It captures the horrors of one man’s war, horror that is undoubtedly still with him these many years later. He describes all the events unfolding around him vividly and he really takes you back in time with him. Maybe also too detailed for me in regards to the intricacies of flying helicopters, all of which went way over my head. Mason’s narrative is well written, engaging, and often gripping, having the feel of an authentic account given its matter-of-fact, conversational, and unpretentious style that details both highs and lows, often portraying Mason in a poor or ambivalent light.

There would be no spectators except for the news reporters – unless you want to count the men in the parade as spectators, and of course they were. Chickenhawk, though written over twenty years ago provides lessons for future soldiers, and it is an exceptional Vietnam memoir that has stood the test of time. We are introduced to the rich cast of characters that make up his unit and on the job they all learn hard and valuable lessons of fighting this new kind of war in the helicopters. As he began to suffer from the accumulated stress at the end of his tour, he found he was most comfortable when he was flying. By February 1980, Mason had a 200-page partial manuscript (about one-third), and an outline of the rest of his memoir.All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL. How extraordinarily touching it is that these men who have suffered so much still want to make us better. While waiting to see whether Burger could sell the book, Mason began writing what would eventually be his second book, a novel, Weapon. Mason and a similarly experienced pilot, Resler, who became one of Mason's closest friends from Vietnam, began flying together.

A film version was set to be written and directed by John Carpenter was announced but it was discarded by New World Pictures as it never got made. I am the right age to have been drafted for that war, but was not due to a variety of deferments and a high lottery number.A definite read that the Vietnam helicopter pilot may not have been on the ground but the horrors of the war followed him home forever to the United States. I had never heard of a gook or a slope-head or a slant-eye or a dink who did anything but eat rice and shit and fight unending wars. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a “chickenhawk” in constant danger.

Robert Mason takes you along for the ride in his helicopter during the Vietnam War flying slicks for the AirCav under fire and tells many funny and horrifying tales of his time spent in country. However, the story of the human condition continues as one who has read "Chickenhawk" the story that follows is rather tortuous at times. Though it appeared to be a victory, Mason questions what American strategy was as we killed the enemy at an increasing rate, but we would withdraw and not hold the land taken. You’re reading a book about war, devastation and rotting human flesh, but most of your time reading “Chickenhawk” is spent laughing out loud.Mason's existence to retrieve from memory those events and provide a description to paper for those interested in his story and for himself most importantly to attempt to expel the demons. Mason’s primary activity was flying a Huey helicopter that involved him in support of troops in the Bon Song Valley and Ia Drang Valley where in November, 1965 the United States won its first large scale encounter with the North Vietnamese.