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Book Description / Review

From the Publisher:  Prize winning playwright and award winning writer, Tony Lazzarini, has written more than your average war story.  His new book, "Highest Traditions", takes you along on his tour in Vietnam as a helicopter door gunner where the average life span under fire was an expected 20 seconds.  This is not a "glorification of war" documentation.  The author puts his readers beside him in the infamous UH-1 (Huey) helicopter and whisks them off to the battlefield to perform a mix of hazardous missions.  His thoughts will become your thoughts as he deals with the anguish of seeing death and his narrow escapes from it.  This is an educational as well as harrowing account of how helicopter operations were done and why.  Discover the "A" Company "Little Bears", one of the most decorated helicopter units of the Vietnam War.

MilitaryReadingList:  Set during the time-frame just prior to the Tet Offensive.  Tony Lazzarini succeeds in communicating his experience in Vietnam as a UH-1D (Huey) door gunner.   He does an outstanding job describing, from one man's tactical perspective, the emerging doctrine of air assault.  Highest Traditions also gives you a perspective of the social and emotional impact of the war on Tony and his fellow soldiers. 
   I enjoyed reading this book.  Once I picked it up, it was hard to put down.  Organized into many very short chapters making it very easy to read.  Highly recommended for those of you that have an interest in Air Assault or helicopter operations during the Vietnam War.  Check it out, you won't be disappointed.