Presidents’ pilot pens good read

"Inside Marine One," by Col. Ray "Frenchy" L’Heureux with Lee Kelley (St. Martin’s Griffin, $15.99)

We see them in newscasts almost daily: the "white top" helicopters of Marine Helicopter Squadron One, HMX-1 for short, that transport the president of the United States. Hawaii resident Ray "Frenchy" L’Heu­reux provides a look inside that elite unit with his informal, easy-to-read autobiography.

Much of the story is basic stuff: A young boy wants to be a pilot, joins the Marines as a means to that end and ends up making the service his career. L’Heu­reux’s career included two tours with HMX-1 — the second time as the unit commander — and that’s where this Marine’s story takes off into unusual areas.

The timing of those assignments put L’Heu­reux in close proximity to four presidents and their families. In his first tour of duty with HMX-1, he helped transport Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Returning to HMX-1 in 2006, he flew George W. Bush and then Barack Obama.

Readers with an interest in military aviation will be fascinated by L’Heu­reux’s account of unit operations and the challenges of command. He is one of a very short list of people who have had that responsibility. Most memorable are his experiences with George W. at Camp David and at the Bush ranch in Texas. Contrary to some of the stories that circulated, L’Heu­reux writes that Bush was a passionate and highly accomplished mountain biker who relished the challenge of difficult terrain. He adds that the president personally helped the first responders tend to L’Heu­reux when the pilot crashed while biking down a steep hill at Camp David.

L’Heureux also recalls that Bush enjoyed playing a volleyball-like game known as wallyball and always insisted that every member of the opposing team play to win.

These vignettes are tangential to the story of L’Heu­reux’s career with HMX-1 but unforgettable, nonetheless.