The Valley of Hope

A famous American WWII aviation hero once said, “Show me a hero and I’ll show you a bum.” The employees of NUKI, an Indonesian-American helicopter company supporting oil exploration in the rainforests of Borneo, seem determined to prove that, ‘Show me a bum and I’ll show you a hero’, may also be true. NUKI, an acronym for the Indonesian company Nusa Udara Kisaran Indonesia (Island Helicopters Indonesia), is a joint-venture helicopter company comprised almost entirely of American and Australian Vietnam War veterans. The time period is the early nineteen-seventies and the Americans and their allies are gradually withdrawing from Vietnam. Across America, filling station queues are a daily reality. The shortage of oil and its unprecedented rise in price has encouraged the oil conglomerates to embark on massive wildcat exploration at promising locations throughout the world. Indonesia, especially the island of Borneo, where prolific, pre-WWII Dutch oilfields resulted in occupation by the Imperial Japanese Army, is an area of great potential. The oil companies realize that, due to the primitive conditions existing in the interior of Borneo, large numbers of helicopters will be required to transport the men and the equipment required to support extensive exploration. For many of the thousands of servicemen and military contract workers of various nationalities who had served in Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia, this was an excellent opportunity to re-experience the seductiveness of Southeast Asia. The Valley of Hope is a novel about a group of these expatriates, predominately Americans and Australians, who are engaged at the forefront of Indonesia's ambitious quest for petroleum riches. NUKI, the largest helicopter operator in Indonesia, operates a fleet of venerable ‘Huey’ helicopters of Vietnam War fame: The same helicopter, as the Vietnam War continues, that is still being featured daily, along with body-counts, on prime-time TV. We soon discover that some of NUKI’s employees are still coming to terms with the traumas of their wartime experiences. Others are affected by problems of a more personal nature, such as married couples striving to cope with their husband’s recurring schedule of two weeks of work in Indonesia followed by six days of ‘time-off’ in Singapore and surrounding Asian countries. In the case of single employees, many spend their six-day vacation in frivolous pursuit of the fun-and-money-loving women that work in the bars and massage parlors of Bangkok and Manila. For the multitude of oil field workers and support personnel manning the rigs in the interior of Borneo, the Huey is their only link to civilization and perhaps their only chance for survival if they became injured or afflicted with illness. The Huey is both life and death. Due to the rigorous demands on both the flight crews and the aircraft, accidents are a frequent occurrence. Poor weather conditions, mechanical failures, and pilot error are common hazards, but despite the inherent dangers of their profession, most NUKI employees approach life with a light-hearted attitude and strive do everything possible to make their existence in Indonesia more enjoyable, hence the title - The Valley of Hope. The Valley of Hope is the largest and by far the best-stocked brothel on the island of Borneo. By experiencing NUKI employee’s trials and tribulations, we discover that, indeed, any of us may be a hero or a bum. The Valley of Hope, although set in a period thirty-two years ago, provides glimpses of Indonesian customs and culture that help to explain how decades of endemic corruption have resulted in the turmoil and political instability that is shattering Indonesia today. The Valley of Hope is my first novel. It is based upon 35 years of experience flying helicopters in Southeast Asia. After being discharged from the US Marines, I flew helicopters for the Hollywood TV series M*A*S*H prior to returning to Southeast Asia in 1973. I eventually founded an aviation company here in Singapore that specializes in helicopter flight testing and delivery to their respective operators in Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, India, and Bangladesh, as well as other Asian countries. Whereas, I'm an active test pilot, I write primarily as a hobby and a means to entertain my friends and relatives who otherwise would not be able to share my extreme good fortune of a career as a helicopter pilot flying low over the magnificent rain forests, mountains, and beaches of Southeast Asia.