I'm not normally a reader of non-fiction war stories, especially in first person, but "Pucker Factor 10" caught my attention from the beginning all the way to the very end. Joyce brings the reader into the realm of realism, from family history, personal apprehensions, his somewhat inadvertant role as a helicopter pilot during the heat of battle, his impressions of soldiers and his humanity toward the enemy which brings chills to the reader. Meanwhile, just when I least expected, I found myself belly laughing his wit. This book is a must for anyone who enjoys true-to-lie accounts of how it was in the air trenches.

i think this is the best book ever

There are few books I would read in one sitting. This is one of them. The recollectionns of Jim Joyce may open the hearts and minds of other vets who had similar experiences. Jim Joyce is an excellent writer and his recollections of the war will certainly help other vets to deal with past memories, bad and good. The book would make a fine play or even a movie. I hope he continues writing.

Like one of the other reviewers I was actually born at the tail-end of the Tet Offensive. My father had been there and served his tour of duty in 65-66. But this book is on the mark. I first read it in 87 when I was in the R.O.T.C. program at Boise State University.

Just young cadet fascinated by all things having to do with the Army.At the time I felt that the book captured the feel and the rythms of Army life. Whether that be the peacetime Army or the wartime Army. At the time there were still many Vietnam vets in the service and I gave this book to one of the cadre members(a sergeant major) to read. He had served two tours over there and when he finished reading it he told me that the authors had done a better job of capturing the war in all it's nuances then all the other Vietnam novels he had read. No weird musings on the nature of man and no bizzare drug induced fantasies that so many other authors were turning out in the seventies and early eighties. Just a straight forward story.I've since reread this novel twice. The first time was about three years ago and then just last week. I'm older now and my attitude towards things have changed.I have found that often those things which seemed so impressive to me at the age of nineteen are diminished at the age of thirty-three. Well this novel hasn't lost anything. It's still wonderfully detailed, suspenseful, humorous and intelligent. One could do far worse this summer then reading this book. Unfortunately it's out of print, but I still see copies floating around in used book stores - both in paperback and hardcover. Good luck and, when you get a copy,enjoy.

This was the first of many books I have read by these two authors. Being an former Airborne Ranger the details and thoughts they give their characters and the events which surround them are scary in how realistic they are.

Since reading this book I have enthusiastically read ALL of their other works, though I must say the STEN series is at the top of the "must read" list. I have read this entire series at least seven times.

I read this book back when I was in the Army in 1987 and took it with me to the field. The rhythms, the people and the language struck me as being authentic - albeit to a Peacetime soldier born on one of the days detailed in the book - and I am sorry to see that it is out of print. I've read it 3 times, every few years, and the scenes, characters and action stay sharp in my memory.

Find it. Read it. Keep it.

Delightfully written, sparkling with humor, this story is penned by a country boy who gets caught up in the (ahem) machine of war. NOT another Vietnam war story!! But a story of a boy going to war. Being sucked up by the mindless machine, whirled round and round, and like Dorothy, dropped who knows where. I loved every page of it. Thanks Ken!!

This book was a page turner, a one day, can't put it down read. The imagery was superb.

Amazing imagery. Ken Brawley writes in 3-D. This book should be a movie.

Captures like nothing else the experience of the vast majority of us who served in what were referred to rather dismissively as "combat support" roles in Vietnam. I highly recommend this book and its sequel, The REMF Returns, to anyone who wants to get a taste of the day-to-day life "in the rear with the gear and the beer".
These two books served as a major inspiration for me to finally get off my [rear] and write my own REMF book, A Bad Attitude (which is also available on Amazon.com).

Thanks, David, for paving the way.

As a Vietnam veteran, this book made me chuckle with the author's well-depicted description of what it was like being a lowly clerk in a non-combatant environment. No one else, and this is important; because of the real courage it takes to tell about one's "real" war experiences, which are often not daring exacerbations of Herculean heroics as depicted in many books about Nam, has cut out the self-serving---"I won the war single-handed," chaff, like the simple well-written satire of David Willson. In one form or another, we all complained in Vietnam. What I have liked about the book is that it reeks not the John Wayne bull (No offense intended to the ninty-nine percent of those who served as Navy SEAL's, Green Berets, CIA ['So bad, man---I still can't talk about it.'], and the several hundred Spartacus clones who arrived back in "the World" with a genuine shrunken head of Ho Chi Minh dangling from a dried piece of enemy intestine around their necks.) I can identify with all said, and this must have been hard to write---No other book covers REMF's (Rear Echelon Mother F-----'s) with true candor like this. A rare jewel for the serious student of the Vietnam war, but God knows the author's photo on the cover will never make an Army recruiting poster. The ending is a fitting climax to a very unusual, well-written, and honest down-to-earth book about the finer aspects of the war in Vietnam. Sincerely, Franklin D. Rast, author, "Don's Nam," and "Ghosts In The Wire."

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, David A. Willson presents another side of the Vietnam War, the nonRambo rear echelon. The main character in REMF Diary, an army clerk, is funny, wise, sarcastic, and philosophical. I loved this book! Diana J. Dell, author, A Saigon Party: And Other Vietnam War Short Stories.

This is one of the best true to life books I have read in a long time. It made me feel like I went back home with her.

A great read, filled with emotion.

It was a wonderful display of emotions of the author & her expeiences of finding old friends & finding out her father was dead. Problems she had in finding his burial plot, & the grief of finding her half sister was in prison. The book is the type you want to read to the finish with no interuptions.

Sergeant Major, U. S. Marines is the biography of Maurice Jacques, who rose from the rank of Private to Sergent Major of Marines during his 30-years of honorable service to his Corps and Country. Written by Major Bruce 'Doc' Norton, who served in combat with Jacques during the Vietnam War, this book follows Jacque's life from his upbringing in Massachusetts to his days at Parris Island. His post-World War II learning was handled by Marine veterans such as Colonel "Chesty" Puller and General Edward A. Craig. His three tours of combat during Vietnam tempered Jacques into a true combat veteran and teacher. Unfortuantely, there are no Marines with Jacque's experiences serving in today's Marine Corps, but his "lessons learned" and his documented dedication to his Corps is the stuff that legends are made from. Segreant Major is a great book; well-researched, well-written and totally accurate. Credit to Major 'Doc' Norton for a great story about one of our Corps true heroes. 5 Stars for this one!

If I had to select one book that accurately defines what it takes to become and stay on as a career Marine, this is the Book. Jacques grew up poor and uneduacted, like so many Marines, but he found a home and his "calling" in the Corps. Norton does a masterful job in describing Jacques' career, to include wonderful descriptions of Marines (and Jacques) in combat during the Korean War and during his 3 tours of duty in Vietnam. I would make this a "must read" for anyone considering a career in the Corps, enlisted man or officer. Well done!!

If Maurice himself were writting this book himself he could not have done a better job. Its a wonder why this book isn't at a higher rank. This book gets five stars all around.

This book kept my interest the intire time. Not once did i put it down. It really makes you picture everything

For a person who is not extremely fond of war stories, I found, to my surprise, that I could not set the book aside. The stories are truly moving, and I felt as if I were in the shoes of the author. The author does a beautiful job of balancing the intense, emotional aspects of war and the more enjoyable personal experiences of traveling and forming new relationships. This delicate balance gives the book an honest and realistic feel, while giving the reader an interesting representation of what Vietnam was really like. I wish all such books were as candidly and genuinely written as this one.

While apologetic about his "accented" writing, the author smoothly and simultaneously blend the clinical with the emotional. Perspectives and comments are incisive and his familiarity with American history surprising. While observing the progressive transformation of an immigrant into an American citizen I also sensed rebellious knuckles in smooth surgical gloves. Riveting, upfront, entretaining, sad, funny. You may not agree with the politics but the facts are irrefutable. An excellent read.

OK, I checked Cramer out in _Stolen Valor_ too. In fact he was the first person I looked for, since I've loved this novel since my cadet days. Maybe he isn't what he made himself out to be. On the other hand, two former instructors of mine, both of whom DID run recon out of CCN, said it was an extremely well done book, so much so that if Cramer didn't have SF, MACV-SOG, or LRRP experience, in their opinion, he had help from those who did. Read it, take the obvious name-changes he admits to in the forward in stride (Operation Fire Bird instead of Phoenix, etc.), and enjoy the hell out of it. It beats the hell out of Tom Clancy's _Rainbow Six_.

I HAPPENED UPON THIS BOOK BY MISTAKE AND AM GLAD I DID. THE STORY WAS GREAT AND VERY HUMBLE. ALTHOUGH IT IS FICTION, IT IS BASED ON THE AUTHORS OWN EXPERIENCES IN THE GREEN BERETS. THIS STORY DOES NOT GLORIFY WAR AS SAY ROUGE WARRIOR DID. IN FACT THE STORY SHOWS THE TRUE SIDE OF WAR. BEING BURNED OUT, MISSING COMRADES, THE EXHAUSTION, FIGHTING FOR YOUR FRIENDS. YOU GET THE FEEL OF BEING THERE RIGHT ALONG SIDE OF THE ACTION, I STILL RETURN TO THIS BOOK ALTHOUGH I'VE READ IT MANY TIMES. THIS BOOK SHOWS ABOUT AS COMPLETE A PICTURE OF THE WAR AS SAY THE MOVIE PLATOON DID. SLOW DANCE ON TH KILLING GROUND SHOULD BE ON THE LIST OF ANYONE WHO ENJOYS WAR NOVELS.

From start to finish this is by far the best book I have read about the missions that the special forces did in Vietnam,Cambodia, and Laos, that we never really heard much about.The way the book is written,that is..Cramer's style of writing, is as good as any author that I have read.I have read more than fifty books and novels about Vietnam and this one is by far my favorite.Although this book is nonfiction, I wish this guy would write a couple more{fiction or nonfiction} because his style of writing is that good!

Originally self-published in 1984 under the title The Negligence of Death, this short work of fiction from a former Special Forces Sergeant who served in Vietnam carries the full authority of one who has been there. I hesitate to use this term, both because its overused, and because it can have a negative connotation, but the story is hallucinatory. And by that, I mean that it flits around from scene to scene with little sense of standard narrative, but is full of mood and tone that places the reader firmly on the shoulder of the title character.

Dickinson is a Special Forces radioman in the Central Highlands, where his small units work closely with the "Yards" (Montagnards, a French term for the various minority ethnic groups in the Highlands, such as the Bru, Jarai, Jeh, Nung, and Rhadé people), and are often ignored or forgotten about by the regular U.S. forces. The few battle scenes are typical wartime madness, bleak resignation, and absurdity. Scenes at HQ and in the hospital revolve around the stories told by other soldiers, which reveal a certain element of addiction to the rush of battle. Indeed, many finish their tours only to re-enlist over and over, not because they have a death-wish, but because once there's nothing in civilian life that can match that high, and no one back home can hope to understand that. It's both awful and gripping at the same time, all written in a simple but fluid style that can only come from having lived it.

There are hundreds of works of fiction about the Vietnam War, but this has to be one of the rawest and more important.

The war in Vietnam has been over for 25 years. The US embassy in Saigon has been torn down and the city renamed. Vietnam's young capitalists are running battlefield tours for aging veterans. Jerome Gold's Sergeant Dickinson (first published in 1988 as The Negligence of Death and republished in 1999 under the current title) brings it back with stunning immediacy. This book is the perfect cure for nostalgia. Whether you are a young reader new to Vietnam or one who has been there and read that, Sergeant Dickinson is a must.

This book says it all with perfect pitch. It captures the visual imagery, dialogue, and complex psychology of the combat experience in a way that is unlikely to be equalled. The radio operator is the perfect observation post for a vietnam novel and Gold clearly knows that role. The sit reps from other outposts are simply brilliant. The elephant bombing, unkown americans entering the perimeter etc. These things really happen. They are not, as I read in a literary journal review, simply a metaphorical device through which the author describes the absurdity of war. The creative reach presented here in a short work is incredible. The wounding and hospital scenes, the inevitable stateside disconnection with civilians followed by the death wish return to the people and circumstances you know. I thought that Micheal Herr's Dispatches had realistic dialogue but he was a journalist not a soldier. If you could leave on any heliocopter, you could never tell the whole story. I have always hoped that someone who fought in the war would get it right. This is it.

Solitary Survivor is a fascinating book detailing one of the first American soldiers taken captive during the initial stages of the Vietnam war. Colonel Bailey's story is revealing in many ways as he is the only survivor of a C-47 code named Rose Bowl that crashed in Laos with seven others on board in 1961. There is some speculation that one other on board survived but Bailey explains what he knows concerning Edgar Weitkamp and gives the reader the information and allows us to form our own opinions. He is unique in that he is only one of several men to return from captivity in Laos and details the dehumanizing treatment he received at the hands of his captors. In spite of or more because of his confinement and the total darkness he was kept in for most of the 18 months he was held in captivity, Colonel Bailey made a trek back to Sam Neua, Laos, to revisit, after 30 years the place that started the nightmares that are with him today. His return visit is very unique as Sam Neua is still considered Indian country and it has also been the focal point of many POW sightings over the years. Sam Neua is considered to be the place where many American POWs where held captive but were never returned at the conclusion of the Vietnam war. As a former 1st Cavalry soldier, I salute you Colonel Bailey and thank you for writing such an informitive book. Finally, I want to thank you for answering our country's call in three wars!

True story told truly. It might sound grand, but this is indeed a lesson on life and attracts respect, for the courage then and now to tell the story so humbly.

Historically it is not insignificant at all either, as so little has been written on that period and that aspect of the conflict, and even less with seriousness.

First off, I'm biased. Col. Bailey is my grandfather. Secondly, I never asked why we call him Boompaw. I suppose it may be the last thing he heard standing in the doorway of Rose Bowl, ready to bail...Boom. Grandpaw went BOOM.

Thirdly, this is a fantastic account of another time, another place and another generation. If you feel you know all about Southeast Asia and that painful time in world history, you will find an entirely different perspective in Solitary Survivor.

I often wonder when reading autobiographies, especially assisted ones, if I am hearing the author or flowered up prose from his professional co-author. When you read this, know that you are hearing the author's words, in his words. The first time I read it I don't know if I cried more because of what the author went through or because I was hearing my grandfathers voice telling the story. His story.

The honest reason it gets five stars? They don't offer six.