And also this one: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63699.Chickenhawk, another terrific read. 
Thanks!

One of my American friends was a pilot of a Huey during the Vietnam War; he never wanted to discuss anything about it

nobody in wars do 
That is a myth, as I have known "old soldiers / sailors". including my father and father-in-law, when alive, who loved to reminisce about those days in WW2, and in the case of the latter, also Korea.
With my American friends it is Vietnam as an exception to the rule, as it still leaves a bitter taste in their mouths. The principles of the war, and how it was fought, it still highly criticised by the veterans, and many, like my ex USAAF friend were disgusted by what they did, and how they did it. It was not a "good war" for them, unlike the "just" WW2.
my grandad was in WW2 -he didnt talk about much-lost too many friends i guess
andwell americans havent won a war yet have they--only interfered and invented friendly fire--ask anyone who was in korea-my stepdad probably killed some yanks cos they fired at brits--didnt make news though--unfortunately they think waving their flag will be enough to win-
I know what you mean Varche, and in so many ways you are right; Americans are naturally gun-ho and have caused a number of blue on blue incidents in every war they have fought in.
It is a bit mean though to say they have never won any war. Without the forces, industrial might, and pure weight of numbers of the USA we would not have won WW2. It can be argued that with the Russians in the East, and the British on the Western front, Nazi Germany would have been 'squeezed' and placed under potentially defeat conditions. However, the speed at which the war was eventually ended in proved crucial, and was purely down to the might of the USA. If the was had protracted out even another year, Hitler would have been able to use his 'V' weapons fully, develop his jet fighter fleet, and overall would have been under far less pressure than was subsequently the case. Hitler in fact became a paranoid raving lunatic, who launched into regular highly destructive rants towards his Generals, and Germans overall, to sow the final seeds of his downfall. Without the American pressure backing the Allied thrust, it could have been a very different story!
In addition, never forget that before America entered the war after 7th December 1941, the industrial and financial might of the USA was already greatly assisting the British war effort, and without it Britain would have been starved of supplies at a very early stage.
With the Americans always remember to that even their own are very much "expendable" at times, with many examples of this being so, which is often true in the case of large countries in war:
Just three examples
General Pershing in the hour, even half hour, leading up to the Armistice at 1100 on the 11th November, 1918, at the close of WW1, still ordered his troops into full battle assaults at the Germans with hundreds of casualties. Even the German troops were amazed at the stupidity of this action.
The great bomber assaults by the USAAF from 1943 to 1945 were marred by the American commanders insisting on daylight raids, when they had inadequate protection from their fighter force. Indeed they could have had P51 Mustangs, powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines, escorting the B17's all the way to Germany at an earlier stage, but American pride and stupidity ruled they stuck with inferior engined P51's which couldn't go the distance and were also very sluggish planes, and thus thousands of USAAF aircrew were lost unnecessarily.
The assault on Omaha beach at Normandy on the 6th June 1944 was a case of the Americans making serious errors of judgement and purely throwing numbers at a suicidal situation, which cost at least 2,000 American lives.
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As for Korea; no doubt your granddad was like my father-in-law, with the Glorious Gloucester's fighting at the Imjin River. An heroic battle against overwhelming odds.