Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #248059 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 272 pages

From the Author
Why the book was written.
When the movie "Platoon" was released, I and others who had served in Bravo Company (the unit depicted in the movie) were not very happy with the negative portrayal of our unit -- and us. Since I was the company commander at the time of the movie's action, I decided to write what I remember to be the real story of Bravo Company In this book, you will find the willingness of soldiers to do the job given them -- and do it well -- even though the war itself would prove to be unpopular. You will find that these soldiers were as good and proficient as soldiers were in previous wars -- these guys were not slackers. The very lack of a drug "problem" and the absense of any kind of atrocity committed by Bravo Company soldiers stands directly in contradiction to their movie image. There are serious reasons which cause me to make such a comparison. I was there and in command, and I was constantly aware of my company's actions. Please read the book. The vast majority of American soldiers in Vietnam did what was expected of them, and did it well -- and so did Bravo!

Customer Reviews

impersonal
I agree with the previous two reviewers - didn't he ever make a mistake? - but my biggest problem with the book is that "kilos" and "whiskeys" along with the individual platoon members, are rarely identified. I understand that in a war casualties are inevitable, but I think that they deserve to be named and I'm disappointed that they weren't. After all, the author is quick enough to identify himself with Oliver Stone and "Platoon", which went to great lengths to accurately depict and personalise the lives of "grunts".

Having said that, the book is interesting although it's a little hard going at times to understand the detailed radio communications. I think Harold Moore's "We Were Soldiers Once" is a better read.

Not what I'd expected.
I wasn't expecting this to be like Oliver Stones 'Platoon' yet somehow I came away with a real sense of indifference about this book.

I have read about 12 books about soldiers experiences in Vietnam but this is the first one I have read from an officers perspective. In most of the books I have read there seems to be a gulf between the 'grunt' and the officer in line companies and in this particular style of writing this is very apparant.

The book is very factual and I think it's unique point lies in a very thorough perspective of how a Captain maneuvers 4 platoons during battle. The radio chatter was very informative.
However the book seems to lack much in the way of personalisation. Many of the names used are pseudonyms (you are told this frequently throught the book)and this tends to detract from the realism.

The author has no hesitation in making his feelings clear about the inneficiency of those further up the chain of command and some of his peers. Yet everything he does smacks of super efficiency in comparison. As another reviewer put it - does he ever do anything wrong, does he make a mistake? Compared to the chaos he describes the answer is a resounding no. I don't know the author and he may have been the best company commander in Vietnam, yet somehow the way he describes his actions they come across as perfect.

The author always refers to Bravo Company as the best and in some cases is quite scathing of the other companies. His company is always the cavalry for the beleaguered Alpha, Charlie and Delta companies. At the beginning of the book he states that from all the companies Bravo are the worst he could wish for - not just the worst in the battalion but the worst in the brigade. Whilst I don't doubt the authors methods I just find it a little hard to swallow that they became the battalions best company almost overnight.

Ultimately this is an informative read but I think I'll stick with a grunts view of the war.

Patchy-san
An interesting enough romp through 5 months of Hemphill's life although it makes me wonder whether he did anything wrong. Reliance on second hand stories detracts from what I thought was going to be an axcellent read.