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Summary: Angel's Wing: A Year In The Skies of Vietnam
Review: An excellent read. Of the many many books written about America's involvement in the war in Vietnam, this is perhaps one of the most human stories. Told from the personal memoirs and recollections of a young helicopter pilot, the book traces the daily experiences of a young American man plucked from the halls and playgrounds of America's university campuses in the early 1960's and thrust into an exotic, dangerous, terrifying, exhausting, profoundly sad, sometimes funny circumstances that made up, for Lieutenant Joe Finch, "this experience called war". It has taken over thirty years for Finch to be able to write this book -- and much of his experiences he still omits -- but in doing so he at last has given those of us who never went to war a moving, insider's view of what America's finest young men and women went through in service to their country. What comes through is a young man of gallantry, honesty, and compassion, shining through against a background of America's most unpopular foreign war. The story is all the more remarkable for Finch's experiences after the war, which led to a personal encounter with God, and a final chapter of healing for him an his family. A book well worth reading.
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Summary: A debt of gratitude
Review: Angel's Wing is a primary source for anyone seeking to understand what VietNam was really like. The daily heroism of the young men who flew, and fought, and died cannot be forgotten. Joe Finch's story, 30 years in the writing, is poignant, real and fascinating. I was not in VietNam. I lived in California and in Thailand and watched the guys departing from Travis AFB, or taking a few days of R&R at the beach in Pattaya. Angel's Wing has helped me become more aware of just how much was sacrificed, and determined to make sure that every man or woman who serves in uniform receives the respect and thanks their sacrifices deserve.
Angel's Wing is an easy read and fascinating to children from 5th grade and older. The author has taken great care to tell the truth without straying from a PG rating.
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Summary: An Infantryman appreciates Angel's Wings
Review: As a former Platoon Leader in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division, I appreciated Joe Finch's account of his year in country as a Huey pilot. We operated north of the 25th Infantry Division's location but we "grunts" had a kinship with Huey pilots. They were our lifeline to food, water, sodas, and ammunition, medical care and of course mail. His account is interesting, informative and compelling. I recommend it to every American with an interest in the Vietnam War.Dave Hollar
1st Lt.; 1st Inf. Div.; 1969-1970
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Summary: Helcopter pilots flew on wings of angels
Review: Do you have any heroes? These days, it seems no one has any heroes any more. We are always so quick to judge, so at ease with tearing apart every action and every moment of another's life that we just refuse to admire anyone any more. I honestly think this is true of most people, but not me. I have plenty of heroes. My 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Donald Duncan, a retired Vietnam veteran by the name of John Power from my hometown and Joe Finch, the author of this book, are just three of them.
I have said before and I truly do believe that the helicopter pilots of the Vietnam War either had nerves of steel or no nerves at all! How they could fly for hours at a time, when in any peace time situation they would have been grounded, I will never be able to fathom. Sure, they were a bit dare-devilish but I think it was a survival skill. In order to do unordinary things, you have to believe you can! Honestly, I think the reason most of those men climbed right back in that pilot seat time and time again sometimes flying on pure adrenalin was not their own ego at all, but for the countless lives they tried to save. I would imagine many soldiers have referred to these pilots and their ships as angels, hence the name of this book, but considering what these pilots did, I would think the angels were the ones flying next to the helicopter.
This small book can easily be read in a long afternoon and is worth the read. It is lighthearted at times, speaking to the antics of a young pilot trying to make his way in the world and trying to survive a place and time few of us can even imagine, even with his help. His candor and plain English makes it possible for any reader to understand the tools and techniques he describes. The book is in no way graphic and yet as with other fine authors I have reviewed, it is graphic all the same. Not in its nature, but in the nature of the beast he describes. I would imagine he struggled with words to describe certain passages in the book that would explain but not horrify the reader. I don't really think that is possible. His words are far from graphic, but the time in his life that he describes is......
This is a fine book and Joe Finch is a fine human being. He says in his book that he served his country and came home undamaged. He married, raised a family and went on to a very productive life. I guess he says this to underscore that not all soldiers develop Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Not every man or woman that came home from war became addicted to drugs or alcohol or became homeless. Many soldiers came home to function as if nothing ever happened to them at all.In his case, it sounds as if that is true. However, I will say this, something did happen to Joe Finch and two million or so other soldiers who served. I know a little something about our Joe Finch and to the contrary of his ascertion, he has been deeply affected by his service in Vietnam. Of course he has. He has a kind heart not a hardened heart of one who does not feel. He is part of a group of men and women who visit wounded soldiers at their bedside, he writes letters and sends care packages to those deployed overseas and I would venture to say that he knows the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial like the back of his heart. Of course he was affected by his service to our country, and so was I, and in no small way it is because of men like him that I am so honored to write reviews of books like this. Read this book and when you have finished, take a moment and write the author. Will you tell him that you admire him as much as I do? Will you tell him that you appreciate his sacrifices? You should.
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Summary: Thanks Joe
Review: Every pilot has a story and we owe Joe a debt of gratitude for telling his. I found that after reading his book ; it brought back memories I had not thought about in over thirty years, His book gave me permission to talk about what I did in Vietnam with
my kids. When they read the book they asked questions which never came up before. Like "Dad what is a NFG?" We were all wild and crazy kids playing with a million dollar aircraft, testing parameters of our courage and ability. Frankly I was too busy flying my missions to know what the other pilots did but found the war stories very interesting that were told at our reunion. It amazed me how humorous the stories seemed after you survived the event. The book is easy reading and has a humorous slant to a serious subject.
Thanks again Joe Randy Juge
Little Bear Pilot
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Summary: Angel's Wing: Enjoyable, Facinating,and Informative reading.
Review: I majored in American History in college. I studied the Vietnam War while in college. Textbooks do not give you the insight of a soldier's story. Lt. Col. Finch's experience as a young Lt. and pilot over the skies of Vietnam gives you that insight. This book shows a range of emotions. There is a balance of humor and danger throughout the book. The way he writes makes you feel as if you are on that helicopter with him. Even days after I finished reading the book, I find myself remembering the tale of Lt. Finch waiting on the ground for one more wounded soldier to make it onboard even though his aircraft was already filled with wounded and they were under attack. Then years later the two men met and the soldier thanked then Major Finch for not leaving him behind.
I'd like to thank Lt. Colonel Finch and all the other American soldiers who risk their lives in war for their country. I highly recommend this book to history buffs and to anyone who wants to read a realistic book about the Vietnam War.
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Summary: Angel's Wing: Enjoyable, Facinating,and Informative reading.
Review: I majored in American History in college. I studied the Vietnam War while in college. Textbooks do not give you the insight of a soldier's story. Lt. Col. Finch's experience as a young Lt. and pilot over the skies of Vietnam gives you that insight. This book shows a range of emotions. There is a balance of humor and danger throughout the book. The way he writes makes you feel as if you are on that helicopter with him. Even days after I finished reading the book, I find myself remembering the tale of Lt. Finch waiting on the ground for one more wounded soldier to make it onboard even though his aircraft was already filled with wounded and they were under attack. Then years later the two men met and the soldier thanked then Major Finch for not leaving him behind.
I'd like to thank Lt. Colonel Finch and all the other American soldiers who risk their lives in war for their country. I highly recommend this book to history buffs and to anyone who wants to read a realistic book about the Vietnam War.
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Summary: Angel's Wing: A Year in the Skies of Vietnam
Review: I swapped books with Joe Finch at the 2002 VHPA convention in Las Vegas. We both flew helicopters about the same time in Vietnam. Luckily I flew in the Mekong Delta, and did not have to deal much with the jungles and trees as described in this book. Only once or twice did the Outlaws of the 175th have to go "up-North" and risk the hazards these pilots commonly underwent northwest of Saigon. Lotsa teak trees and agent Orange!
As a result, I feel I have to comment on the amount of contact with tropical vegetation as expressed within this book! We would have lost our aircraft commander orders with the blade strikes this pilot reveals! However, that said, I am glad to see my book, OUTLAWS IN VIETNAM, paired with Joe's book and I hope many readers know more about our Army Aviation experiences in RVN as a result.
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Summary: Angel's Wing -- A Great Story!
Review: In Angel's Wing, Joe Finch has set out to tell the story -- warts and all -- of his year flying helicopters in support of the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam. He recounts that story in frequently riveting detail, matter-of-factly describing situations that must have been absolute hell to endure. Clearly, Finch was a good pilot and, even then, an exceptional man whose compassion for his fellow soldiers led him to risk his aircraft and crew in numerous, literally death-defying missions to evacuate wounded ground troops. That he found ways to accomplish his military and personal missions in Vietnam despite his relatively low rank is a testimony to the qualities that would sustain him through the crises he faced later in life. Finch's account provides those of us who served on the ground and who often envied the aviators their showers and beds and opportunities to do some really neat things flying airplanes a very useful corrective. The story of Finch's more recent journey, though he has shared it only in outline, is gripping, as well, for what he has overcome and for the faith in God that he found along the way. A great read that could only be made substantively better by being longer and fuller!
Joe Finch has told a great story, but has been less well served by his editor, whose sloppy rectification of spellings of place names and normal English words serve as irritating reminders of the importance of the production process. Despite this quibble, Angel's Wing is eminently worth buying, reading, and keeping.
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Summary: Memories Revived
Review: Joe Finch's book, Angel's Wing a Year in the Skies of Vietnam,
revived many memories of my two tours as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Some good memories, some not so good memories. But the nostalgia for the enthusiatic, patriotic and heroic young men I served with grows with every year. Joe captures the variety of the daily missions we flew and the variety of the emotions we felt in such a manner that he and I might just as well have been crewmates. He has written a great history of the "Helicopter War".
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