Jumping from Helicopters: A Vietnam Memoir by John Stillman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My grandfather served in Vietnam, and I have had a fascination with the era ever since. The author, Lori Stillman has a similar fascination, I think, although the prompt for her is her father who is also the main character in this book. Following John Stillman after he volunteered to join the Army in 1967, the book captures the soaring highs and horrid lows of the Vietnam war from the perspective of a Paratrooper who gets sent into the midst of things. But the book doesn’t stop in Vietnam, the author also takes us though her fathers’ memories of uncertain and hard times after the soldiers return home to a country that is not grateful and at times even hostile to them.
Poignant and moving, this memoir is an eye-opening tale of grit, horror, violence, but also bravery, compassion and perseverance of the human spirit. I think this is a great portrayal of the times and captures the zeitgeist with aplomb. I’m grateful to the author and her father, as my grandfather never spoke of the time he was in Vietnam.


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