Marine Corps helicopter crews found little glory waiting for them in faraway Vietnam. Instead they became locked in a savage struggle with Sino-Soviet pawns in a daily battle for survival. The author, a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam, blends fascinating detail with grim realism. He synopsizes After Action Reports, Unit Diaries, Command Chronologies, and other records from Marine Corps archives to build a mesmerizing true story. Onto this framework he weaves personal accounts from helicopter crews and infantrymen. Day by day he breathes life into this eloquent saga of Marines at war. Step through this unique looking-glass into the crucible of combat in Vietnam. Experience the danger and fear, the perils and sacrifices, the madness and passion shared by helicopter crews and infantrymen. Their brotherhood, unity, and loyalty became their victory. BONNIE-SUE is one of the most compelling books about commitment and sacrifice by Marines for their fellow Marines during the 1960s. Every chapter contains poignant accounts of courage, compassion, drama, humor, success, and tragedy associated with close combat. For those who have flown in the night fog and mountain mist near Khe Sanh or the Rockpile to extract a Recon team, pick up wounded Marines, or resupply a beleaguered unit, this book will make your heart beat faster. For those yet to experience the self-defining emotions associated with their first incoming round, this book will detail what can be done, as well as what is expected to be done. Current and aspiring helicopter crewmen will clearly understand the sacrifices they may be called upon to make while supporting Grunts in contact with the enemy. And current and aspiring infantrymen will understand that no matter how bad the situation, if it is humanly possible, help is on the way. This is a book about commitment. It should be read by all Marines. --Marine Corps Gazette There is no better book about the Marine helicopter war in Vietnam. It is a compelling and vivid picture of what it was like to be a pilot or combat aircrewman in Vietnam. Sturkey's book is a true and accurate account of real people in real combat over places that were equally notorious and bloody for ground action and action in the air. The missions were as dangerous as any ever flow in any war: ferrying troops into hot LZs, resupplying on wind-sheared mountaintops, extracting Recon teams through jungle canopy while taking fire from hills and ridges above, and night medical evacuations under fire. Sturkey brings it all back with painstaking research and personal accounts. He also captures the times: the turbulent 1960s, the moods, fears, and humor of young Marines who deserved better than what their leaders in Washington sent them into. He puts the reader there. One can smell the leaking hydraulic fluid and fuel, feel the static electricity and almost taste the cordite in the air. BONNIE-SUE is a classic tale of Marines and their particular brand of flying. It rises above the mud of war and takes the reader on inspiring missions with professional and courageous men. --Leatherneck Magazine This is our story, told some twenty to thirty years later, but as chilling and touching to us who were there as if it took place yesterday. Sturkey sets the stage geographically, culturally, and historically with a prologue that begins during the First Millennium BC and marches the reader smartly through the Chinese, Japanese, and French occupations of Vietnam. Then begins the heart of the book: what it was like to fly the workhorse Marine helicopters in combat. Sturkey serves up a compelling mixture of anecdotes, facts, criticism, conjecture, and philosophy that takes the reader along in the cockpit and on the ground with infantrymen. The dedication of Marine to Marine is a recurring theme. The number of times that a helicopter crew put their lives at risk on behalf of Marines on the ground is beyond count. That is the natural flow of this story because the pilots, crew chiefs, and gunners made it that way. The book ends with a personal perspective: what did it all mean? If you are one of us and want to let a family member or civilian friend know what it was like in Vietnam, give them a copy of this book. If you are one of us and want to reach out to another one of us to say, I remember, loan them a copy of this book. And if you get it back, loan it out again. --Marine Corps Aviation Association Marion Sturkey was a young Marine NCO when he was selected for flight training in 1963. Two years later he was commissioned and designated a Naval Aviator. He flew H-46 helicopters in Vietnam during 1966 and 1967. After release from active duty with the rank of captain, he became a commercial pilot for the oil and gas industry. He later held managerial positions at AT&T for 25 years and served as a guest instructor at Bell Communications Research. This is his 19th book.