FOR THOSE, PARTICULARLY NON-AUSTRALIANS LOOKING FOR THE ESSENCE OF THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY'S FIGHTING QUALITIES AND THE CLOSE BOND OF MATESHIP DEVELOPED BY AUSTRALIANS IN THE FIELD - THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. IT SHOWS THE GRASS-ROOTS FOOT SOLDIER'S ("DIGGER") VIEW OF THE BATTLE AS IT WAS FOUGHT IN 1966 AND HOW DIFFERENT THE WAR WAS FOR AUSTRALIANS AS OPPOSED TO AMERICAN TROOPS. IT SHOWS THE VERY DIFFERENT, TACTICS USED BY AUSTRALIANS, HAVING TO HAVE A PATROL AND DEFENSIVE CAPABILITY THAT IS VERSATILE AND SO NECESSARY FOR THE SMALLER UNIT ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY 1ATF IN VIETNAM, AND FOR MANOUVRES STILL CONDUCTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY TODAY (FOR WHICH THEY ARE SO FAMOUS AND RESPECTED) AS AN EX AUSTRALIAN SERVICEMAN I KNOW IT IS A TRUE ACCOUNT.

A good book for those interested in a historical perspective of the Vietnam war and yet a book that provides an entertaining "ripping yarn". The author, Lex McAulay, is himself a Vietnam Veteran having completed two tours as an Australian Army Intelligence NCO, first with the First Royal Australian Battalion and later with the Australian Task Force in Nui Dat. The Battle of Long Tan saw the understrength Australian infantry coy, "Delta" Coy of the Sixth Royal Australian Regiment, walk into an enemy regimental-sized ambush. Later that evening 18 Australian soldiers lay dead surrounded by over 240 confirmed VC and NVA bodies along with numerous blood trails and body parts of an unknown number of other enemy dead. McAulay provides an interesting account of the battle firstly by supplying actual anecdotes drawn directly from the Australian survivors and secondly by giving us an insight into the enemy commander's decision making process. As the battle develops it becomes clear that the enemy are unaware and unable to clarify the dispositions and strength of the Australian unit it has contacted. McAulay's coverage swings from one side of the battle to the other. One minute we are with the Delta Company Commander, struggling to recover a cut off platoon, and the next we are in the enemy commander's mind attempting to identify and locate the centre of the Australian unit's position through a barrier of shrapnel. McAulay has obviously drawn upon his own knowledge of VC and NVA tactics and doctrine to provide something of an answer to a question still asked by Long Tan survivors. The actual intended purpose of the regimental sized force that Delta Coy stumbled into, is to this day a mystery. Theories have been put forward that the Vietnamese objective was to wipe out an Australian coy and make an example of them. However the ambush was set in place in a hasty fashion and if performed correctly would have annihilated the Australians. The other theory was that the regiment was in fact moving forward to assault the Australian Task Force HQ at Nui Dat and ran into Delta Coy unexpectedly. Regardless, accurate artillery fire from Australian, New Zealand and American batteries crashed down within 200 metres of Delta Coy, literally atomising entire waves of hundreds of assaulting VC and NVA soldiers in full view of the diggers as they frantically poured their small arms fire into the enemies ranks. All this in a rubber plantation, in a monsoon downpour, with one platoon cutoff and about to be overun. At the peak of the fighting, with ammo running low the Regimental Sergeant Major flies in, in an Australian Air Force Huey straight through the monsoon storm and begins throwing out ammo wrapped in blankets at tree top height directly into the coy position. Then just on dusk the cavalry literaly arrives in the form of a squadron of Australian M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers which arrive in the enemy's rear and begin to chew him up with 50 calibre fire, saving the day. The next morning the survivors of Delta Coy search the battlefield to recover their dead. They find their dead mates, conscripts and regulars alike, still propped up clutching their rifles facing their enemy. As one of the survivlors said, it was the most unnerving and yet moving scenes he had ever witnessed. 18 dead men, still in fire positions, fanned out in all round defence. The book reads like a good thriller, but it is a factual account of Delta Coy's stand at Long Tan. If you thought that only Americans fought hard in Vietnam then read this, and think again.

I read this book a few years ago, and have used it in speeches in college. My reference to McDaniels in my next speech is to his patriotic example. This book is a must for anyone interested in POW life in North Vietnam. I would really like to meet McDaniels to thank him for his service.

i had a signed copy of this book, and have loaned it out, and can't find it. This man was my skipper on the U.S.S. Lexington in 1977-1978 and the toll that the war took out of him made him a great man to work for. The book only told of his early trials, but what occurred after, explained why this time in his life made him a great Naval Office

I am lucky to have Professor Morrissey for my Photography class in Rhode Island and his book has really touched me and made me look at my photos in a different way. He truly is one of the most sincere people I have met with amazing talent behind the lens.

There are several books with moving and important photographs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This one is a welcome addition as it focuses on the veterans and visitors to the Wall. Mr. Morrissey has obviously spent much time at the Wall and captures the feelings well.

THE BOOK WAS VERY EDUCATIONAL, I THINK ANY ONE WHO IS IN SCHOOL DOING A REPORT ON THE VEITNAM WAR, OR ANYONE WHO HAS QUESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT SHOULD READ THIS.I LOVED IT.

I also was in Phuoc Vinh, the very same base camp that Carl Bradfield talks about. However, I was there about a year later and the base camp was in very good shape (thanks to people like Carl).

My experiences in Vietnam were not like Carl's at all. And I'm very thankful for that. I must have hit it just right. I arrived in Jan. of 67 and missed out on all that "fun" of setting up the base camp and dealing with the VC who were being displaced by that action. Then I left for home at the end of Dec. 67, and heard on the news about the Tet offensive that I also just missed out on.

Well, sometimes it's good to miss out!

I found this book to be very captivating and informative. The author allows the reader to experience imprisonment through the eyes of the POW. I read this book because I was born after the war and did not know anything about it...I have more respect for the people that actually lived through it now, and I think it has done me more good than if I would have read a book dealing with all the political viewpoints from someone who was not there. Could not put it down, very inspiring.

Mr. Norman did an excellent job of relating the unimaginable horrors of the Vietnamese prison system. The prisoners will come to life as you learn of their collective and individual exploits. These men are the true definition of what a hero is, though they think of themselves as "just doing my job" This book is a must-read for the inspirational story fan.

I don't read many action books or novels, but I love this book!
A very perceptive, quick thinker caught in "The Most Dangerous
Game" - human War). The book HAS to be read for one to have an opinion, a personal one.

The veracity of his accounts has many endorsements and no rebuttals, as far as I can tell. To this day he has maintained a high visibility, and mud slingers would have no trouble sighting this target.

Bill Schaefer

This is an outstanding book about one of the greatest soldiers ever! Read this book. It is excellent--gripping--full of great lessons on leadership and military techniques. If you're not in the military, but like military history, you would also like this book. It is stock full of war stories and great tales of feats that are just absolutely amazing! Read this book. It's a keeper. Hack's stories and lessons learned help me every day as I lead my platoon...2 miles from North Korea.

Fred Edwards served as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam War and visited very major ground unit from Special Forces camps and ground reconnaissance unites, to armored calvary units, and waterborne reconnaissance units. An invaluable and strongly recommended contribution to the military annals of the Viet Name conflict, Edward's The Bridges Of Vietnam: From The Journals Of A U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer is as vivid and candid memoir of the war from the perspective of a front-line intelligence officer as is available to the non-specialist general reader or military buff.

I have read quite a few books made from journals of individuals in Vietnam. Most are either dry accounts of movements or almost novelized disjointed experiences. This Book "The Bridges of Vietnam : From the Journals of a U. S. Marine Intelligence Office" Is not only chronologically organized, but also has a list of external events that took place at the same time.

With out a frame of reference it would be hard to tell if he was barging or borrowing someone else's idea of Vietnam. However in chapter Three "Internship" he covered the same territory (II Corps TZ) as I did; only he was there six months earlier. I saw his reference to the Fourth Infantry with out any reference to the armed reconnaissance First of the Tenth attached to the Fourth Infantry. I also spent some time in other locations and he does a good job of describing daily life. It looks like he left out how to do the job he does and maybe some things he did. For the most part he was dead accrete as to the people and environment of the time. He makes you feel that you are there.

This book is well worth reading and then keeping as a reference. Especially as time passed and you forget your first taste of warm "33" beer.

As the editor and publisher of our county newspaper, I must read a great deal, and have gotten very particular about what I really enjoy reading- and I LOVED this book.
With a son in the military, three brothers who served in the military in the Vietnam era, and with a Dad who served in WWII, I have never really known what they faced, what they struggled with, and what a shock it must have been to be taken from "Hometown" to defending our country halfway around the world. The author skillfully walks us through his time in 'Nam, and I feel I've gotten a glimpse of thoughts and feelings, fears and emotions, that I could never have gotten otherwise.
I sent the book to my son and his wife, and they both love it also- (and my daughter-in-law finished it before my son!) We have compared notes, and decided we truly LOVE the way this author writes. I intend to check and see if Mr. Standiford has written other books, because if he has, I'm sold.
I've purchased books before, dug into them, and then struggled to even WANT to finish them because I was disappointed in the quality, and didn't feel the author delivered what he promised. Standiford delivers MORE than he promises- I was never disappointed and I found myself arranging my schedule so I could hurry up and get back to the book!
In short- this is a great book.

I loved this book! Thank you to the author Wayne Standiford for not only serving his country, but for sharing the experience in an honest, straightforward, and also sometimes hilarious way.

A true story, this book is a study in character of a 19 year-old who chose to serve his country in an unpopular war. Along the way, he is confronted by a myriad of decisions, from something simple like refusing to cheat to help a fellow soldier pass basic to leading his men in battle. He somehow manages to volunteer for everything, including joining recon and extending his tour of duty in the war zone.

By nature or instincts or upbringing, the young soldier makes the right choices when confronted with difficult decisions. He enters the marines a boy out of high school and leaves the war a man who has earned the respect of his fellow soldiers and his countrymen.

This is an enjoyable book that makes you proud to live in a country where a man's character can be so tested and that man can shine so brightly in those moments.

I think this book should be required reading in high school. It would help prepare kids for the challenges they face and give them a bit of a compass. The book also has a way of putting things in perspective. When I think about the problems in my life versus what this soldier faced, they seem pretty trivial.

I wish everyone could read this book. They would be proud of the author and of our country.

Excellent technical review of Army medical operations in Vietnam. Sections on Dust-off, MAST pants and trauma resuscitation, field hospitals, and air evacuation were excellent. Too many statistics for the non-professional reader. Yet these were normally presented in tables and could be skipped without loss of content. Highly recommended.

The wounded in Vietnam presented uniquely new challenges to the caregivers, precisely because the evacuation system was so efficient as to present cases which had inevitably resulted in death in all previous conflicts.

The "dustoff" system, networks of receiving facilities, the unprecedented surgical techniques, and other elements are described here by General (Doctor) Hardaway, an expert on combat surgery, and other first-hand participants. Some of the essays are technical in nature and intended for readers knowledgeable in trauma care, but there is plenty here for the general reader of military history as well, and especially for students of the Vietnam War or military medicine.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books>)

Like the previous reviewer, I LOVED Harry Potter, and I liked this book as well. It was a quick, entertaining story that kept me guessing until the end. While this book is geared toward young adults, I think adults could enjoy it too.

I took that quote from a review on the back of the book, but I have to agree that this book is as engaging and well-written as the Harry Potter books. It has vivid imagery and an excellent moral lesson on the importance of family values and the dangers of loving material possessions. This book also won the gold medallion award from Kregel Publishing, which is a tribute to this newly published author. Mr. Acker has a knack for mystery-writing and his style is refreshingly unpredictable. The book is set in part on a horse farm, and there are some fast-paced suspenseful chase scenes set in Door County, Wisconsin. The brother/sister detective team of Arthur and Kirstin allow the book to be gender neutral. I had a hard time putting this book down, and the last time I felt that way was while reading the Harry Potter series. I give this book an A+. (P.S. I heard that there is a sequel in the works, and that one is just as good.)