ARMY AVIATION Magazine, November 2015 BOOK REVIEW by MG (Retired)
Rudy Ostovich: “There have been a number of excellent books
published on the Vietnam War but none come close to telling the
inside story of life and death as an Army aviator flying and
fighting a “Huey” in combat as told by Larry Dandridge in his
book Blades of Thunder (Book One). This non-fiction,
autobiography, and Vietnam War history book tells the story of
six young Army aviators, flight school classmates, who go to
Vietnam in the fall of 1968 and are forever changed. Some died,
some were wounded. All those who returned brought back emotional
s that will never really go away. Larry tells the story as
can only be told by someone who has experienced combat firsthand
with not much more than sheet metal and Plexiglas separating them
from enemy fire. For those who were there, his story resurrects
memories long ago put away back in the deep recesses of your
mind. Once again you can hear the clicking of igniters as you
pull the trigger to start your engine, feel the vibrations of the
rotor as it gains operational speed, experience the comfort of
making it through translational lift into forward flight with a
grossly overweight aircraft, and smell the distinctive aroma of
powder as you take the fight to the enemy. Yes, he also brings
back those feelings of anxiety and fear as you drive your
aircraft into the fight; the pain and deep sorrow of losing a
friend; the remembrances of heat, sweat, stench, blood, igue
and chaos; and, the joy of surviving to live and fight another
day. Larry takes the reader into the details of our business. 46
annotated photos and generous, informative appendices provide an
informal class on the tools of our trade: the components of a
UH-1B rocket pod and machine assembly; the essential elements
of an OH-6A “Loach” to include cyclic, collective, armored seats,
grenades and mini-; and a host of other switches, gauges,
etc., to include the hook over the pilot’s door in a Huey on
which to hang your helmet. Larry even offers an appendix of over
24 mini-biographies of the key characters in the book, showing
that, if they survived, they each became successful family men
and leaders in every field of business and government. Nothing is
left out. He also employs an interesting literary style of
beginning each chapter with a reconstructed letter, authored by
one of the main characters of the story, and representative of
the letters we used to write before email, text messaging,
Facebook, or other forms of messaging so common to our
communication patterns today. Blades of Thunder is more than a
story about Vietnam. It combines a realistic narrative of combat
operations with a human dimension, the physical and psychological
toll imposed on those who survived. While learning about their
experiences, Larry gives you a window into the lives of crew
chiefs and door ners whose job extends beyond flight when the
aircraft is once again safely tucked into its revetment, the
battery switch is off and the blades are tied down. Timeless
lessons on leadership abound. Through his narrative you witness
the importance of technical proficiency, leading by example,
working as part of team, gaining the trust of those you lead,
competence, and so many other attributes of a leader who
is able to prompt soldiers to do things they wouldn’t ordinarily
want to do. If you want to know what life was like for assault
helicopter, medical evacuation, and air cavalry troop pilots in
Vietnam, read Blades of Thunder (Book 1). Of course, it’s
available at Amazon.com, but I recommend you email Larry at
LDandridge@earthlink.net or call him at 843-276-7164 for your own
personalized and signed copy. By the way, all proceeds (all 2015
Profits and one dollar from the sale of each book in 2016) from
the sale of his book are pledged as a donation to the Fisher
House Charleston.”