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  • 19 Minutes to Live

  • Helicopter Combat in Vietnam
  • By: Lew Jennings
  • Narrated by: David Colacci
  • Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (65 ratings)
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19 Minutes to Live cover art

19 Minutes to Live

By: Lew Jennings
Narrated by: David Colacci
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Summary

Over 12,000 helicopters were used in the Vietnam War, which is why it became known as "The Helicopter War". Almost half of the helicopters, 5,086, were lost. Helicopter pilots and crews accounted for nearly 10 percent of all the US casualties suffered in Vietnam, with nearly 5,000 killed and an untold number of wounded. Lew Jennings flew over 700 Air Cavalry Cobra Gunship Helicopter missions and received three Distinguished Flying Crosses for Valor.

This memoir describes first-hand the harrowing experiences of helicopter pilots and crews in combat operations, from the far South to the DMZ, including the infamous Ashau Valley, Hamburger Hill, LZ Airborne, and others. 19 Minutes to Live illustrates the incredible courage and determination of helicopter pilots and crews supporting those heroes that carried a rucksack and a rifle in Vietnam.

©2017 Lew Jennings (P)2018 Tantor

What listeners say about 19 Minutes to Live

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Would recommend.

This is a good book. I've read lots of war memoirs from soldiers of all ranks. Some are too technical. Some are too much about the person. Some unfortunately aren't very good.

This one strikes me as just about right. It's easily as good as Chickenhawk which seems to be held up as some kind of standard. The narrator has an easy voice and the subject matter is excellent.

It's a book which at some point I will listen to again.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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great story

great story & narration thanks for relating your experiences & all the best for the future sir !👍

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very good with one major criticism

This gives a great insight into the experiences of an American helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. It’s very well read and interesting.
Now for my criticism(s).
In the prologue and epilogue the author talks about flying in Iraq and saving thousands of lives including innocent civilians! Really? How many innocents were killed or maimed after George W Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, under a banner that read ‘Mission Accomplished’?

Other than these two sections (prologue and epilogue) the whole book is about flying in Vietnam and very interesting it is too.

However, I do take exception to him talking about ‘killing bad guys’ when perhaps the Americans were the bad guys. Some reflection on the rights and (especially) the wrongs of the war and American actions should have been included in my view.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Adventure From The Start.

Brilliantly narrated and full of bravado and life. This book takes you very quickly to the life of a helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

It doesn't skip.... It just focuses on the real true story.

From earliy training to the end of the tour.

Well worth a listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing story

A brilliant book that didn’t leave anything to the imagination really
One that I just couldn’t stop listening too

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting listen

It’s not quite chickenhawk but it’s still very good. Plenty interesting stories and paints the picture.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

As action books go......

pleasant enough, but lacked comtemt in a big way. As Vietnam adventures go, this was seriously other tame side.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A story from the air in frontline Vietnam

A fascinating and compelling story of helicopter warfare in Vietnam from the pilots PoV. Real Stories from places you see in war films putting into perspective how close air warfare was in support of the ground troops throughout the conflict.. the comradeship and the feelings of an individual during his time in area, the close calls, the loses and the euphoria of coming through such a brutal conflict..

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Absolute drivel

If you got this expecting an in depth account of what it's like to to fly a Cobra in Vietnam you're going to be disappointed. 14 chapters in and I'm no further forward. Lots of potted histories about units and some general comments, Inc someone else's account about assaulting a bunker.
How does an AH1 handle? What's it like employing the weapons? What tactics do you use? No idea. I've got many books in my library of pilots memoirs in Vietnam, this will not be staying! It's dreadful and won't be lasting another minute nevermind 19.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Grabs your attention from the start

A gripping and emotional book on the war. Once I had started it was difficult to put it down.

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