Review (PDF)

Vietnam Memoirs: Part 1

This honestly-written book takes the reader on a young Marine lieutenant's journey as he assumes command of a Marine infantry platoon in Vietnam. Starting with his arrival in June, 1967, until his reassignment to the Marine Advisory Unit in November, 1967, the reader will experience Vietnam at the platoon and company levels and get an idea of combat operations in I Corps near ConThien, Dong Ha, and south of the Demilitarized Zone. Although depicting danger, fear, fatigue and death, this book is not a sensational account of combat. Rather it is the author’s best recollection of the day to day reality of living in combat. His story is not unique or special, but it is authentic and true.

File Size: 642 KB

Print Length: 200 pages

Publication Date: April 20, 2015

Sold by:  Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B00WFMNM7E

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray: Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled

Lending: Not Enabled

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #37,323 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #29 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Military > Vietnam War #43 in Books > History > Military > United States > Vietnam War #217 in Books > History > Asia

I read this book very slowly because I found myself wanting to feel the words as I was reading them, to try to fully understand what Don was feeling while he was there. This was even the case in Chapter 1 "Getting Ready." It should be a movie! It has the classic love triangle of a man and a woman and an Oldsmobile convertible. Don and I were roommates at the United States Naval Academy, and this chapter triggered some fond memories.This book is important for the reverent way it honors the relentless debilitation that is the soft underbelly of all wars. "Chunks of floating ice crashed into our boats as we fought the currents. Rain, hail, and snow fell. It was a terrible night for the soldiers who had no shoes," wrote one of Washington's aides. "Some of them had tied old rags around their feet." Every war since our first war makes its unique body and soul crushing demands on those who served. So make some picks... dehydration or monsoons, mosquitoes or leeches, rashes or infections? Then picture yourself curled up in jungle vegetation for four nights with your picks. There are no medals for this kind of heroism. You can't even communicate it on the Nightly News; it must be told in diaryesque-detail to even begin to understand it, and Don nailed it. So what if the pool of water you slept in last night had other residents... you still have to lead in the morning. Don recalls anguishing over whether or not to order a medical evacuation helicopter into a hot zone for three possibly life-threatening dehydration cases, and he tells of putting his hand in the goo of a man hit by friendly fire as the only thing he could do to help save him. Comes with the territory for a USMC Platoon Leader... but not Today Show material. This book is serious...

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