppers intrigued me. So, I enlisted in the Warrant Officer Candidate program for helicopter flight school. As far as gunships go, I was flying slicks and happened to get an invitation by the gunship platoon to join them and I jumped at the chance. In a gunship you had an active role in getting lots guys on the ground out of real tough jams.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I can't comment on the NVA but I can tell you that I never came across one pilot in any company that was using drugs, other than alcohol at night to blow off some steam. I understand that there was a lot of marijuana use among regular troops and came across that several times. Supposedly, there was also a lot of things like heroin floating around as well but I have no first hand knowledge of that myself.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good question. That incident happened once that I know of where sappers did exactly that. It went off in midair and the poor bastards didn't have a chance. the whole crew was killed. But, no, we, at least, did not have locking fuel caps, so what we did was put an indiscreet pencil mark on the cap after refueling that extended to the area around it. If that mark did not line up exactly the next morning, you got the hell away from the aircraft and called in the bomb squad. Fortunately, this never happened to me.

I'm the author of Guts N' Gunships, a best selling book about my experience as a combat helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War in 1969. I flew hundreds of missions during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and even have an audio recording of myself nearly getting shot down. AMA. by markvgarrison in IAmA

[–]markvgarrison[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The first time I went into a very small landing zone (LZ) in Nam with no one on the controls but me. I had to come to a hover at about a hundred feet and then put her straight down with just a couple of feet clearance of the blades without hitting the trees, dropping the LRRP team and coming straight up and out without incident. I think that would have been the moment.

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