Eleven Bravo: A Skytrooper's Memoir of War in Vietnam

Rating:
Summary: War from Inside the Tents of Grunts & Generals
Review: Eleven Bravo

If you want to appreciate the extremes of war as seen through the eyes of a decorated grunt on the battlefield who then goes on to become a witness to the egregious luxury experienced by the commanders in the rear, this book tells it like it is. Most grunts don't see the lavish lifestyles of their commanders nor do most people understand the horrors of war. In this book, both are present and accounted for.

I know several Viet Nam Vets. None of them want to talk about it. They tell stories when they're in the mood, but those are always impersonal. Fragging incidents, hot landing zones (LZ's) and R&R capers top the list. Their stories are always about someone or something else, not themselves. Eleven Bravo is different.

This is a first-hand account of one grunt's experiences as captured daily through letters sent back home to his parents and friends, preserved for this book that took over thrity years to write. The language seemed at times, repetitive, and there are times while reading it my inclination was to skip some of the material. Then I realized that the repetition is part of the story. War and its daily struggles are all about repetition and once I understood that it was an integral part of the experience, I began to appreciate it. It is honest and haunting. The story of a young man who could have been a commanding general in another era, toting a rifle in the infantry and learning too well the vicissitudes of war; and as if to taunt him with that knowledge of his lineage, also showing him the extremes between grunt and commander. Must read if you want to feel what war is like at the extremes.



Rating:
Summary: Honest and Poignant
Review: I am only halfway through this book but feel compelled to review it for those who are uncertain whether they should read it or not. Tayloe Wise has done us all a favor by giving us a brutally honest account of what the Vietnam war was really like for a combat soldier. War movies have left me numb and still unclear on what the day to days were really like. Perhaps it is Wise's accessible writing style, breath-taking detailed accounts, and refreshing honesty: Eleven Bravo has opened my eyes and made me rethink my assumptions on war, and given me a taste of the realities of the Vietnam war. I feel honored and privileged to be reading Tayloe Wise's memoir and even more so to know him. Good work, Professor.

Rating:
Summary: A Year of Living Dangerously
Review: Tayloe Wise's account of his year of living dangerously, 1969-1970, during the Vietnam War is a worthwhile addition to the genre of personal war stories. He was foot soldier, combat medic and later personal waiter for a Commanding General. Because this book is based on the letters Mr. Wise wrote to family and friends the narrative retains an immediacy not dulled by the passage of 30 years. The book is interesting from many perspectives: war history, social history and coming-of-age narrative. Eleven Bravo is one "grunt's" very personal account of the Vietnam war when a great nation became party to a great and tragic folly.