A Sailor's Story - Remembering VietNam
Doc Yoakum's tour with 3/3 in 1965 and then a second tour with the PBR's in the Delta. An enjoyable read which reveals much detail. Very "dead on" descriptions that can only be written by one who "walked the walk".
Station Hospital Saigon: A Navy Nurse in Vietnam, 1963-1964
In 1963 Bobbi Hovis and four other nurses arrived in Saigon charged with the monumental task of converting, in four days, a dilapidated apartment building into the first U.S. Navy Station hospital in Vietnam. This engaging memoir, one of the few books written by and about women in war, describes their efforts to provide the first American casualties with excellent care despite third-world conditions. It is an inspiring story told with candor and humor. Operating in a city of chaos, where the extraordinary became the ordinary as the war escalated, Hovis provides a rare inside look at Vietnam in the early years of conflict. Her vivid impressions contrast the serene beauty of the countryside, before the ravages of full-scale war, with the excitement of Saigon and the horror of Viet Cong bombing attacks.
Her gripping firsthand account of the Diem coup gives the reader a true sense of the turmoil and uncertainty experienced by the beleaguered medical staff. Her recollections of activities that helped to alleviate the intensity of her hospital duty--holidays in Cambodia, tennis and tea parties with the Westmorelands and Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge--further highlight the contrasts of her experience and allow the reader to become part of the small circle of U.S. personnel then in Vietnam. This accurate, very personal memoir makes a significant contribution to the history of the Navy Nurse Corps and the Vietnam experience.
Drafted in 1964, while her memories were still fresh, and recently revised for publication, the work captures the confidence and esprit of men and women who were proud to be part of the military effort and had no inkling of the agonizing conclusion to the war that was to come ten years later. Illustrated with over forty of Hovis's personal photographs and introduced by Rear Admiral Frances Shea Buckley, NC, USN (Ret.), Station Hospital Saigon will appeal to everyone who spent time in Vietnam or knows someone who did.
(Note: 3/3's own Doc McKenna is a subject in this book) clik link for a picture
DMZ Diary - by Jeff Kelly
The fighting in 1968 was the fiercest of the Vietnam War, and the DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North and South Vietnam was its toughest neighborhood. Battalions on each side stalked the DMZ's mean hills seeking contact. In this fast paced, gritty memoir Jeff "TJ" Kelly tells of the war "up north, on the Z." There the combat was large-scale and marked by conventional battles fought by disciplined troops on both sides, each supported by heavy artillery and tanks. For each side there was a trump card: the North Vietnamese could withdraw to sanctuary across the DMZ; the Marines possessed air power. The author, a forward air control radioman with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, called in jets and helicopter gunships in support of the grunts, medevaced wounded buddies from "hot" landing zones and worked AO spotter planes to steal aerial glimpses of the enemy.
About the author... Jeff Kelly has worked for an airline, a railroad and a Japanese language tour company. He has been a martial arts instructor, a freelance writer, a sports reporter, a commercial diver and most recently worked for the UN in Africa. But the event that impacted his life more than any other was his thirteen-month tour with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines in Vietnam. That experience, that test, made him who and what he is today. The loyalty, friendship and love he received from his fellow Marines will never leave him.
God In The Trenches - by Larkin Spivey
In God In The Trenches, Spivey shows when the nation's survival seemed uncertain, even doubtful, fate seemed to turn America's way, giving way to mysterious-if not miraculous-events. These events altered the course of history, leading to victory for the American military and enduring freedom for America's citizens. Spivey's gripping accounts, backed up by credible historical evidence, will show you how:• An unopened note changed the course of the Revolutionary War• A phantom attack caused George Washington to win a decisive battle• The "unluckiest" incident in wartime history led to freedom for millions.• "Random" events in the Pacific gave a small American carrier fleet victory.• A U-2 spy plane and the death of a pilot saved the world from nuclear holocaust."This book is dedicated to the men of K/3/3 who didn't come home"
About the author... Larkin Spivey is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War and a retired Marine Corps officer, who served with K/3/3 in 1967. He commanded infantry and reconnaissance units in combat, and was trained in parachute, submarine, and special forces operations. He was with the blockade force during the Cuban Missile Crisis and served in the White House during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. As a faculty member at The Citadel he taught college courses in U.S. military history, a subject of life long personal and professional interest. He now resides in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with his wife, Lani, and their four children, and is active in community, business, and church affairs. He is a long time leader in Cursillo, the nationwide Christian renewal movement of the Episcopal Church and other denominations.
No Shining Armor - Otto Lehrack
The record of a Marine battalion in Vietnam, 1964-69, by a former infantry captain. Lehrack's technique is to record various NCOs, privates, and line officers, then to distill their accounts and give them a chronology. He sets this worm's-eye view in wider context; for instance, he contrasts the notions of General Westmoreland with those of various Marine commanders. The Marines believed in building schools and distributing food; the Army thought those were civilian matters. But, in general, this account has much the flavor of other Vietnam reminiscences: pride of service, bitterness over the confusion of purpose, and, in many cases, the troubles that individual solders had readjusting to civilian life. Wallace Terry's oral history of black soldiers, Bloods (1984), was similar, except that Lehrack's work is largely apolitical and more focused. Several of the soldiers won Medals of Honor, and their accounts are here, as well as a distinctive rendering of the first Battle of Khe Sanh. We hear from point men, corpsmen, gunnery sergeants; there's gentle testimony from a chaplain who was spat on when he returned to the US. Representative here might be Sergeant Kenneth Ransbottom, who extended his tours and served for a total of 27 months. His rendering of the relocation of a Vietnamese village, the terror of the civilians, and the panicky, accidental violence that ensued is heartbreaking--a testament both to his own eloquence and to Lehrack's skill in capturing it. A disciplined, lucid view of ordinary soldiers in a bewildering and demoralizing war.
About the author... Otto Lehrack served two tours of duty in Vietnam, the first (1967-68) in the infantry as a captain and commanding officer of India Company, Third Battalion, Third Marines and the second (1970-71) in signals intelligence as a major and operations officer, First Radio Battalion. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Many books and authors to add
Mercy Warriors - John Combs
My name is John Combs. Some years ago, they used to call me "Doc." That was back in a place called Vietnam ... a place that I, like many others who served there, would like to forget. Unfortunately I can't forget what happened there ... and neither can a lot of other people like me. I was a medic and I experienced things that changed my life forever ... and mostly not in good ways. So I decided to do something about it. I've written a book about the medical chain during the Vietnam War. The research has taken 4 years to complete. It is the only known research that has investigated this system. All medical participants from battlefield and dustoff to travel aides, battalion aid stations and hospital personnel participated in this project. This includes doctors, army medics, navy corpsmen, army nurses, navy nurses aboard The Sanctuary, and grave registration personnel who were in Vietnam from 1965 to 1972. The book hopes to educate the military and medical branches so that there can be no more Vietnams. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and re-adjustment are among the topics addressed.
The book may be ordered in either paperback or hard bound (when available). Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. All orders carry a $5.00 shipping and handling charge for each book mailed for a total of $29.95. Overnight and 2-day charges are extra. If you pay by credit card fill out the form on the "Buy The Book" page or you can mail a check for $29.95 (Fla. residents add $1.75 tax) to:
John A. Combs
24016 E. Bobcat Road
Astor, FL 32102
My Private Vietnam - Tony Newsom
14 Stories by a Marine Ammo HumperThis collection of stories is based on remembered facts, written accounts, hearsay, scuttlebutt, and 30-something years of living with all that I can remember. I was an "ammo humper" with the Marines, but these stories could be of any of the 58,000 men and women who never came back. Or the thousands and thousands of guys, many of whom were my age then (18), and remember it every day. There were kids from the city trying to avoid jail time. Some were poor guys from the South looking to get out of there. There were high school drop-outs, and the clean, plain boys from the farms with acne and pregnant girlfriends. There were the big guys from the high school campus showing how tough they were by joining the Corps, and the patriots following in their father's footsteps, except their fathers did what they did with reason and goals. There were moral guys who thought this was a good cause, and there were altar boys who wanted to break away, runaways and throwaways, and the "I got to getaways". We were all there.
http://www.myprivatevietnam.com/
Format: Paperback, 100pp. ISBN: 1588202240 Publisher: 1stBooks Library Pub. Date: Sept 2000
About the author...Tony Newsom served with K/3/3 in 1965. Tony Newsom is from the Roxbury section of Boston. He spent three and a half years in the Marines. He made the first Marine Landing in Vietnam in May of 1965. He was an ammo carrier in a weapons platoon. Upon his return from Vietnam in 1966 he got his G.E.D. at Quantico, VA, and graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst ten years later through the Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program. He is a disabled veteran still living in the Boston area.
DIG IN - by Rick Bartholomew
The story of a Marine Corps grunt serving in vietnam from April 1968 - May 1969 in and around the DMZ. The stories and letters home of day-to-day living of a Marine Corps infantry squad leader. These are accounts of his life as shared by his letters home and the memory of Vietnam. Thirteen months of hell and back and the return home. It is a story of friendships made and friendships lost. The story of a young boy called by his country to serve and the impact that serving in Vietnam would have on his life. This book is dedicated to those volunteer editors without whose help it would have been impossible to have it published. A very special thank you to Doc Hoppy who gave many hours of his time to edit and help me in more ways than I can ever repay. I would also like to thank my family for their encouragement and blessing. It is also dedicated to all the Marines and Corpsmen that served Mike 3/3 in Vietnam. I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to serve with this elite group of men honorably known as United States Marines.
BURY ME WITH SOLDIERS - C.W. Standiford
The late 60's in America was tumulus and uncertain. A young Oregon ranch kid must decide whether to flee or fight. The young man understands he will not flee. During the fifty days of living like a wild dog in a dirt den the young Marine witnesses the decimation of his grunt company.
From his first patrol where his new found fellow Oregonian dies in front of him, to the wayward 500- pound bomb that kills and maims several of his company, the young marine sees that the death around him is like a slow flesh-eating virus. Ignoring the old military axiom never volunteer the marine volunteers for a new recon company being formed. He and the other volunteers play cat and mouse in the dark and unholy jungles of Vietnam. The casualties still mount, but for the first time the enemy is now seen by the transformed warrior and he is able to fight back. Unlike PLATOON this account shows the honor, the devotion to duty and even a few laughs.These are not Americans who fought one another, but Americans who fought for America and men this Marine would like to be buried with. BURY ME WITH SOLDIERS by C.W. Standiford is now available. For every book sold a buck a book will be donated to the American Legion 9/11 Memorial Scholarship Fund. This fund will help the children of warriors killed in our war on terror. Please visit www.1stbooks.com to find this book. Or call 1-888-280-7715 to order. The web site www.burymewithsoldiers.com will be up soon. Reviews, pictures and audio clips will be on this site. Audio book is available at www.audiopulp.com. Please help raise money for our fallen warriors children.
Semper Fi
Wayne Standiford
About the author...
Wayne Standiford lives in the small town of Condon, Oregon, where he works for an electrical contracting company and his wife, Deborah, operates an imprinting business. Wayne and Deborah stay busy taking part in community affairs and keeping track of Shawn, Cody, Cassie, Travis, and Ryan. They are the proud grandparents of Isaac and Wyatt. Wayne was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal for his "composure under fire" because no one could see his toes curled inside his jungle boots. For the radio incident he was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. This medal should have been an Olympic Gold for the fastest human on the planet on the only day of his life he was able to move really fast. Older and much slower now, Wayne still grunts for a living.
Impact Zone - by Jim Brown
Published by the University of Alabama Press
This book tells the story of Jim Brown, an artillery lieutenant who served as a forward observer and battalion fire support coordinator for 3/3 from June 67 to Dec 67. He then became executive officer and later the commanding officer of Charlie Battery 1-12 until he rotated in July of 68. Members of the Third Marines will find his accounts of the Rockpile, the ambushes on the road to Ca Lu, and the intense fighting at C2 Bridge near Con Thien to be of particular interest. His time with Charlie Battery is highlighted by the operation to relieve Khe Sanh and Charlie Battery's acclaimed stand at LZ Torch where he was commanding officer.
About the Author - Jim Brown, a native of Mississippi, has a B.A degree in English from the University of the South, Sewanee, TN. After the Marines, he was a stockbroker and Account vice- president with Paine Webber. In 1980 he opened his own real estate company and in 1993 a home building business. He now manages both in Jackson, MS. In Vietnam he received the Silver Star and Purple Heart and was a captain and commanding officer of C-1-10 at Camp Lejeune at the time of his discharge.
Honor The Warrior - by William L. Myers
Published by Redoubt Press
The war in Vietnam was not a popular one. The Marines who fought there returned to a largely ungrateful nation. These warriors had made sacrifices and endured hardships as great as any in the history of our country. They fought well .. as well or better than Marines in any other war. This book chooses to honor the warrior and not the war.
Presented in some of the most introspective and articulate first person account to come out of the war, the reader will vicariously experience what it was like to be a Marines in combat in Vietnam. The action is vicious, realistic and graphic. No holds are barred, no punches pulled. This is how it was in Vietnam: heat exhaustion, the problems caused by the early malfunctions of the M-16 rifle, boredom and the courage and tenacity of Marines.
Included in this book are lists of all Marines and Navy Corpsmen awarded the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross and the Silver Star. Additional effort was made to identify all Marines mentioned including KIA's.
Despite the folly of fighting such a senseless war with its almost unspeakable carnage and highly questionable rules of engagement, there were unforgettable acts of self-sacrifice and courage. It is best told by these ordinary men who were asked to accomplish the impossible.
About the author ...
William Myers was born and raised in Opelousas, Louisiana. He joined the Marine Corps at the age of seventeen. After serving for four years in the Marines, he earned a Bachelors degree from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana and a Master's degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Now retired, Myers coached football and baseball at several Louisiana high schools for twenty-nine years. This is his first book. He lives in Lafayette, Louisiana and continues to work on writing projects.
[Doc's note: Billy Myers has shared many of the Citations with me to include on our Personal Awards section of the 3/3 sites. Our deepest gratitude.]
Order the book from
Redoubt Press
183 Steiner Road #117
Lafayette LA 70508-6000
email: redoubt@bellsouth.net
The Light Side of Damnation – William F. Lee
War is serious business. However, within all the torment of war, the strongest of bonds are created and nurtured. Through these ties and perhaps because of them, instances of wit along with humorous episodes breathe light into the darkness and damnation of war.
The thread that binds this story together is the mentoring affiliation the Commanding General has with Captain Barney Quinn, Company Commander and later, Aide. Barney's, at times roguish behavior, his sense of humor, and playfully prankish mind both clash and support this steely-eyed Old Corps Marine, Lieutenant General Walter Barto.
Through Barney's eyes and voice, you will live among a cast of loveable Marines. All names are fictitious. Experiences, real.
About the Author
William F. Lee is a retired Marine officer and a retired business executive. His Corps career spanned 20 years, included two wars, and he was awarded nine personal decorations and six unit citations during his service. After retirement from the Corps, he worked for Electronic Data Systems as a HR executive in the US and internationally until retiring. He published his first book in 2004; is a member of the Writers' League of Texas, and a participating member of the LNT Writers' Group. He lives in Fairview, Texas with his wife Jodi.
ODE TO VIETNAM and LEAN, MEAN & SEVENTEEN
Two pieces of prose by Rocky Fortner L/3/3 1965
A Sailor's Story - Remembering VietNam
By Lawrence A. Yoakum
A review of one Hospital Corpsman's tour in
VietNam, written years ago, but unpublished*.
*Published posthumously by Ellen Yoakum
Books authored by or about 3/3 RVN alumni
3/3 LIBRARY
Boys In Blue White Dress by William F. Lee
Very few Americans walk away unmoved from a Friday Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks, 8th and "I" Sts, SE, Washington, DC. It's the oldest Post of the Corps. By visiting The Barracks, President Kennedy became the first President to do so since Thomas Jefferson in 1801. This brought about a special relationship with The Barracks' Marines. A bond that was brought to a tragic end by a sniper's bullet in November 1963. Lieutenant Barney Quinn tells little known details of the Death Watch at the casket and his inner most private thoughts. While on this watch, he also reflects on other ceremonies, memories and moments, and of the rowdy behavior of these rakish "Boys in Blue White Dress." These stand tall, look sharp Marines at their roguish best created a work hard, play hard life style similar to the yesteryear Corps' Leathernecks. Join Barney and the Boys in Blue White Dress. Walk in their ceremonial shoes.
About the Author
William F. Lee is a retired Marine officer and a retired business executive. His Corps career spanned 20 years, included two wars, and he was awarded nine personal decorations and six unit citations during his service. After retirement from the Corps, he worked for Electronic Data Systems as a HR executive in the US and internationally until retiring. He published his first book in 2004; is a member of the Writers' League of Texas, and a participating member of the LNT Writers' Group. He lives in Fairview, Texas with his wife Jodi.
Ia Drang is sometimes referred to as the first large battle of the Vietnam War. In fact, Starlite occurred three months earlier. In this brief but well-told and well-researched account (it is the first book published on this battle), U.S. Marine veteran Otto J. Lehrack, who is also the author of No Shining Armor: The Marines at War in Vietnam (1992), corrects the record. The First Battle provides a good description of early U.S. Marine deployments to Vietnam. In August 1965, intelligence sources indicated that the 1st Viet Cong Regiment was massing for an attack on the new base at Chu Lai, south of Da Nang. To preempt that, the 4th Marine Regiment decided to attack the VC force on the Van Tuong Peninsula, in Quang Nam province. Operation Starlite was the first combined helicopter and amphibious landing in history. More than 600 VC were killed, as were 54 Marines. Although considered "destroyed," the 1st VC Regiment reconstituted itself within months and continued to fight U.S. and South Vietnamese forces for the rest of the war. "Blood Debt" in the title means revenge, blood owed for blood spilled. After Operation Starlite, it became much harder for the United States to find a way to exit Vietnam.
About the author... Otto Lehrack served two tours of duty in Vietnam, the first (1967-68) in the infantry as a captain and commanding officer of India Company, Third Battalion, Third Marines and the second (1970-71) in signals intelligence as a major and operations officer, First Radio Battalion. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
Que Son Valley was a strategic campaign and watershed event of the Vietnam War. Today, however, it's relatively unknown and forgotten. But those Marines who fought its brutal battles remember Que Son. They remember the sacrifices and the scars of war, but so do they remember the camaraderie and friendships. Author Otto Lehrack's account of the Que Son Valley campaign is a testament to those Marines who courageously committed themselves to one another and to "The Valley." -- Maj. Gen. (ret.) John H. Admire, former Commanding General, 1st Marine Division
F/2/1 is featured in this history.
To order an autographed copy of the book from Otto (or any of his books), print and complete this order form, and mail it to Otto.
Oral history by Marines who fought to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's invading forces. "Engrossing . . . with a wealth of first-hand accounts. . . . Coverage of the Khafji engagement alone is worth the book."--Lieutenant Colonel Charles Cureton, author of U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf, 1990-1991: With the 1st Marine Division in Desert Shield and Desert Storm "The focus on 'middle-level managers' makes this book of interest and value. The accounts are good. . . . Following members of a single battalion provides a unity to the story, . . . and the different perspectives convey the confusion of combat. The language is raw, but authentic. Current fighting, some twelve years after these events, makes it significant narrative of the past as prelude."--Charles D. Melson, Chief Historian, Marine Corps Historical Center "An outstanding chronicle. . . . America's Battallion is a narrative describing the emotions and actions of Marines in war. It's a story of sacrifice and perserverance in an inhospitable desert and hostile environment. The Battalion's Marines represent the diversity of America and the unity of our commitment to freedom for all."--Maj. Gen. John H. Admire, United States Marine Corps (Retired)
