Re: Important book on the Vietnam War
- From: "Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names" <old_redneck@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:56:19 -0700 (PDT)
On Aug 11, 7:51 pm, "Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names"
<old_redn...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Not a Gentleman's War: An Inside View of Junior Officers in the
Vietnam War
by Ron Milam http://tinyurl.com/lkwahp
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press, The
Pub. Date: October 15, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780807833308
Sales Rank: 662,503
272pp
Synopsis
Debunking the view of the junior officer typified by Lt. William
Calley of My Lai infamy, Milam, a combat veteran of the Vietnam War,
demonstrates that most of the lieutenants who served in combat
performed their duties well and effectively, serving with great skill,
dedication, and commitment to the men they led. Milam's narrative
provides a vivid, on-the-ground portrait of what the platoon leader
faced: training his men, keeping racial tensions at bay, and
preventing alcohol and drug abuse, all in a war without fronts. Yet
despite these obstacles, junior officers performed admirably, as
documented by field reports and evaluations of their superior
officers.
From the Publisher
Wars are not fought by politicians and generals—they are fought by
soldiers. Written by a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, Not a
Gentleman's War is about such soldiers—a gritty, against-the-grain
defense of the much-maligned junior officer.
Conventional wisdom holds that the junior officer in Vietnam was a no-
talent, poorly trained, unmotivated soldier typified by Lt. William
Calley of My Lai infamy. Drawing on oral histories, after-action
reports, diaries, letters, and other archival sources, Ron Milam
debunks this view, demonstrating that most of the lieutenants who
served in combat performed their duties well and effectively, serving
with great skill, dedication, and commitment to the men they led.
Milam's narrative provides a vivid, on-the-ground portrait of what the
platoon leader faced: training his men, keeping racial tensions at
bay, and preventing alcohol and drug abuse, all in a war without
fronts. Yet despite these obstacles, junior officers performed
admirably, as documented by field reports and evaluations of their
superior officers.
More than 5,000 junior officers died in Vietnam; all of them had
volunteered to lead men in battle. Based on meticulous and wide-
ranging research, this book provides a much-needed serious treatment
of these men—the only such study in print—shedding new light on the
longest war in American history.
Biography
Ron Milam is assistant professor of military history at Texas Tech
University, where he also serves as interim director of the Center for
War and Diplomacy in the Post-Vietnam War Era. He is a combat veteran
of the Vietnam War, having served as an infantry advisor to Montagnard
forces.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Having been a lieutenant and a captain in Vietnam, I agree.
Furthermore, the troops who served with me were competent and
dedicated young men who acquitted themselves with dignity and honor.
To this day I still remember the names of every man I knew who died in
Vietnam.
.
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