PFC / 1st Lieutenant USMCR 1967-71 MichaelDanKellum.com Home Author Articles Maps Photos Leftwich Skibbe/McVey Gitmo, Cuba Recruiter Stories Cam Sa Raid kdkellum@aol.com
© Copyright Michael Dan Kellum 2010
Welcome to my website honoring Marines, Navy Corpsmen and other U.S. Servicemen depicted in my two books:
American Heroes
Grunts, Pilots & “Docs”
Title: Book I, American Heroes: Grunts, Pilots & “Docs” Subtitle: Building “Hard Men”...U.S. Marines                Vietnam War Stories, 1966-71 Publisher: Navarro-Hill Publishing Group (Published Sept. 2011) Hardback w/dust jacket ISBN: 978-0-9845132-1-5, 539 pages Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-9845132-0-8, 539 pages Product Dimensions: 6.14 x 9.21 x 1 inch
Title: Book II, American Heroes: Grunts, Pilots & “Docs” Subtitle: Leathernecks Find ‘em, Fix ‘em, Kill ‘em                Vietnam Combat Stories, 1965, ‘69-’70 Publisher: Navarro-Hill Publishing Group (Published Sept. 2011) Hardback w/dust jacket ISBN: 978-0-9845132-3-9, 498 pages Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-9845132-2-2, 498 pages Product Dimensions: 6.14 x 9.21 x 1 inch
Writing about the United States Marine Corps has been a labor of love for me over the past 20-plus years as I’ve researched the material for Books I & II, American Heroes: Grunts, Pilots & “Docs.” It didn't occur to me until recently that everyone who participated in this project has given future historians an important vignette of not only the Marine Corps but American history as it pertains to the Vietnam War and the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s. The stories that are recounted are not big unit action tales of masses of men clashing but rather individual enlisted men's and junior officers' personal glimpses of what they saw and felt in combat situations.....
Book I Introduction
“Rounds penetrating a helicopter are hard to describe. It’s a loud metallic, cracking  sound when coming through the sides while up through the floor it was more of a  muffled sound. The floors are honeycombed aluminum, thicker. I’ve had grunts (we’ve  just extracted from a hot LZ) hitting the deck of the helicopter as was normal for them  when receiving hits (on the ground). Once I took my stubby screwdriver, which every  crew chief carries, and poked a hole in the side of the helicopter (to show how thin the  walls of the aircraft were and they would not stop an enemy round). I then told the  grunts, ‘There’s nowhere to hide in here.’”---Cpl. Josef “Joe” Dobosz, 21, of St. Joseph,  Missouri, HMM-364 Purple Fox crew chief. Chapter 1..... MORE 
Book I Excerpts
In Book II, American Heroes: Grunts, Pilots &  “Docs,” I relate the stories of Marines and Navy  Corpsmen in combat in Vietnam and, as in Book I,  their uncommon heroism. The following personal  narratives tell the unique history of the times when  idealistic young men served in the Marines in a war  between two countries half the land mass of Texas  on the other side of the earth to stop the spread of  Communism..... MORE 
Book II Introduction
I looked down at the Marine working on my legs and asked, “How are my legs?” to  which he replied, “Don’t worry about them...they’re gone.” West told the Marine on top of  him to go check on the lieutenant and he was gone before he could finish his sentence...  "As a survivor of that mission, it is my responsibility to share the unbelievable courage  and bravery I witnessed that day. I was surrounded by heroes."---LCpl. Ed West, an 18-  year-old radioman for the Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) with only 45 days in-country  accompanied 1stLt. Bruce Cruickshank, a 24-year-old A-4 Skyhawk pilot calling in air  support for Alpha Co., 1/1. Both men would lose their legs to a mine explosion in a  minefield. Two Marines and a Doc were killed and altogether 12 Marines wounded out of two squads north of Hill 55 while engaging NVA troops on January 31, 1970. Chapter  1..... MORE 
Book II Excerpts
Book I RVN, NVA and VC Units, Individuals Cited.....
Book I Vietnamese Cities, Villes & Hills.....
Book II RVN, NVA and VC Units, Individuals Cited.....
Book II Vietnamese Cities, Villes & Hills.....
Book II U.S. Military Units.....
Book I U.S. Military Units.....
Book I Marines & Other Personnel Cited.....
Book II Marines & Other Personnel Cited.....
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