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The book lists him as begin KIA on June 20, 1966. If anyone who knew Larry Page reads this, I would love it if you could comment and tell me about him.
This book came up in a search I was doing on my Uncle Larry. He died long before I was born, so I didn't know much more about him than that he died in Nam.
Let me start of by saying that I haven't read the whole book. I started out looking for picture or comments posted by his friend and found his last moments instead.
On page 51 I read about how he died. On page 52 I learned that they named the fort after him.
Thanks.*Larry's date of death is wrong in the book. He actually died on June 22, 1966.
This is an incredible book. This book is neither. West is fair and even in his assessments of the US soldiers and of the Vietnamese. I truly enjoyed how West made himself the inviisble person in this book, documenting the events that surrounded the men in his unit. He makes a real effort to get at the true motivations of all the personalities involved. I also admired how he left out the names of the soldiers whom he criticized. Very seldom do I find books that I just can't put down but this was one of them. The world of these soldiers shrinks to the size of the village in which they serve.
The tale feels honest and provides a perspective rarely seen in post-Vietnam America. Too often books about Vietnan are either apologetic or are technical in an effort not to offend. He demonizes people only as individuals and this only seldom. A unique and interesting perspective.
This book is a very accurate account of the Marines in small unit special operations during the Viet Nam War. Though he was wrong on the date the CAP units began his story is one of many of ours. I know first hand having been assigned to CAC #9,#8 and #3 in early 1966, and later on my second tour to CAP Alpha #3 in the village of Thuy Phu where my patrol was over-run on April 13, 1967.Semper Fi,Bill Lafrance
The book was not wriiten in hindsight after the American withdrawal but based on an American's view of the war at that time. This book was written and published during the earlier years of America's involvement in Vietnam and gives a unique insight into the attitude of the US military at that time as well as the Vietnamese people in the rural areas controled by the Viet Cong. I was deeply impressed as always at the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of the US Marines in Vietnam. The discription of village life and struggle for the people in South Vietnam during that period was unique and informative. I would certainly recommend this book.
The larger political storm had overtaken everything else. Yes, it was Vietnam and that has been 40 years ago, but there are lessons here for Iraq and Afghanistan too. Lots of things to think about. Again, don't start unless you are in it for the long run.A good book. Lesson: If we aren't in it for the long run, don't start. And, if the political will falters the sacrifices of the soldiers and civilians will change little.
The effort to take territory and keep it, and to work with the locals for their own defense seemed to have worked, temporarily. For what it is worth, this is what I got from the book.1. The people, above all, wanted security and freedom. They also wanted to be safe from indiscriminate shelling and bombing of their villages, so having an American presence helped to assure that. This book was very useful in trying to understand what it is like to fight a war among people who have mixed loyalties. As long as they believed the American presence was short term, they wouldn't side with the Americans, even if they preferred what they had to offer. They knew that once the Americans pulled out, they would be thrown back to the wolves and those who had cooperated with the Americans would be targeted.
3. 20 years on, no one even remembered that people had fought and died there for the security of the village. 2. A very interesting read. Lesson: The military efforts must be working in parallel with the political agenda.
Lesson: Although casualties will increase, it is better to be out among the populace, sharing their concerns and working together with them, than it is to be secure in your bases. The locals who had lived in and around the village had to choose their loyalties. If they end up working at cross purposes, failure will be the result. The young men who fought and died in that village deserve our respect and admiration.
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