They were college kids and young soldiers who wanted to fly, and they knew little about Vietnam other than what they read in the newspapers before going there. But Ia Drang, Kontum, Bong Son, Pleiku, Dak To, and dozens of other places soon became their trials by fire as they flew the grunts into and out of hot LZs and exposed themselves to some of the most intense combat of the war. Their mission was to fly into isolated jungle hilltops and muddy rice fields often without knowing what they'd face. Consequently, the crewmen who flew the helicopters and manned the door guns suffered some of the...

It is 1942 and the war has heightened the risks of shrimping. As coast watchers keep a lookout for German U-boats along the Louisiana shoreline and in the Gulf of Mexico, eighteen-year-old Rene Dugas works alongside his father on a shrimp trawler. Unfortunately, they are not only finding shrimp in the water, but also the bloated bodies of young mariners. Still, it seems Rene is more determined than ever to ignore his fathers misgivings and join the Navy.

When his fathers boss warns Rene that his father will lose his job if he enlists, Rene sets aside his dream and marries. Although the love...