ExNotes Review: The 600 m.o.l. Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam

By Joe Berk

This is the first of several book reviews to follow in the next few weeks.  The 600 m.o.l. Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam is the true story of the second wave of Tuskegee Airmen.  The first wave included the Black aviators who flew combat missions in World War II.  There have been movies made about those men and their accomplishments are well known.  The second wave refers to Tuskegee airmen trained to be helicopter pilots by the famed Alfred Anderson, who trained the first wave for World War II.  Their exploits and the paths they blazed are not nearly as well known.

I happened on to The 600 m.o.l. Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam as a result of visiting one of the pilots featured in the book, a man who was my first boss when I was in the Army in Korea.

The story is fascinating on many levels, not the least of which is the story of the author, Dr. Joe Ponds.  He was one of the more or less (that’s where the “m.o.l.” comes from) 600 Black helicopter pilots in Vietnam who flew Huey and Cobra gunships during that war.  The book begins with the author’s end in sight:  A cancer diagnosis with only a few months left to live.

What do you do with what is essentially a death sentence diagnosis?  Dr. Joe Ponds decided to tell the story of the Black helicopter pilots who flew in Vietnam.  Theirs was not an easy path.  They faced institutionalized racism and discrimination in both civilian and Army life.  These men managed to overcome limits imposed by others and they became U.S. Army aviators.

The 600 m.o.l. Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam covers seven major topics:

• • A brief history of discrimination in America and efforts to overcome it.
  • Dr. Pond’s experiences in gaining a officer’s commission in the US Army, and then becoming a helicopter pilot.
  • A discussion of the different types of helicopters flown in Vietnam.
  • A review of the kinds of helicopter missions in Vietnam.
  • Stories from several Black aviators featured in the book.  All were interesting, especially the ones who flew medevac helicopters.  Those helicopters flew with no armament whatsoever, and they were literally sitting (or hovering) ducks when they flew in to retrieve wounded soldiers.
  • A list of the approximately 600 Black aviators who served in Vietnam.
  • A chapter describing how Dr. Ponds’ cancer went into remission and his subsequent activities on several fronts, including mentoring young people, counseling, helping first responders cope with post-traumatic stress syndrome, motivational speaking, and more.

The 600 m.o.l. Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam was a great read.  I know you’ll enjoy it.

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