This is a story of a Vietnam Infantry Soldier who along with his second platoon survived the mountainous jungles of South Vietnam against a determined enemy. My prayers, which always gives me comfort in the most difficult moments of my life,are the Our Father, the Apostle's Creed and Psalm 23, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil."

The commanding officer of an infantry battalion in Vietnam in 1969 recounts how he took over a demoralized unit of ordinary draftees and turned it into an elite fighting force, and describes its accomplishments.

Elite and highly trained, the 3d Force Recon's eight-man teams were assigned to obtain vital information about NVA operations. Alone, the men of these small teams were sent behind enemy lines, where they all knew that a single mistake could cost everyone their lives. United States Navy Hospital Corpsman Bruce Norton was the only navy corpsman to act as a Marine Force Recon Team Leader. In Force Recon Diary, 1969 Doc Norton chronicles his life, mission by mission, with the 3d Force Recon in the DMZ and the A Shau Valley. He describes the tense patrols, the supreme courage, the sacrifices—in ambushes and hot landing zones—that made this courageous company one of only two Marine units during the entire Vietnam War to receive the United States Army's Valorous Unit Citation.

There are many books about war. There are books that describe the bravery and glories of war. Other books portray the warrior as an "anti-hero". The Pipes Were Calling: A Vietnam War Story is not either of these formula tales. The Pipes Were Calling tells the story of a boy, 18 year old and fresh from high school who is drafted and then sent to fight in Vietnam. He has no combat experience or Hollywood scriptwriters. To survive, he must quickly learn the rules of war. Danny Murphy learns these rules, experiences combat, endures the deaths of friends, and engages in the black humor of crises. We share his experiences as he goes from "newbie" to veteran, then finally to civilian. Danny's story is told with honesty and humor, hopefully leaving us with a clearer understanding of war.

Vietnam No Regrets is the story of a soldier who volunteers to fight for his country in Vietnam. He would have no idea of what he will have to go through to leave the killing fields of Vietnam alive. You will be able to follow him from his first step in-country until his very last day and see for yourself what life was like for the infantry soldier in Vietnam. This story will be told through the eyes of one individual Vietnam combat soldier, but it is a compelling story that all combat veterans will have no trouble relating to.

On Christmas Eve, 1967, Doc arrives in South Vietnam and is placed in the Army's 9th Infantry Division, where he is a part of the joint operations between the Army and the Navy's 'Mobile Riverine Force.' He begins his service as a green, pale faced outsider of the war, with a soul not yet afflicted by the terrifying sounds and horror of combat. This book takes the reader on a painful journey through the eyes of a combat medic who served an infantry platoon during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Where Doc MacSwan's unit suffered with over a 90% casualty rate.

In 1970, John Kowalski was among the many young, inexperienced soldiers sent to Vietnam to participate in a contentious war. Referred to as “Cherries” by their veteran counterparts, these recruits were plunged into a horrific reality. The on-the-job training was rigorous, yet most of these youths were ill-prepared to handle the severe mental, emotional, and physical demands of combat. Experiencing enemy fire and observing death up close initiates a profound transformation that is irreversible. The author excels at storytelling. Readers affirm feeling immersed alongside the characters, partaking in their struggle for survival, experiencing the fear, awe, drama, and grief, observing acts of courage, and occasionally sharing in their humor. "Cherries" presents an unvarnished account, and upon completion, readers will gain a deeper appreciation for the trials these young men faced over a year. It's a narrative that grips the reader throughout.

""An important contribution to the literature on the war."" Gary R. Hess, Emeritus Distinguished Research Professor, Bowling Green State University. Author, --"Vietnam: Explaining America's Lost War." In his Reflections on the Vietnam War: A Fifty-Year Journey, Warren E. Hunt chronicles his long struggle to come to grips with the meaning of the Vietnam War and how it affected him before, during and after his tour in Vietnam with the U.S. First Infantry Division. Using a stylistic mix of personal anecdote, historical reflection and essay, the author weaves his experience of the war into a broad context encompassing the course of his life. Starting out as a naive and patriotic teenager drafted at age 19, he traces his path through military training, his impressions of Vietnam and its people, the absurdity of daily basecamp life, and the crucible of enemy fire. Returning to a nation torn apart by the war, he soon realizes that, even though he is no longer in the army, he cannot escape the war''s insane grasp. Catastrophic events in Vietnam and on the home front, along with the dawning awareness of suicides among his fellow veterans, prompt him to seek answers to the questions that haunt his daily life: Why did America go to war in Vietnam? How could we lose? Why did so many people have to suffer in vain? His quest leads him to the unveiling of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., where painful memories and powerful emotions merge to initiate a healing process for the author, his fellow veterans and the country at large.

Earl “Dusty” Trimmer relates with both skill and personal experience events surrounding our most forgetable and misunderstood war in America’s history. He brings it all home with his down-to-earth style and considerable knowledge. In Unbreakable Hearts, Dusty dives into the Vietnamese history and culture and skillfully brings the reader into understanding our Vietnamese enemy’s amazing resolve. He brilliantly explains the evolution of our Vietnamese enemy over hundreds of years of invasions and wars. Always defending their country to remain free became an art. In Chapter 7, Dusty describes the Vietnamese women fighters as “Hellcats.” My own experience with the formidable Vietnamese Viet Cong women’s skills and expertise closely mirrors Dusty’s. Hooch girls could plant booby traps in a GI’s hooch with a skill and savvy they were forced to learn during decades of on-the-job training in continuous wars with unwelcomed invaders. My own Military Police experience after leaving the infantry revealed these incidents vividly. In later chapters, Dusty moves into our own veterans’ profound resolve and toughness. North Vietnam’s famed General Giap called us “an honorable enemy.” One could suggest from this writing that our enemy taught us well. We did things in the Vietnam War the average person would have to go to the movies to believe. After reading Trimmer’s descriptions, I must conclude that indeed this book could be one for the movie industry. Dusty Trimmer brings to life our days and nights living and fighting in these foreboding jungle warfare conditions. After reading this fine work and reflecting on my own experiences, I cut away a little more of the pain. Pride swells for having served with all of these wonderful veterans of the Vietnam War. Pain for our terrible losses. For myself, these experiences culminated in wisdom I would otherwise have failed to achieve. God bless Dusty for telling our story. Forward march, Brothers!

A controversial psychological examination of how soldiers’ willingness to kill has been encouraged and exploited to the detriment of contemporary civilian society. Psychologist and US Army Ranger Dave Grossman writes that the vast majority of soldiers are loath to pull the trigger in battle. Unfortunately, modern armies, using Pavlovian and operant conditioning, have developed sophisticated ways of overcoming this instinctive aversion. The mental cost for members of the military, as witnessed by the increase in post-traumatic stress, is devastating. The sociological cost for the rest of us is even worse: Contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army’s conditioning techniques and, Grossman argues, is responsible for the rising rate of murder and violence, especially among the young. Drawing from interviews, personal accounts, and academic studies, On Killing is an important look at the techniques the military uses to overcome the powerful reluctance to kill, of how killing affects the soldier, and of the societal implications of escalating violence.