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The Last Parallel: A Marine's War Journal

Long regarded as one of the best books about combat written, this book tells of the experiences of combat soldiers during the Korean War. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Hardcover: 333 pages

Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group (June 1957)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0837167701

ISBN-13: 978-0837167701

Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #2,324,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #72 in Books > History > Military > Korean War > Personal Narratives #815 in Books > History > Asia > Korea #6417 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military

This is the third first-person account of the Korean War I have reviewed here during the last year (the others were James Brady, The Coldest War : A Memoir of Korea, review date May 27, 2000, and James R. Owen, Colder Than Hell : A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. review date December 8, 2000), and I have enjoyed all three. No war is pretty, but the Korean War was especially ugly: Most of the fighting took place over cold and barren ground from World War I-style trenches; the enemy, North Koreans and Chinese, was tough and relentless; and the conflict ended in a cruel stalemate that essentially persists to this day. The author of this memoir, Corporal (later Sergeant) Martin Russ describes Seoul, the capital of South Korea, as "a huge trash heap," and the countryside as "a frozen patchwork of fields and rice paddies."By the time Russ arrived in Korea in December 1952, the war had been in progress for two and one-half years. Although Russ was trained to be a small-arms mechanic, he informs us that all marines underwent advanced infantry training before being sent to Korea, and he spent most of his time as a rifleman in trenches. Five days after he arrived in at his post in the field in January 1953, he wrote: "I consider it an honor to be here." It was, however, a hard life. An occasional chocolate chip cookie is balanced by "an obscene putrescence in one of the cans which is labeled `Ham and Eggs.'" According to Russ: "It is impossible to keep anything clean; showers of dirt fall each time an incoming shell lands anywhere nearby." At one point, Russ describes himself and his fellows as "bearded, filthy, and stinking." As a result, Russ writes: "The portable showers [were] a real luxury.

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