Lima-6:
A Marine Company Commander in Vietnam by R. D. Camp. Pacifica
Military History, 1989.
Unfortunately I won't be able to too into depth about this book
because I don't have it anymore and I last read it about six years
ago. Lima-6 is written by R. D. Camp who commanded a company
of US Marines in Vietnam from June 1967 to January 1968. I do
remember how the book detailed Camp's efforts to gain the trust of
his men; as such a lot of attention is given to the camaraderie
between the troops. One moment that stands out for me is when Camp
first experiences the death of one of his men. Apart from that I
really don't remember much. Lima-6 isn't a bad book but still
if you want one about leadership in combat then you're probably
better off looking elsewhere.
Mad
Minutes and Vietnam Months: A Soldier's Memoir by Micheal
Clodfelter. Pinnacle Books, 1988.
I believe that this was one of the first soldier's memoirs I ever
read and to this day I still think it's one of the best. Mad
Minutes and Vietnam Months – in reference to how life in war is
made up of long stretches of boredom broken up by brief moments of
action and terror – recalls Michael Clodfelter's experience in the
US army in Vietnam from July 1965 to December 1966. He originally
enlisted as an artilleryman but volunteered to extend his tour of
duty with the infantry, hungry for some action in the service of
Uncle Sam. But the jungle's dangers, the hostile populace, and the
overall course of the war gradually made him reconsider his prior
gung-ho attitude. His time in the army abruptly came to an end after
a wound from a punji stake booby trap. Clodfelter's account shows how
much patriotism and machismo played a role in how GIs behaved during
war. It's also interesting getting to know the troopers he served
with. His squadmates run the gamut from cowards to klutzes, from
patriots to bloodthirsty killers, from career soldiers to kids, and
not all of them get along very well. If you're looking for one book
about one soldier's experiences in Vietnam then check out Mad
Minutes. It's got everything; it's like Platoon (1986),
just without the GIs murdering eachother.
Soldat:
Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949 by Siegfried Knappe.
Dell Publishing, 1992.
In Soldat Siegried Knappe covers his entire military career in
the German army from 1936 straight to the conclusion of the Second
World War. He served as an artillery officer across various fronts
including Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, the USSR, and Italy and as
Germany's forces retreated back into the Reich Knappe found himself
stationed in Berlin's Fuhrerbunker until the bitter end.
Captured by the Soviet army, he then spent five years in captivity
before returning home and then moving to the USA (as far away from
communism as possible). Since the book covers a significant chunk of
Knappe's young adulthood you get some nice insight into what it was
like to live, grow up, and start a family in Nazi Germany. You also
get a good sense of what army life was like back then. While not an
especially political individual, Knappe initially had great pride in
the achievements his country made in such a short timespan but as the
war ground on he grew disillusioned with the inefficient and corrupt
Nazi regime. There are a couple drawbacks though; as this is an
officer's memoir there isn't all that much combat to be found in
these pages. Also the book seems to have a bit of emotional
detachment, almost like reading a textbook at times. But still, for
those looking for some insight to the German experience of WWII,
Soldat has you covered.
Helmet
for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific by Robert
Leckie. Random House, 1957.
Well, this was disappointing. If you've seen by Band of Brothers vs.
The Pacific article (from January 2016) then you can probably tell
that I'm a big fan of The Pacific which was partially based on this
memoir by Robert Leckie, one of the miniseries' main characters.
Regrettably, the miniseries makes Leckie's wartime experience look
more tense and exciting than this book gets across. While there are a
are a couple decent battle scenes – as well as a few tense patrols
– most of this book revolves around Leckie and his pals getting
drunk, stealing things, and getting in trouble. Helmet for My
Pillow is written in a very illustrative, almost poetic, kind of
way that contrasts with the brutish life and harsh living conditions.
On the other hand, it sometimes comes off as pretentious and boring.
At least the book is a short one. I'd recommend this one to die-hard
Pacific fans only.
With
the Old Breed At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge. Ballantine
Books, 1981.
However, you don't have to be a fan of The Pacific in order to
appreciate the other memoir that it's based on. I'd say that Eugene
Sledge's With the Old Breed is probably the best war book I've
ever read. Its level of detail is staggering and it unapologetically
paints a brutal picture of what combat was like in the Pacific
Islands in the Second World War. From notes he kept in his pocket
Bible, Sledge lets readers in on the dirty and unsanitary conditions
US Marines had to contend with. He also describes the intense hatred
both sides had for eachother, which facilitated a loss of compassion
and subsequent acts of brutality. In contrast to Helmet for My
Pillow, With the Old Breed is written in a very plain,
straightforward language that gets across the indignities and fears
of the war's participants. As you read it yourself you'll instantly
admire the people described within – most of them, anyways – and
sympathize with their challenges and heartbreaks. With the Old
Breed is a powerful read that I highly recommend to anyone
interested in this genre of literature.
Jarhead:
A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles by Anthony
Swofford. Pocket Books, 2003.
Here's a book of which I've just finished my second read through.
Jarhead is scout sniper Anthony Swofford's graphic,
no-holds-barred account of his time in the US Marines during the
boring and interminable Operation Desert Shield and then finally –
but all too briefly – Operation Desert Storm. The central focus of
the book concerns the Marines' expectations of a war like their
forefathers and their subsequent near-existential disappointment at
seeing very little actual combat. This disappointment is compounded
by the military culture the author grew up in and that fact that the
Marine Corps trained him to be a ruthless killer. But the ground war
against Iraq ended so swiftly and uneventfully that all the waiting,
isolation, and training seems to have gone to waste. Pretty much the
only Iraqis Swofford ever saw were either dead or in the process of
surrendering; in fact Swofford didn't ever get to fire his rifle in
combat. The author seems aware of how boring such a campaign might be
to a reader so to compensate Swofford's book randomly jumps around
talking about other stuff from his life both before and after the
war, most of which involve drunkenness, fighting, and sex (or any
combination thereof). While there are some tense scenes with some
haunting imagery – the burning oil wells and the bombed-out columns
of retreating vehicles come to mind – Jarhead is a very
up-and-down read for me. It's worth reading once but I don't think I
need to read it again.
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