{"product_id":"9781449070311","title":"In the Sanctity of the Snake Pit","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"In the Sanctity of the Snake Pit\"\u003c\/b\u003e discloses the tribulations of the Vietnam helicopter war, and provides deeply moving insight into the lives of those crewmen who routinely flew combat assault missions. \u003cb\u003eW\u003c\/b\u003eritten in narrative non-fiction, the book reveals the rarely told account of air to ground combat, and the surreal events of adolescent soldiers, many exposed for the first time to their mortality. \u003cb\u003eI\u003c\/b\u003en 1969 sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll dominated most of these young lives, but they stood and fought hard believing they were doing the right thing irrespective of politics, and public opinion! \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eS\u003c\/b\u003eetting the backdrop is the 135\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e Assault Helicopter Unit, a fighting contingency made up of Royal Australian Navy personnel and members of the United States Army. \u003cb\u003eA\u003c\/b\u003es the only multi-national experimental military unit in Vietnam, they maintained the highest order of discipline and wrought devastation on the Viet Cong in South Vietnam’s delta region. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eW\u003c\/b\u003eith a year long adventure before him, the protagonist, MITCHELL COLLINS reflects on his desire to fly in the machines he was trained to repair. \u003cb\u003eA\u003c\/b\u003elmost immediately he is transformed into an aerial combatant of the unit’s elite Taipan platoon flying helicopter gunships. \u003cb\u003eT\u003c\/b\u003eheir mission is to protect the troop transport choppers carrying ground forces into the fight. \u003cb\u003eO\u003c\/b\u003ence the troops are in the landing zone, the Taipan’s provided gun support and reconnaissance. \u003cb\u003eH\u003c\/b\u003eis experiences were unlike other combatants who fought on the ground, the intensity and frequency of actions were multiplied by their mobility. \u003cb\u003eM\u003c\/b\u003eitchell soon contemplates on his heartfelt emotion of the carnage and of losing comrades. \u003cb\u003eI\u003c\/b\u003en his last three months he fly’s the night missions of the hunter\/killers”, and his chances for survival dwindle.\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AuthorHouse","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47169328546032,"sku":"9781449070311","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781449070311_p0.jpg?v=1763830522","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781449070311","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}