Chickenhawk Analysis

361 Words2 Pages
Chickenhawk is a gripping tale told straight from the heart of a Vietnam War veteran who spent is tour of duty flying helicopters. He takes us on his journey from a child wanting to fly to training for the Army all the way through to his life post-war. Not a single gruesome detail is left out as Robert (Bob) recollects all that he has seen in the jungle and above it. He talks about seeing young men with their stomachs blown out being loaded onto the deck of his helicopter along with bodies that have only just been recovered from the jungle after days or weeks of searching. He makes some close friends and manages to keep a few even upon his return to America, but he also loses many to the Vietcong. Although he is in Vietnam for a year, he remains reasonably unharmed until the last 2 months when he starts to have night terrors because of the scenes imprinted on his mind. Unfortunately, his condition only deteriorates and eventually he is forced to resign from the army because of mental unstability. He finds himself not being able to start the day without 2 glasses of whiskey and eventually is arrested for marijuana possession in a tragic turn of events from the hero he once was, saving dozens, if not hundreds of lives. Chickenhawk really gripped me as a story, even more so because all of the events are true and happened to real people. The detail in which he recalls and retells his story is just immense and at times I found the book quite impossible to put down. The best thing about the book to me was really being able to get in on a war situation and see what it was like, from setting up camp and digging latrines to flying into crowded areas amongst massive shootouts and trying to evade Vietnamese artillery. The book really enabled me to get into Bob’s head, and the last 2 chapters are heart-wrenching because we see his life spiral downwards all because of a war
Open Document