Helicopters, Jets, and Bush Planes: My Flying Life, From Vietnam to Alaska

It is extremely rare for a pilot to complete two military flight schools, but Chuck Moore did just that. He first went to the US Army flight school in 1967. Due to the high demand for helicopter pilots for the Vietnam War, they were accepting high school graduates. After the war, he attended college on the GI Bill, qualifying him for the US Navy flight school. His father would have been very proud because he was a B-24 radio operator in WW2, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross. Unfortunately, he was not alive to share the experience of his son becoming a combat pilot. It would have been an amazing experience to fly together in Chuck’s airplane and helicopter in Alaska. If you know a Vietnam infantry combat veteran, ask him about the Cobra gunships and how they felt when they showed up on the battlefield.