CHARIOTS IN THE SKY

A helicopter pilot serving in the Vietnam War struggles to survive a major offensive.

Capt. Taylor St. James, known among his fellow soldiers as TJ, is a helicopter pilot in the Army deployed to Vietnam in 1971. He belongs to a Huey Assault Helicopter Company—part of the 101st Airborne Division—a group deeply involved in Lam Son 719, one of the key combat operations of the war and one in which helicopter pilots contributed heroically and suffered tremendous losses. Freeland chronicles these perilous missions with impressive historical accuracy, capturing not only the danger of the missions, but the ethos of the helicopter pilot and the creed, or “Helicopter Wisdom,” that guided them through the terrors of war. TJ’s company commander, Maj. Hutchins, is killed and replaced by Maj. Parker Stewart, a weak leader obsessed with promotion at the expense of the pilots for whom he is responsible. TJ voices his concerns about Parker’s recklessness, a defiance that puts him in Parker’s crosshairs—Parker tries to force him out of the company. The author focuses on the Lam Son 719 campaign, billed as a triumph against the North Vietnamese though it exposed the woeful inadequacy of South Vietnamese forces. Freeland’s debut novel is impeccably faithful to historical events, not surprising since he served as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War as part of the division referenced in his novel. He furnishes a detailed look not only into combat operations, but also their political context as well as providing a moving depiction of the soldiers’ loneliness. TJ constantly sends communications to his wife, Sandy, doing his best to conceal the extent of the danger he faces daily. Freeland’s wooden prose style relies on stale formulas and shopworn clichés. TJ often thinks to himself in these earnest terms: “It has been another long and terrifying day, in which several men lost their lives. I came too damn close to being one of them!”

Despite unspectacular writing, a worthwhile peek into the horrors of war.