Ltc USA Bert Chole

War Air Cavalry Style Ltc USA Bert Chole

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) John B. Stockton and Staff Sergeant (SSG) Bert Chole reported to Fort Benning on two separate missions. They were unknown to each other, but their destinies would be intertwined in a way neither could foresee.

Ultimately, in 1965, Stockton took the 1st squadron of the 9th air cavalry to Vietnam, where he and his men flew teams of gunships in the fight against the Viet Cong. Though he disobeyed orders and disagreed with the infantry's mindset regarding air mobility, he and his men won battles. Even so, in the face of conflict, Stockton was relieved of his command. Under the leadership of others, the squadron continued to succeed, accomplishing great feats on the battlefield and building a fighting record unequaled by another other battalion-sized unit that fought in Vietnam. Eventually, however, in 1971, Chole, then the squadron commander, brought the men home after five years and eight months of continuous combat.

Now, this military history, written by a man who was part of the squadron's accomplishments, tells the true story of the air cavalry in the midst of the Vietnam War.