Adam Givens

Historian of US Army Aviation and helicopter operations/technology/industry since WWII (PhD) | Personal account (own views)

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Pleased to say that I’ve contributed to the Marine Corps History Division’s Vietnam War Commemorative Series with a study of Marine #helicopter operations. Many thanks to all the hard-working people who helped.

Need maps made? Contact Pete McPhail.

https://t.co/Ry7W2rtt9B

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

True that helicopters have been in plenty of films.

Strange that Vietnam is completely missing here, though. Just the sound of a Huey and audiences make the connection. That’s synonymous. That’s a powerful cultural reference, too, and not all negative. Celebrate a proud legacy.

[Bell @BellFlight]

Bell aircraft have become synonymous with the action genre and have left a lasting impact on movie screens. From the Bell H-13 Sioux in M*A*S*H to the V-22 Osprey in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, our aircraft continue to play pivotal roles in cinematic history.

Explore our legacy in film. ⬇️ https://t.co/Rnx7hKiKcd

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

@BillockCody Recycling tired, clichéd tropes sure isn’t helping.

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Can a turning point just be a circle? Simple trainers/fundamentals was the norm for decades.

“…the first step to a potential turning point for Army Aviation, modernizing a training curriculum that has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s”

https://t.co/9bHU8GqFdG

[The Second World War Research Group North America @SWWResearchNA]

We are happy to announce that our first SWWRGNA volume, based on 3 research workshops, will be out in September w/ @FordhamPress. Edited by our co-director Jadwiga Biskupska & @essbeecastro, & w/ a preface by Robert M. Citino, it can be pre-ordered here: https://t.co/1XSQj9HXOi

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Happy birthday to @USArmy Aviation. After 42 years, it's now finally older than when it received branch status in 1983.

For four decades before 1983, organic Army aviation built a foundation for enthusiasm, creative thinking, and intelligence about warfare in the 3rd dimension.

[George W. Bush Presidential Center @TheBushCenter]

Join us for a live podcast recording featuring NYT best-selling author of “The Monuments Men” @RobertEdsel at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Monday, April 14.

RSVP here: https://t.co/i5ZSVFS33q

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

@BillockCody @SMH_Historians Same sentiment, Cody. We were “overtaken by circumstances,” in DoD parlance.

Enjoy yourself and please live up to our graduate program’s after-dinner socializing reputation. 🍻

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Had to unexpectedly back out of this year’s @SMH_Historians conference in Mobile. A shame given our panel’s members, its theme, and today being National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

Enjoying photos and updates from those who are there, though. Hoping to see friends next year.

[Robert M. Edsel @RobertEdsel]

🚍 The ‘Remember Us’ book tour is about to hit the road! 🚍

Here’s how you can be part of it:
📍 Check the full (& growing) schedule
📖 Join us at a stop near you!
💬 Tag a friend to meet you there! Have a favorite bookstore or venue that should host us? Let us know!👇🏻#BookTour

[Robert M. Edsel @RobertEdsel]

I’m excited to introduce this trailer of my new book, ‘Remember Us’ – an inspiring story of sacrifice, gratitude, and love. I hope you will watch, remember, and share their story. Preorder your copy now! #RememberUs

[OHIO College of Arts and Sciences @OHIOartsandsci]

Join us this week for @ohiou's 2025 Baker Peace Conference, hosted by the Contemporary History Institute on Feb. 20-21.

This year's keynote speaker is renowned Vietnam scholar Peter Zinoman.

Learn more ⬇️
https://t.co/VFuVgnG3wL

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

@BillockCody @SMH_Historians Outstanding news, Cody. Congratulations.

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Lack of Kasserine Pass moment for early Army heli ops in Vietnam (set aside Ap Bac) is important. Marines also successful early w/Starlite.

Both subsequently attempted #airmobility capability in forces not organized for it. More adaptation than innovation with a learning curve.

[CMH @USArmyCMH]

14 - 16 NOVEMBER 1965 - BATTLE OF IA DRANG (LZ X-RAY)

In the first major engagement between America and North Vietnam, U.S. Army troops beat back a numerically superior People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) force in South Vietnam’s central highlands.

#USArmy #TRADOC #VietnamWar

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Recently visited @USMCMuseum for the first time. Incredibly impressive. One of the best in terms of design and the importance of artifacts.

Also the best at incorporating the history of #helicopters into a larger narrative while featuring significant airframes. Highly recommend.

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Had a wonderful time speaking with @OUConHist students and faculty about how our careers have developed. Great to see friends, former professors, and the latest generation of talent.

Returning to @ohiou and Athens in full autumnal bloom was a bonus. No place like it.

[Ohio University Contemporary History Institute @OUConHist]

A big thank you to CHI alum Seth Givens for his excellent CHI speaker series talk yesterday on "The Marine Corps and the Long Shadow of Vietnam, 1965-2020," as well as his and fellow CHI alum Adam Givens's seminar with the History Department's graduate students.

[Ohio University Contemporary History Institute @OUConHist]

Join CHI on November 7 for a speaker series talk by Dr. Seth Givens, historian at Marine Corps History Division: "The Marine Corps and the Long Shadow of Vietnam, 1965-2020." 5:00PM in Bentley Hall 124. @OHIOartsandsci
https://t.co/A6ZdiDqWKe

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Shocked to bump into oldest surviving combat-time Huey at my local airshow. The 25th UH-1 produced, seventh UH-1A off the line. Flew as dustoff w/57th Med Det in RVN before becoming an Air America bird.

Bizarre seeing kids dressed in dinosaur and princess costumes posing with it

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Stuffed between memoranda on the future of Army aviation, this is what apparently passed for humor among Army officers on the Howze Board in 1962.

Imagine the sentiment might still have some relevance for engineers and staffers working on FLRAA today.

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Now even Ukraine's Ministry of Defense account is linking Vietnam War cultural references to helicopters in combat today. No apparent worries referencing an icon of a lost war.

And there has to be a more flattering illustration of helicopter ops than race-tracking blind salvos

[Defense of Ukraine @DefenceU]

Military aviation: the beauty and power of the Ukrainian army.

📹: 25th Airborne Brigade

[Adam Givens @AdamGivens71]

Telling that many assume since Kris Kristofferson flew Army helicopters that he was in Vietnam. Left the Reg Army in ‘65. Flew for PHI, the largest private heli business at the time. And no, he didn't steal an a/c to land at Johnny Cash's. It was an ARNG H-23 on a training flight