The Gunner and the Grunt: Two Boston Boys in Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division Airmobile

“That the book simultaneously succeeds on the individual soldier level makes it a standout for any reader with an interest in the airmobile aspect of the Vietnam War.”—Vietnam Magazine.

The Gunner and the Grunt is written in the voices of two soldiers who fought in the same battles as members of the same recon unit but from different angles. Michael Kelley, the “Gunner,” was flying in an armed helicopter above the jungle providing suppressive fire support, while Peter Burbank, the “Grunt,” was down in the jungle on foot patrol involved in fire fights with Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops.

The book follows these two Boston boys from army training through deployment to the war zone and the shock of first combat missions, to helicopter air assault “Search and Destroy” operations from the Cambodian border to the sands of the South China Sea.

© 2025 Casemate (Ebook): 9781636243443

Release date

Ebook: April 22, 2025