Fixin' To Die Rag: Gooood Morning Vietnam... We've Just Had a Mid-Air Collision Paperback – October 8, 2014

On Saturday March 21, 2015 I received my book " Fixin' to Die Rag", as this was my Church Day, I only intended to read a few pages. To my surprise, I could not put this book down and I read it from cover to cover. Roy Mark had brought to life these brave men and I felt as if I knew each one of them. The pilots and aircrew were dedicated and I would have been very proud to serve with them. Roy certainly brought to life the real war, the honor that these man had.The book was well written and researched. This could make one hell of a movie. I hope Roy will continue bringing the stories of these unknown heroes back to life. America needs to know. THANK YOU for bringing this back to life. God Bless. 5 star rating is the best, however, I would give it a 10.

Thanks to Roy Mark for writing a very readable book of chapters covering the stories behind some of the names etched onto the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Well written in the language of the day, it includes the story of the accident that took the life of my brother. This has allowed me to come to some closure that I had not experienced before because of not knowing exactly what had happened to him. So, I am grateful for this book. There is additional information about the men and the honors they have received by this nation, and the states in which they had lived. It is a great book for anyone interested in the untold details of day to day life at a remote outpost during the Vietnam War era.

Roy Mark did an excellent job of researching the events in telling the story of our brothers who rest eternally young on the wall. This book is well written, and transports the reader to a place where many from America were sent to serve decades ago. As a member of this unit who returned to his family before these events occurred, Roy communicates the human side of combat. He brings back the memories of husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and friends we were honored to know, allowing us to reflect on the best qualities of those who answered the call to duty. Roy brings their stories to life that we may always remember they willingly helped their fellow soldiers, and honored their families with pride. I personally thank Roy Mark for a job well done.

I would dearly love to give this book a 5 star rating due to the fact that one of my ROTC college classmates, William Larimer, was heroically featured as a respected leader and commander of the 229th. I never did make it to Vietnam during my 4 years in the USAF so am unable to relate to the real taste of combat - as many of my age-group peers did. The book is fat on facts but empathetically lacking - I suspect due to the fact that the author, like me, was not a combat veteran.Having said that I believe that anybody interested in a good historical perspective of the 229th and its personalities during this era will find enjoyment from this book. My comment also suggests that my enjoyment perspective is one of fictionalized history rather than factual reporting - which, based upon the research by the author, is well done.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. I flew with Bravo, 229th, 1st Cav, about the same time frame. My mouth went dry and I swollowed hard when I read about those guys going down. Nothing you can do when you hear that stuff coming in over guard frequency, just suck it up and drive on. Enough said. Good read!

This is an incredible account of what happened to pilots and crew of Charlie Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). To go back a little farther Charlie Company lost 11 pilots from June 1969 through Sept 1970. I know I was there in 1969 and came home at the end of January 1970. Bill Lorimer was my friend and one of the finest officers I ever knew. His story is the first chapter. When the 229th holds reunions they always retell the stories of the tragedies of the hell they Went through in the first half of 1970.Fred ZacherHelicopter PilotC-229th69-70

A short story about Charlie Company of the 29 HelicopterAssault Battalion, between March and September 1970.Warrant Officers Bauer, Hamilton and Wall, all came to Vietnamas co-pilots, and after some time became "left seat'ers".Their story goes from them being FNG's to losing their "cherries",having your chopper hit by ground fire, to entering Cambodia.They recount losing Unit members, coming into Hot LZ's, flyinginto major thunder storms, beer bashes, Rock -n- Roll on ArmedForces radio, gunship escorts, near misses, being a double digitmidget, and finally DEROS'ing....Going home, and remembering those that did not get that chance.

a short story writ long,fairly well told but too much filler that was unnecessary . readers may be put off by excessive minutia that adds nothing to the narrative. spelling errors(ben hoa instead of bien hoa, for one)of important locations can be confusing, because of similarities in many place names that were miles apart. having served in country(army infantry) i thought some areas were very well described, while some seemed to lack substance. not sure the average reader needs all the personal info..during or after the activities mentioned in the book. seems a little self-serving to me..written by one who was not there, but tried hard to be there.

Book dimensions smaller than I was expected, huge font for the letters and the paper quality not so good. Initial experience made me see nothing but "red warning flags" and regrettably at it 's selling price it felt like it was miss sold, I returned it. Credit to Amazon for their support.

Very good book

A description of a tour of duty from relative normality to a life in the Army & Combat

I enjoyed this book, as a further reference to the war in Vietnam. Brave folks doing a very dangerous job, in horrendous conditions. They deserve to be well remembered, and honoured for the sacrifices they made.

A interesting book, dealing with the helicopter war.