COL Michael Gilpin, U.S. Army, Vietnam

Michael Gilpin had an interest aviation at a young age but had never pursued flying. He joined the Army with an option to pursue Officer Candidate School near the end of his college years. Even as he became an officer and started training, he was still in the infantry.

But soon he would switch to pilot training - specifically helicopter pilot training. He deployed to Vietnam in 1971 as a Huey pilot bringing Air Cavalry personnel in and out of combat.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Col. Gilpin shares his first thoughts of Vietnam and offers...