Ripcord : Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970

Rating:
Summary: No simple way to describe
Review: This is no easy read. As stated by others, the book does not flow as easily as others like "We were soldiers once... (another excellent book). It jumps back and forth, puts you in the middle of the jungle here and there with different line commanders. Maps are essentially non-existent. Often you feel lost for a while. It gets and stays confusing, just like the action it describes. You often have little sense of the big picture and the "why" of certain actions, probably just like those on the scene felt at the time (and since?). There are few simple ways to describe what is in this book. Things are complex. Yes there are a few in the book that are just like the movies: courageous, loyal, and highly competent soldiers. And yes, like other accounts of the vietnam war, you cannot escape without PROFOUND respect and admiration for the combat soldiers who consistently fought for each other with unbelievable bravery, tenacity, and selflessness. That IS the biggest message of this book. But the other message here, and one that Nolan allows the reader to discover, is one of complexity and contradictions. Commanders were both personally courageous, and also at times reckless and incompetent, sometimes at the SAME time. Lives were lost or crippled because of it. You see the effect of ego and career ambition on unit effectiveness. You see the embarrassing manipulation (by some) of military medals and honors for personal ego, symbolism, and evasion of a true accounting of military command effectiveness. Finally, you see the devestating effect on the line soldier when confidence is lost in higher command. Clearly time and events as complex as this cannot be portrayed in a book like this with total accuracy. But this book, is the first I have read, that shows just how difficult combat and command can be, particularly when ridiculous restrictions are placed on the military by politicians. In many ways this is a disturbing book. I will read it again.

Rating:
Summary: IT DON'T MEAN NOTHIN
Review: WOW; having read other Vietnam stories, it was just unreal reading about men I had served with and how hard they fought to stay alive in the Ripcord AO. God, I am glad I went home on June 10th, 1970, What a story, if you where there be prepared to be there again if you dare read this book.