This book consists of letters written by American soldiers during the Vietnam War. It's extremely heart-breaking to read these letters as they gives "voices" instead of a mere figure. A lot of times, the figure of how many were killed, wounded, missing, etc but it does not portray any "emotions" the soldiers felt. At the end of each letter, the editor includes a few sentences on what happened to the author. It's extremely sad to read how many of those killed were just 19 year-olds, 20 year-olds, and these soldiers were just kids! It makes you think how wasteful, stupid, unnecessary wars are, and the sacrifices that has to be made.

The last chapter of this book speaks a lot. It is chronologically listed and you can see the evolving sentiments of the soldiers. At the beginning of the war, the soldiers were proud to fight against the Communists, how they think the war will be over soon. Towards the end of that chapter, most soldiers were scared, depressed and just wanted to get out of the war... alive! This shows why many Vietnam War veterans suffered from postwar depression as the horror of the war, how their friends, buddies were killed or wounded in front of their own eyes and how many could not possibly forget these horrifying images.

I highly recommend this book as this book speaks a lot. To me, the important message that it is trying to convey is the unnecessary sacrifices that these soldiers have to make, to fight a war that is not theirs, and the horror and bloodiness of the war is vividly described by these soldiers.

I have seen the movie in class last week and my teacher was in the war, but only as an engineer controller down in a ship. When my eighth grade class saw it, it was very good only some parts my teacher cut out because of nudity. I would suggest this boook or movie to anyone that has ever wondered about the Vietnam thing. This "war" that some people like to call it was not a war at all, it was just a police action and the soldiers were the police and we were just looking and were going to arrest the V.C.'s. If you have any problem with what I am saying then you can contact me at my address below. Thank You!

Sarah Quartuccio 14yrs. old

I still remember the day I walked into my college's library back in the late 1980s and saw this publication sitting on the table of new releases. I picked it up and headed for a couch. About six hours, many tears, mixed emotions, and several missed classes later I emerged from that couch and put the completed book back on the table. In those six hours my view about the Vietnam experience and those who fought it changed. The words of those soldiers in their letters are powerful evidence of the collision between innocence and experience that takes place when young men are thrust into battle.

This book should be required reading for all students of that war and required reading for every President who ever contemplates sending soldiers into battle.

I'm a new student of military history and I'm particularly interested in the Vietnam War. This book came highly recommended and I'm glad that I have read it. It is by far, one of the best Vietnam books I have ever read. I have recommended it to my fellow students. Major Norton has done a great job of telling the story of his Force Recon Marines!

I've read both '69 and '70. This is by far one of the best books about real experiences in Vietnam that I have read. I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through. At one point I felt as if I was the one hiding in the bush just 10' feet from the NVA as they passed by! A real heart pounder!

A friend of mine turned me on to Major "Doc" Norton's books about the Marine Corps, and I must agree, this Major can tell a great story! I served in the Marine Corps for 22 years and had just one tour in Vietnam. No one else can "bring in home" like this guy can. You feel as though you are out on patrol with Doc and his recon team in 3rd Force Recon Co. The best part is that he writes a sequel about his time in 1st Force Recon Company. If Spielburg had half a brain he'd make Norton's books come alive on sreen. It would be the Vietnam version of Saving Private Ryan. If readers are interesetd in "credibility" than here is a story of heroic young men in combat. Truth is better than fiction and this book proves it. Any Marines I know would be proud to have guys like Norton and his teammates, Bishop, Silva, Keaveney and Furhman, in their team. Where do guys like these come from? The are the legends of the Corps. A GREAT Book! Go out a buy it. That's an order!

What happens when a soldier learns the language of the people he is living amongst, and paid to kill? What happens when he learns the culture, and decides to adopt it as his own? Gone Native tells the story of a NCO who went too far - at least in the eyes of his own government. Instead of ending up as the most valuable policy-maker in Washington we could have ever had, the author ends up in a stockade. Thank goodness he wrote his book anyway, despite his mistakes, admissions of recreational drug use, etc. Anyone who wants to know what Vietnam was like should read this tome. It's among the ten best books ever written about the Vietnam conflict. It offers valuable lessons for future warriors, like LEARN THE LANGUAGE / STUDY THE CULTURE before you go pointing a gun at someone who may or may not be your enemy. I respect author Cornet more than any other Vietnam warrior I have read. He became a true gentleperson with ethics after starting out as a nineteen year old with a license to kill.

I do not like to read all that much but this book I could not put down. I only like watching movies about vietnam but this book isa definatly worth while. Its is wrtting so good that you can not put the book down. It goes from war to lust to love to hatrent and attepted murder. It is a well written book and any one who is intrested in war will ove this book

Alan G. Cornett's autobiographical account of his multiple tours of duty in Vietnam is one of the most amazing accounts I've ever read of anyone who served in the war. Cornett served with so many Special Operations units (Special Forces, LRRPs, Operation Phoenix and the like) that his credibility (not to mention his candor) puts the rest of us to shame. This is an honest book, sans varnish or gloss, and what you get is a fast-paced glimpse of behind the lines operations from someone who literally has 'been there and done that' and been there a few more times and done it again and again. This could have easily been a series of books simply because there was so much to cover; from his rise to Operation Phoenix and a fall he covers in detail. Ironically, it's the rise again from his own ashes that rekindles his career. Cornett's story will amaze you.

My father told Roy's heroism as a bedtime story when I was a very young - before Roy even receive the Medal of Honor from President Reagan and before this book was written. You see, my family is the 1st generation from Vietnam. While he was in the army, my father had the honor and privilege meeting Roy. Needless to say, my father revive Roy's story numerous times to me. I never imagine it was all real...I am so overwhelm while reading this book that it is all true. A definitely must read.

My USA retired husband saw Roy Benavidez 3 days before he passed in Nov '98. Visitors were restricted but Roy beckoned for him to come into his hospital room (he always made time for everyone). He was in great pain and had his shirt off. His scars showed. A few words were spoken between 2 battlefield brothers. It must have been a comfort to the family to see the hundreds who went to the funeral. Mrs. Benevidez resides in El Campo TX, drop her a line to tell her you still remember Roy. Maybe one day a movie will be made about THIS FINE CHRISTIAN MAN.

I truly enjoyed the book! I met MSG Roy P. Benavidez in 1990 while stationed in the Air Force at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas. The book is a must to read. It's an inspiration to all mankind. Unfortunately, on 11-30-98, he passed away. I attended his funeral services along with hundreds to pay our respects to a man whom I met in my lifetime and will never forget. The book has been written. Now, the movie must be made...

As one of the pilots of Jolly Green 67 I simply want to thank Dr. Castle for his comprehensive and historical accurate account of the events at Lima Site 85. This is a story that begged to be told; Dr. Castle pulls no punches, providing a riveting and revealing account. His work was a key factor in the eventual recognition of the heroic efforts of Sgt. Etchberger at the Enlisted Hertiage Hall, Maxwell AFB Annex (formally Gunter AFS), Montgomery AL. A great read.

Congratulations to Dr. Castle for this fine book. A meticulously researched historical work of the finest order that reads like a Tom Clancy action novel. A bombshell that exposes one of the most egregious and hitherto publicly undisclosed tragedies of the Vietnam War. In March 1968 an NVA sapper team avoided detection and attacked a top-secret radar bombing facility (code name Jolly Green) which was manned by sixteen "civilianized" Air Force technicians. The site, LS 85, was located on a mountain top in Laos less than twenty-five miles from the North Vietnam border. The attack caught the technicians off guard and resulted in the loss of the site to the communist forces. Two of those dedicated volunteers manning the site were confirmed killed, five were rescued alive (one died on the evacuation flight) and the remaining nine have never been accounted for and their status remains unknown. This incident holds the distinction of being the largest single loss of Air Force ground personnel during the entire Vietnam War. Why did the Air Force continue to operate this site in the face of considerable evidence the site would soon fall under bombardment and attack by large NVA forces gathering in the area? Was it incompetence or was the site considered so essential to the North Vietnam bombing effort that the loss of the men was an acceptable risk? Dr. Castle looks at these questions in detail. One Day Too Long chronicles the history of Site 85 from its initial concept of operations through the tragic consequence of this miscalculation. But the story does not stop there. It also relates the stoic efforts by one widow to find answers to questions about her husbands death at this site the government was unwilling to provide. This book should be mandatory reading for all future military leaders.

I have a very personal reaction to "One Day Too Long" in that Mel and Ann Holland were our military sponsors when my family and I were first assigned to an AC&W squadron in southern Spain in early 1961, and I worked with Mel until he rotated to the States. It is embarrassing and shameful to learn how both the military and civilian authorities were willing to sacrifice those men in order to cover up their own mistakes, but I suppose if ALL the truth were known about SE Asia operations, we would not be able to stand it. Dr. Castle has perfomed an invaluable service for democracy. EVERYBODY should read this book! (Ann, we'd love to hear from you!)

Sir, Your accounting of the abilities of our teams brought back so many memories. The price we had to pay is still so unknown to so many. I carry the memory of my friend and teammate Sgt.A.Garcia with me every day. I am proud that I had the honor to serve under you and with men like him. For those who fought for it freedom has a taste the protected will never know.
Doc Parrish 3rd. Force Recon 1969-1970

I believe this is a very balanced work, and sets forth a compelling remembrance of the good and great men who served under unspeakable conditions, and gained little by it for themselves but silent honor.

I bought and read this book, after returning from the funeral of my friend's father, Lt. Col. Buck Coffman, this past weekend (1 Sept., '01). Col. Coffman was a fascinating, remarkable man who served his nation well. Sometimes, perhaps, better than it's people deserved. I knew him apart from his role as warrior (though ALWAYS a Marine), and he set a standard to aspire to, as a man and as Man. He was loved truly by his family and friends.

At his memorial service, I had the privelege of meeting the author, Col. Lee, as well as Maj. Norton, Col. Morris, Gen. Gray and several of the other courageous men who served with them in the Marines; men written of in this book. Each and every one of them impressed me with their intelligence, decency and honor, and for the love they so obviously share for one another.

I am now starting on Doc Norton's Force Recon Diaries. I am very grateful to the men who write these books. We should always remember that giants DO walk the earth. I'm honored to have spent a time, even but a moment, in the shadow of one.

It seems that all of these Force Recon books are concerned with the war after 1969, during the downsizing of Americas involvement. dont they realize that the worst of the war was prior to that ,in 67-68. Also, i dont care for the way col. Lee is critical of the unit prior to his arrival. This very company was the first into the DMZ in 1967, it patrolled Con Thien in the bad days and patrolled the Khe Sanh area with 4 man teams. the company had a Medal of Honor winner and a number of Navy Crosses prior to his arrival. Regardless it is still an excellent book and the views above are mine alone.

This book is an awesome collection of great photos. Larry Burrows did a fabulous job at capturing real life experiences in Vietnam. I commend him and David Halberstam for their professionalism and commitment to those soldiers who fought and died for our country. I only wish the descriptive captions were listed near the large photos in the book, not the back of the book. I'm sure the author had a reason for this. I strongly recommend this book.

The Vietnam war was defined as the first total media war, television was in the ascendancy but it was through newspapers and magazines that most people got there view of the suffering. The three greatest war photographers of all time (Robert Capa is the forth) brought the war to the breakfast tables of the world, Phillip Jones Griffiths, Donald McCullin and Larry Burrows produced pictures which showed the true horror and futility of the Vietnam conflict. McCullin through the pages of the Sunday Times Magazine, Jones Griffiths with his book "Vietnam Inc" and Burrows in the pages of "Life" magazine. Larry Burrows was given the massive task of showing the war in colour. Colour was regarded as being too pretty for the hard hitting task of showing war, also the actual technical limitations of the colour film of the time made Burrows task even more difficult. The sensitivity was very slow and getting the exposure absolutely spot on was imperitive. The steadyness and consideration needed to get the pictures are not condusive to the nerves in the midst of combat but Burrows had the metal to get the job done. This book brings together his work from 1963 till his death in 1971 in a way that shows not only his skill as a photographer but also as a journalist who could visualise the images and create the difinitive "picture story" The reproduction and layout are excellent and to see the images virtually as they would have appeared in Life are a credit to Larry's son Russell. This is a must for anyone interested in photography and photojournalism.

I couldn't pass this book up. As this country prepares for the next war we should be mindful of the lessons of the one we lost. Larry Burrows appears to have gone everywhere in Vietnam carrying his Leicas and Nikons. His images are gritty, sad, shocking, poignant, and, yes beautiful. He is at his best when he captures the mind bending reactions in the faces of the men who fought the enemy and fought to stay alive. I don't think color has ever been used so well in combat photos. An artist and historian with a camera. This book is the legacy of a man whose compassion brought him too close to his subject. He died in a helicopter crash in an incursion into Laos in 1971. His images show his feeling for nuance, composition, storytelling and empathy. Only David Duncan's photographs of the Marines retreat in Korea compare with Burrows' combat sequences. And David Duncan was with his unit for a few days. Larry Burrows spend nine years, off and on, covering the Vietnam debacle and its impact on soldiers, civilians and country.

Mr. Hadley is a wonderful author.. he has brought forth so many different aspects of the Vietnam War and how people tried to cope.. this is a wonderful book for those that served and for those that don't know much or anything about the war. I found myself getting caught up in the story and amazed at how it affected me. Mr. Hadley is a wonderul person, I met him, and he is so kind and caring and I am completely empressed with his novel and ability to bring out the "hidden" part of this War so many were affected by and so many try to forget. Congratulations Mr. Hadley!!!!!

This book had me laughing and crying in the first read. It was so captivating. From a young boy to a man with a heart warming love story in between. You'll love the guidance from the wise Indian grandfather. Though I am not really into war stories, I am still glad I read it to know what happened over in Vietnam. I am telling everyone that will listen to read this book. This book goes on my bookshelf to be read again with my other favorites such as Gone with the Wind, Embraced by the light and Bridges of Madison County.

This is a great book that's hard to put down. It has all the elements to keep an audience interested thru to the end. Normally, my wife and I have different tastes when it comes to books but, we both enjoyed this one. This book will go up on my read again shelf....

I was given the book as a gift by one of the contributing writers It was good to hear about people that I served with in 3rd Force Recon Co. from Nov.65-Dec.68..... I think that books that are written in this style lack emotion and color, sorry but I have to be honest. Also,concerning the subject( stingray patrols) though I am not a military scholar I did participate for 20 months in both Stingray and Keyhole (4 man team) patrols. We suffered less casualties using the Keyhole approach and still inflicted many casualties on the enemy. I don't share the praise given to this concept of warfare, all it did was waste many good friends of mine. Although I don't care for this sort of effort, it is probably interesting to many other people and I am sure that it is worth the price but not 5 stars..... Sorry but that is how I feel about the book.....

As a college student, (Junior) working towards a degree in History, I found Stingray, by Major B. H. Norton, USMC, to be a well-written and informative book on one aspect of US military history. While I wasn't even born during the Vietnam War, I have now gained a better sense of history and underdstanding by reading this, and other, books written by Major Norton. Stringray describes a military concept used by reconnaissance Marines during the Vietnam War. The author begins by setting the political and military tone of the times, and then describes how the Marines had to change their "concept of operations" to match wits with the Viet Cong, and later, the North Vietnamese Army as it invaded South Vietnam. With the help of first-hand accounts and by having other Marines' explain their understanding of the Stingray Concept, Major Norton has produced a book that paints the entire picture; from those recon team members who went out on patrol, to the officers who were involved in "fine-tuning" their plans. I found this book to be enlightning and very useful in undestanding what happened during this time in our nation's history. I'm looking forward to more books by Norton. He seems to know how to put it all together. A very good book.

This is by far the weakest book I have read by Bruce. I enjoyed it, but I think anyone that has never been in Nam would have trouble understanding it. After having read the other books by Bruce I was mildly dissapointed in this one. I am not saying it wasn't a good book,but I think Bruce has put out better books.

Roadrunner 6 Out

Doc Evans not only tells it like it was, he makes his fellow grunts, like L. J. Henderson, and their heroism come alive in your mind. After reading Dr. Evans' book you won't want of miss two other books about the 4/39th during this same period; ...

I am a military physician and was serving in Afghanistan when I read Platoon Medic. I read the whole thing, cover-to-cover in a day and a half. It's simply a great book. It is a well-written, action-packed, gut-wrenching rocket ride through the hellish world of the combat medic in Vietnam. I felt like I was there in the rice paddies, watching Doc Evans patch up his bloddy, dying comrades while the bullets were flying over his head. Dan Evans tells an astonishingly honest, important and poignant personal story. This book should be required reading for all Army medics and physicians. A great and important read.

As a Squad Leader of 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, reading Dan's book years after experiencing it brough back a floor of memories. We lost some good men in our battles, but we'ed lost a hell of a lot more if it hadn't been for him and the other medic's. I was honored to proof read his story before it was published and when I did, it was hard to hold back the tear's from the memories it brough. I'am honored to know him and to be part of his story.