WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE... AND YOUNG

HARPERTOURCH
An Imprint of  HarperCollinsPublishers

Written by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway

Copyright © 1992 by Lt. General H.G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway



In November of 1965, 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Calvary fought at the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam against 2000 North Vietnamese soldiers in the first major large-unit American engagements of the Vietnam War.

The basis for the movie We Were Soldiers, starring Mel Gibson, this non-fiction book is told from eyewitness accounts by the men - both American and Vietnamese - who fought in that war. Written by the commander of the battalion Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.,) and the reporter on the ground, journalist Joseph L. Galloway, this book is basically about two battles - as a sister battalion of the 1st Battalion was also cut to pieces a few days later in the Ia Drang Valley in the first conventional battles of the Vietnam War with heavy casualties on both sides.

What got to me the most about reading the book was reading the list of names of the people who gave their lives for their country in the beginning of the book - especially when I read the names of the people who were local to me. The experiences of the 'Lost Platoon' were sad for me as I was thinking, "what if that was me?" This battle was also basically the first use of the 1st Calvary Division (Airmobile) - the first use of helicopters as a major aerial combat force in Vietnam. While reading about the helicopters, I kept on thinking about the book Chickenhawk by Robert Mason and of Mason's experiences of being a Huey helicopter pilot. One thing I learned in the book We Were Soldiers Once... and Young, that I did not know about the Vietnam War era, was that in the beginning of the war the Army was not set up to do casualty notification - so in Columbus, Georgia, Western Union used taxi-cab drivers to deliver the casualty telegrams to the soldiers relatives homes. The people in Columbus dreaded seeing the taxi-cabs driving around as a result. I know I would have dreaded seeing them as well. The book never really got into how the cab drivers felt, except for one cab driver getting drunk, but I can imagine that it must have been heart-breaking and tearing the cab drivers up inside as the drivers went out and performed this sad duty that was not originally in their job description.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

UP COUNTRY

WARNER BOOKS EDITION

Written by Nelson DeMille

Copyright © 2002 by Nelson DeMille

Cover design by Jackie Merri Meyer
Cover illustration by Stanislaw Fernandez
Hand lettering by Tony Russo



In Up Country, a sequel to Nelson DeMille's The General's Daughter, Paul Brenner, who resigned from the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Division, is called back into service in Washington D.C. by his former commanding officer - who wants Brenner to conduct an investigation into a homicide that occurred 30 years ago during the Vietnam War. Vietnam veteran Brenner reluctantly returns to Vietnam in the middle of the Tet new year celebration - and meets ex patriot Susan Weber, a possible CIA agent. Brenner and Susan then journey through Vietnam searching for the witness to this 30 year-old mystery.

While there is the story of the homicide investigation, most of the book seems like an autobiography of Demille's experience as a U.S. Army lieutenant during the Vietnam War. Brenner revisits his former battle sites and bases in the country as the country celebrates the week-long Tet celebration. Brenner tells Susan of his experiences at these sites to her, the horror of the fighting of the U.S. troops and the Viet Cong, as Brenner searches for a witness who used to be an enemy. You see the contrast of Brenner's and the Americans western influence on Vietnam as a new market, despite the holiday frame of mind of Tet. You also see the conservative Asian Vietnamese culture and the politics as evidenced by the repeated investigated interviews by the Vietnamese cop Colonel Mang against Brenner - who resents the American involvement that resulted from the Cold War military conflict, so Brenner suffers from Mang's resentment. Even if the country prospers from the western tourism of Vietnam, Mang is quite resentful. While the ending of the book was not exactly satisfying to me, the ending does reflect the political attitude of the end of the conflict back in 1975.

Brenner's relationship with Susan is interesting, because you are never really sure if Susan is really interested in Brenner as a lover - or if she is ready to betray him and kill Brenner as part of Susan being a CIA operative. Certainly Brenner is ambivalent to Susan as he is always wondering about Susan's feelings, as well as wondering about his relationship with his girlfriend who is still back in the States.

Paramount Pictures had bought the rights to Up Country with John Travolta reprising his role as Paul Brenner. We will see if the movie will go into production and come out.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.