Tony Lawless |
Tony Lawless at time of service | Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Army
282nd Army Attack Helicopter, 1st Air Cavalry
Da Nang, Vietnam; Fort Meade, Maryland
Specialist, E-4
OH
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Tony Lawless's memoir of his service in Vietnam offers a detailed, no-holds-barred
account of his one-year tour of duty that began in April 1970. His eyesight too weak to
make pilot, Lawless first served as a door gunner on a helicopter that mainly flew supply
and transport missions. Later, he flew with the 282nd Assault Helicopter Company on
combat missions in both their Black Cats and Alley Cats units. Lawless wrote faithfully
to a friend back home who kept his letters, and many of them are reproduced as part of
his narrative. He describes his own drug and alcohol use, his boredom, fear, and the pain
he felt when he urged his best friend to go on a mission which proved fatal.
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