📚 Lou's Book COMMAND-14 ➤ https://store.bookbaby.com/book/command-14
🎵Hot 4 Robot Spotify ➤ https://tinyurl.com/hot4robot
🎦Made With Guns Video ➤ https://youtu.be/WWEvhbo9mGA
Lou Farrell recounts his experiences in Vietnam during his first six months of service as a warrant officer and helicopter pilot. After enlisting in the Army in 1968, he underwent training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, followed by flight school in Texas and Alabama. Upon arriving in Vietnam in July 1969, he was assigned as a maintenance officer rather than a combat pilot. His first solo flight in-country, without a co-pilot or map, left him disoriented and lost until radar assisted him in finding his destination. Farrell quickly became involved in aircraft recovery missions, leading a team to retrieve downed helicopters from dangerous jungle locations. He recalls a particularly grim mission in which he and his team had to recover charred bodies from a wrecked helicopter, an experience that left a lasting impact on him.
Throughout his service, Farrell witnessed the dangers of war firsthand, losing friends and fellow soldiers to accidents and combat. He recalls the tense camaraderie among troops, encounters with local civilians, and the grim realities of death, as evidenced by soldiers quickly dividing up a fallen comrade's belongings. His recollections also include the peculiar traditions and superstitions among troops, such as toasting "to the next to die." His experiences ranged from perilous combat operations to bizarre everyday occurrences, like being pushed out of the shower by a local maid. These memories, vivid in detail, highlight both the chaos and camaraderie of war while underscoring how certain everyday aspects of life in Vietnam remain strangely forgotten.