Mended Wings

The Vietnam War Experience Through the Eyes of Ten American Purple Heart Helicopter Pilots

By: Colin P. Cahoon

Narrated by: Ian Putnam

You hear them first, the whop whop sound of rotor blades chopping through the humid Vietnam air. Suddenly they appear, screaming toward the landing zone at treetop level. Gunships launch rockets into the nearby tree line. The resulting explosions announce the arrival of the lift helicopters, pointing their noses skyward like falcons coming out of a dive for landing. Bullets rip into the thin aluminum skin and plastic that surrounds the men who fly these machines. When one pilot is hit, the other takes the controls and carries on. When one helicopter crashes in flames, the pilots in the others maintain formation and push ahead. Nothing deters these warriors, volunteers all, from flying on with the tenaciousness of zealots.

Who are these men? Where did they come from? Where have they gone?

Mended Wings is their story. Follow the lives of ten Purple Heart heroes as they relate the Vietnam War experience from the perspective of the helicopter cockpit. Get to know the generation of men who fought with pride, determination, skill, and courage only to be shunned when they brought their battered bodies and haunting memories home. Their fathers and uncles were heralded as the "greatest generation." Meet the forgotten generation. Meet the men whose stories did not end as a name on a black wall in Washington D.C. Meet the survivors.

©2021 Colin P. Cahoon (P)2022 Tantor

Strongly Recommend!

I thoroughly enjoyed Mended Wings and learned a lot about the helicopter pilots who fought in Vietnam. The book features the stories of 10 veterans, with a chapter dedicated to each one ordered chronologically, thereby covering the Vietnam experience across the span of the entire war. The structure of each chapter is the same (starting with a heart-pounding account of the pilot flying toward doom, and then going back to trace his life story from start, through Vietnam, to today), but each story is unique and awe-inspiring. There is also a short historical bridge between each chapter that keeps the listener informed of the progress (or lack thereof) of the war. The last chapter has a gut-wrenching surprise ending that left me in tears. The narrator at times sounds a bit mechanical in his presentation, but his diction is excellent and every word is clearly understood. Each chapter is a self-contained story lasting about 45 minutes, so this is a great commute audio book. I strongly recommend Mended Wings to both the Vietnam War history aficionado and novice.

Stories That Need to be Remembered

This book doesn't glorify the Vietnam War nor make any political statement about the war.

I just tells the stores of 10+ Army Helicopter pilots who's stories need to be remembered. I'm sure the author could have written the book and included 100s of such stories of sacrifice. The 10 he choose and the way the author writes puts you in the cockpit with these brave men.

As it is said "There but for the Grace of God....."

Stories Fade Into Each Other

I am a big fan of military books, and bought this one thinking ten short stories would be more fun to listen to. The opposite is what I experienced. One story sounds a lot like the next. My iPhone once again allowed me to accidentally go back several chapters and the stories are so similar, I did not discover this until I realized I had heard particular details before.