If you have read a book, ABOUT MARINES, FOR
MARINES OR BY MARINES, have an opinion about it, then share it with us.
Limit your positive thoughts, comments,
passions or descriptions to a few sentences. Include; Author, Title, Publisher
and date. Remember to use your head in regards to the comments, some of these
authors are big guys and most are Marines.
The opinions you give will be yours and not
that of “SCARFACE-USMC. ORG”.
CONTENTS:
AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS
AVIATION
BUSINESS
THE CONFLICTS
WW 11
KOREA
VIETNAM
FICTION
GERERAL HISTORY
INDIVIDUALS
OTHER MARINES
REQUIRED
READING
AMPHIBIOUS
OPERATIONS
“Within a few hours of the
Pearl Harbor
attack, Japanese task forces headed for
Guam
and for
Wake Island
.
Guam
fell quickly. At
Wake Island
, however the Japanese received their first unpleasant surprise of the
war.”
Ronald Spector, “EAGLE AGAINST THE SUN”
Alexander, Joseph H. and Bartlett, L. Merrill “SEA SOLDIERS
IN THE COLD WAR Amphibious warfare 1945-1991” Navel Institute Press.1995
(The operational changes and history of amphibious warfare in
the cold war.)
Alexander, Joseph H. “STORM LANDINGS, Epic Amphibious
Battles in the Central Pacific” Navel Institute Press. 1997
(The challenges of long-range assaults.)
Bartlett, Merrill
L. “ASSAULT FROM THE SEA, Essays on the history of amphibious warfare”,
Naval Institute Press. 1983
(Amphibious studies through out the ages, by different
authors on various events, beginning with
Marathon
in 490 B.C.)
Crosizat, Victor J. “A CROSS THE REEF, The Amphibious
Tracked Vehicle at War” Blandford Press. 1989
(Detailed accounts of units and operations, primary WW II.)
Gatchel, Theodore L. “AT THE WATER’S EDGE, Defending
against the modern amphibious assault”
(Interesting study of why most landings are successful. All
of ours were.)
Gregory, Barry “AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS” Blandford Press
1988
(Short general history with mostly photos.)
Polmar, Norman and Mersky, Peter B. “AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE, An
illustrated history” Blandford Press. 1988
(Great photos of specialized ships, submarine, small crafts
and how they were used, including a floating kitchen for the use of landing
craft crews during the
Normandy
invasion.)
AVIATION
Peleliu 1944, “…the first ‘bird dogs’ of Capt.
Wallace J. Slappey’s Marine Observation Squadron Three {our SCARFACE
ancestors} landed on the airstrip and soon commenced providing air spot for
artillery batteries and Navy gunships. Slappey’s squadron would render
enormous assistance to the Old Breed here, and at
Okinawa
. So effective were the pilots and their observers that Japanese gun crews
eventually ceased firing at the first sight of the Bird Dogs overhead, knowing
from painful experience that accurate counter battery fire would be called down
on their heads in short order. The Marines loved these doughty little Piper
Cubs, calling them ‘Piperschimidts’ or ‘Messercubs’.”
Joseph Alexander, “STORM
LANDINGS”
Johnson, Edward C. “MARINE CORPS AVIATION: The early
year’s 1912-1940” History and Museums Div. Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
1977.
(We make up the branches of this tree.)
Sherrod, Robert, “HISTORY OF MARINE CORPS AVIATION IN WW
II” Forces Press. 1952
(Detailed accounts of units, uses, campaigns and their
history.)
Bonnie-Sue,
a Marine Helicopter Squadron in Vietnam, by Marion F.
Sturkey.
A book review by Randy
Crew, Scarface 39, Phu Bai ’69
I’ve read two books written to tell the factual story of Marine
helicopter action in Vietnam. The
first is Marines and Helicopters 1962 – 1973 by Lt. Col. William R.
Fails, USMC. Colonel
Fails’ book is an official USMC history published by the History and
Museums Division of Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.,
1978. The second is
Bonnie-Sue by Marion F. Sturkey. While
Colonel Fails’ book is well done and invaluable as a statistical
record, it’s Bonnie-Sue, a 510-page book of blood, sweat, tears, and
heroism published in 1996 that tells the story of who we were, what we
did, and why we’re so proud of it.
Told for the most part in the first person, Sturkey
does not write to honor himself. He
writes to honor the Corps and the aviators, corpsmen, and grunts who
bore the name “Marine” in the most difficult of times.
Personal stories, as told by Sturkey and a vast collection of
others, are the strength of the book.
These personal stories are of men in combat, mortal men who want
to live but who have an obligation to risk their own lives to save
others. There is the story
of “The Longest Night,”
an account of a Marine recon team extract in Laos that turned into a
major rescue mission of the recon team and the two H-46 crews that were
shot down during the attempted extraction.
This is an excerpt from page 280:
“Hit repeatedly, Soupy’s H-46 made it over the crest of the
ridge. It then mushed to the
ground about 250
meters due east of Joe and
the Recons. Horrified, Joe
watched his wingman sail over the trees and disappear down behind the
slope to the east. Then he
heard the impact and saw the ensuing fire.”
And there is the humor that always follows the Marines.
Next to Sturkey’s own story of the “ninety knot hog,”
another of my favorites is the “snake in the cockpit” story by 1/Lt.
Huey Walsh, a hysterical description of how a routine mission to Khe
Sahn in 1966 turned into a knife fight in the cockpit of a CH-46 with a
bamboo viper. These lighter
stories are cleverly and seamlessly mixed in with the stories of fear
and death and undeniable heroism of Marine aircrews and the grunts they
supported. From HMM-163’s
trial by fire in the A-Shau Valley in 1966 where 21 of their 24 H-34s
were left with “major damage” to Ed Kufeldt’s February ’68
attempted rescue of the last man at Lang Vei with his UH-1E gunship,
each tale is a tribute to what it means to fight like a Marine.
While Sturkey begins his book with the launch of Lt. Colonel
Archie Clapp’s HMM-362’s
H-34s from the USS Princeton (LPH-5) in 1962, he ends it with the
post-Tet hill fights of April, 1968.
There is only a brief “Requiem” chapter to cover 1969 (the
second most deadly year of the war after 1968) to 1973.
This limited scope keeps the book from being the complete factual
account of our actions in Vietnam, but it doesn’t limit the power and
impact of our collective story. Marion
Sturkey has produced a work that deserves its place among the finest
histories of the Corps. No
matter when or where you went in harms way as a Marine, this is a book
you can embrace. It’s
about us. And it’s well
told.
Copies of Bonnie-Sue can
be ordered by calling Marion Sturkey at 864-443-5081 or visiting www.usmcpress.com
I recommend you order one for yourself and one for your local
library.
1500
Feet Over
Vietnam
: A Marine Helicopter
Pilot's Diary. By
Bruce
R.
Lake
.
Woodsville
,
NH
; Almine Library (Order direct from
Bruce
Lake
at
PO Box 225
,
Woodville
,
NH
03785-0225
) 1990. Paperback. 371 Pp.
ISBN Number 0-9623500-2-8. $14.00 plus $2.15 S&H. Subjects: Vietnamese
Conflict, 1961 - 1975 - Aerial operations. American Vietnamese Conflict, 1961 -
1975 - Personal narratives. American Military Helicopters -
Vietnam
. Lake, Bruce.
1500
is the number from the title, but the number the reader takes away from reading
this book is 48. That is the number of friends that
Lake
lost in his
13 months in
Vietnam
; however,
his story is not a dismal rendering of that war. In many ways it is a joyous
book, particularly when he is talking about flying. This guy was having fun.
Anyone who was there will smile when he describes 'buzzing" his brother's
unit so that they can chat on the radio.
Probably
the best way to view this book is to imagine sitting down with the author on his
porch, or better yet in the cockpit of his CH-46 Phrog and listen to him telling
the story of flying every day in a combat situation. Listen to him talking about
the tight zones, the tough fights and about his friends, the other young pilots,
many who died in so many different ways.
1500
Feet was obviously written as a sort of self induced therapy.
Lake
has chosen
to use the journal form to tell us his story and it works, primarily because he
understands and writes so well. Everything is calm, conversational and it’s
only later that we realize that another good friend is gone forever. And there
is nothing to do except strap in and fly another day.
This
is an intensely personal book that will be enjoyed by anyone who believes that
real flying involves rotary wings or by anyone who served in
Vietnam
.
Bob Skinder
Farewell, Darkness
By Ron Zaczek
1994. Naval
Institute Press,
118 Maryland Avenue
,
Annapolis
,
MD
21402-5035
[800] 233-8764 for orders.
Internet:
http://www.nip.org
Cloth.
344 Pp.
ISBN Number 1-55750-989-1.
$29.95 plus S&H.
Subjects: Post traumatic stress disorder -- Case studies,
Vietnamese conflict, 1961-1975 -- Personal narratives, American.
Vietnamese conflict, 1961-1975 -- Psychological aspects.
I have no doubt that it is a
court martial offense for a professional book reviewer to let his own life enter
into a review. However, since I have
yet to earn a dime doing this, and no one has asked me to review this particular
book, or any others for that matter, I'm going to get up close and personal.
First I will tell you that I
was in this fellow, Zaczek's squadron, although not when he was there.
I will also tell you that I was an enlisted helicopter mechanic and spent
a little over two years with the older and more massive UH-34, the Hueys that
are the subject of this book and their souped up cousins, The AH-1G Cobras.
That out of the way, I have to tell you that this is a great book and
probably one of the best ever written by a Marine about combat.
Farewell, Darkness soars for a
number of reasons. The first is that
Zaczek is a terrific writer or he had wonderful editors.
I have read several books describing the Marine Helicopter war and I have
been to the places described and I have flown on combat missions.
No one has done it better, and I am so proud that he is an enlisted guy.
The second reason is that he
has written a really good war story. Those
among you who have been a part of the Marine-Helo team know the crew chief type.
They are often so young, so small and so serious.
They worked continuously. Flying
all day, fixing all night, grab a beer if they are really lucky, go to sleep,
get up and do it again. They were so
serious but so quick to help one another or share something.
Even today I compare the young college kids that I work with and it’s
hard to accept that they are composed of the same matter as my friends of thirty
years past. Ear rings, silly little
beards and backwards baseball hats; give me a break, please.
The third reason for success
is why he wrote the book and it is the same reason that lobs it out of the
stratosphere. After the war and
college, Ron Zaczek was a very angry, uptight fellow and eventually he came
close to doing bodily harm to his employer.
At that point he began to get help, primarily from a V.A. counselor named
Tom Murtaugh. Without giving too
much away Ron suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and this book is
about his trip out of darkness into a world where he could at least make
choices. The author weaves the two
threads back and forth into a marvelous story.
Anyone who has been in combat, or who loves someone who has been in
combat, needs to read this book. I
would recommend it to anyone who lives on this earth but it is not a very pretty
story. I guess if I had the money,
it would be on every politician's book shelf but they probably wouldn't get it.
Bob Skinder
Reviewers Consortium
Hopkins
,
South
Carolina
If
you would like an autographed or copy of Farewell Darkness"
Send $28 (includes postage) to Ron Zaczek,
230 Rhett
Lane
,
Elkton
,
MD
21921
. Include
outfit, rank and year in
country. If for a friend, give me a sense of how you
would
like it inscribed. Or buy it at Borders, mail to
me with return postage and I will return
signed."
SOG: A Photo History of the Secret Wars
By
John L. Plaster
2000.
Paladin Press, PO Box 1307, Boulder, CO 80306.
[303]
443-7250. [800] 392-2400 for credit card orders.
Internet:
http://www.paladin-press.com
Cloth.
485 Pp.
ISBN
Number 1-58160-060-7. $79.95 plus
S&H.
Subject:
Studies and Observation Group (SOG)
It
has been said on numerous occasions that everyone has their own war.
Even one's best and closest buddy has a different experience unless both
are joined at the hip. This book goes a lot further than most to prove this
point. SOG stands for
"Studies and Observation Group" which is actually a euphemism
for "Special Operations Group." Formed
early in the Vietnam War, these units operated outside of that country, either
in North Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia.
These
are the folks that the rest of us usually only heard about.
Although they were constructed around a core of Green Berets, there were
a few others from other elite groups such as the SEALS and Air Commandos as well
as my own Marine Huey Squadron HML-367 formerly designated VMO-3.
The bulk of the troops were Montagnard tribesmen, although ARVN troops
were tried but with tragic results. Strangely
enough, the basic air support was supplied by the illustrious Vietnamese 219th
Helicopter Squadron that flew the magnificent, if obsolete UH-34 D.
There
were two primary missions undertaken by these teams as well as numerous
one-of-a-kind operations. Area
missions involved an area of which little was known. Point recon involved
verifying a suspected object located in a very specific place. One of the most
common missions was to assess the damage caused by B-52 strikes on the Ho Chi
Minh Trail. Others might include
rescuing downed pilots or compromised teams.
This book not only describes many of these missions, but actual real time
photographs are included.
This
book, in fact, is a companion to SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in
Vietnam by the same author and publisher that I have seen but not reviewed.
The book in hand, however, has been read with avid interest. It is truly
a remarkable volume filled with almost unbelievable photos and text.
The photographs, incidentally, came from the operatives, themselves.
It is often difficult to believe that someone might have the mindset that
would allow time for such frivolities. The
book is not inexpensive but I cannot imagine that there are too many others of
its caliber in today's market.
The
only flaws that I found in the book were those of omission.
My above-mentioned squadron flew Prairie Fire missions everyday for
several years and there is only one small mention included with all of the other
supporting units. There was also a
photograph of a fireball plummeting to earth that I find it hard to believe
represents the same incident that three of my squadron mates walked away from.
Aside from those admittedly biased remarks, this is a great book.
It is all-inclusive, is very well laid out and will probably be studied
by every army in the world.
Bob Skinder
Reviewers Consortium
Hopkins, South Carolina
BUSINESS
“Paper work will ruin any military force,”
LTC Louis B. Puller
Freedman David H. “CORPS BUSINESS The 30 management
principles of the U.S. Marines” Harper Business 2000
(Those Corps principles that allows you to succeed in the
civilian world with out killing anyone.)
THE
CONFLICTS
With the 8th Ammo
Co. near Mount Suribachi 1944, “I went to the front to take some ammo up. On
my return trip I noticed a dead Marine. His hands were still on his carbine. I
relieved him of his carbine and said I would put this to good use. ‘I will
take up where you left off,’ I said to him softly. As of that day I was always
armed and never, I repeat, never did I go to the front unarmed.”
Winston, De Vergee,
“ASSIGNMENT IN HELL”
WW II
Alexander, Joseph H. “UTMOST SAVAGERY, The three days of
Tarawa”. Naval Institute Press 1995
(A well told account of getting the job done, vivid in the
details.)
Coggins, Jack “THE CAMPAIGN FOR GUADALCANAL, A battle that
made history” Doubleday and Co. 1972
(A lot of great pencil line drawings of ships, planes and
equipment as well as a good brief history.)
Spector, Ronald H. “EAGLE AGAINST THE SUN” Free Press.
1985
(An excellent, comprehensive contribution, important to
read.)
Wheeler, Richard “A
SPECIAL VALOR, The
U.S.
Marines and the Pacific War” Harper and Row Pub. 1983
(Good reading from Wake to the Occupation.)
Wheeler, Richard
“
IWO
”, Lippincott & Crowell pub. 1980
(The personal accounts of Americans and Japanese on
IWO
.)
KOREA
Wilson, Jim “RETREAT HELL! We’re just attacking in
another direction” Morrow and Co. 1988
(1st Marines and allies doing their duty and
keeping the standards high.)
VIETNAM
Telfer, Gary L., Rogers, Lane and Fleming, Keith Jr. “U.S.
MARINES IN VIETNAM, Fighting the north Vietnamese 1967” History and Museums
Division Headquarters, U.S.M.C. Washington, D.C. 1984
(One of the “year by year” history series, lots of
detail. You can get these at your friendly federal bookstore.)
The
title is: The Last Battle: The Mayaguez Incident and the End of the Vietnam War;
the author is Ralph Wetterhahn, published by Carroll & Graf on June 9, 2001.
Okay
now, three sentences. Brilliantly researched and written account of one of the
war's most tragic and questionable operations. The reader is taken from the
White House while our leaders micromanage an operation unfolding halfway around
the world to Koh Tang Island where the actual fighting is taking place. One
gains an understanding of how and WHY shit happens. I could go on.... a great
read. Artie Larsen
FICTION
“When the government hastily evacuated Washington in
1814, a considerable sum of money and specie was buried on the grounds of the
Commandants house, at ‘Eighth and Eye.’ Although several attempts have been
made to unearth this, there seems to be no truth to the matter.”
Albert Nofi, “Marine Corps Book of List”
Crew, Randolph E. “A KILLING SHADOW” Artec Pub. 1996
(Thanks for the story and signing my copy.)
Thomason, John W. “FIX BAYONETS! And other stories”
Scribner’s and Sons. 1970
(Short stories from WW1 up to WW11. Thomason has been called
“the Kipling of the Marine Corps”)
GENERAL
HISTORY
“Whenever Marines assemble, they bring with them their past”
Col. Allen R. Millett
Alexander, Joseph H., “A
FELLOWSHIP OF VALOR, The battle history of the United States Marines”. Harper
Collins Pub. 1997
(“I want this to be the John Wayne version, not the Henry
James version.”)
Clancy, Tom “MARINE, A guided tour of a Marine
Expeditionary Unit.”
Berkley
Pub. 1996
(All you need to know about an MEU.)
Krulak, Victor H., “FIRST TO FIGHT An inside view of the
U.S. Marine Corps”. Naval Institute Press. 1984
(The Corps survives because Marines think on there feet.)
Metcalf, Clyde H. “A
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS” G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 1939
(An excellent highly detailed account of every large and
small conflict that the Marines participated in from it’s beginnings through
to the 1930’s)
Montross, Lynn “THE UNITED STATES MARINES, A pictorial
history” Rinehart and Co. 1959
(A black and white sketch and photo book, a good reference
for the early years.)
Nofi, Albert A. “MARINE CORPS BOOK OF LISTS, A definitive
compendium of Marine Corps facts, feats and traditions” Combined Pub.1997
(There are things in here my drill instructor never told me
about.)
Pierce, Philip N. and Hough, Frank O., “THE COMPACT HISTORY
OF THE U.S.M.C.” Hawthorn Book, Inc. 1960
(Good snippets of individuals.)
Schuon Karl “HOME OF THE COMMANDANTS” Leatherneck Ass.
1966
(A history of the house, furnishings and commandants.)
Schuon, Karl “THE LEATHERNECKS, An informal history of the
U.S. Marine Corps” Franklin Watts 1963
(Selected short stories by Marines about Marines starting
with our revolution and ending with
Lebanon
. Many of these stories have appeared in the Leatherneck magazine.)
INDIVIDUALS,
with their stories
“One new recruit described his basic training: ‘the
first day I was afraid that I was going to die. The next two weeks my sole fear
was that I was not going to die. And after that, I knew I’d never die, because
I’d become so hard that nothing could kill me.’ ”
Mark Henry, “USMC IN WW I, 1917-1918”
Averill, Gerald P. “MUSTANG,
a combat marine”. Presidio Press. 1987
(As the title says, an enlisted man becomes an officer. This
is a clear, readable personal history.)
Barker, Rodney “DANCING WITH
THE DEVIL, Sex, Espionage, and the U.S. Marines: The Clayton Lonetree Story”
Simon and Schuster 1996
(It was hard to begin reading
about a “Marine traitor”, especially by an author that I knew nothing about.
He quickly put my apprehensions aside and left me with the following thoughts
and emotions, mostly emotions; First, Sgt. Lonetree did not qualify for Security
Battalion duty, he never should have been there. Second, he fell in love with a
spy and knew better. Third, most of his bosses were not paying attention.
Fourth, it’s strange how many organizations and individuals earn a living from
our human weakness. Lastly, I do extend respect to Sgt. Lonetree for taking
responsibility for his wrongdoing. You may not like the subject, you might like
the process even less but I think Rodney Barker wrote a helpful book.)
De Vergee, Winston W. “ASSIGNMENT IN HELL” Vantage Press
1991
(A black Marine assigned to the Eighth Ammunition Company on
Iwo Jima. Despite the customs and prejudice of the time De Vergee was always
proud to serve as a
Marine.)
Devereux, James P.S., “THE STORY OF WAKE ISLAND.” J. B.
Lippincott Co. 1947
(Col. Devereux’s account, It’s remarkable what Col.
Devereux achieved.)
Harllee, John “THE MARINE FROM MANATEE, A Tradition of
Rifle Marksmanship” National Rifle Association Pub. 1984
(We shoot well in boot camp because of this guy.)
Versaw, Donald Le Roy, “THE LAST
CHINA
BAND” Marrs Printing. Inc. 2000
(This is a brief account of the 4th Marine Band
that became the 3rd rifle platoon of E company 2nd
battalion 4th Marines. The story tells of the last days it served in
China and the surrendering to the Japanese after the fall of Corrigidor Island
May 6, 1942. It is a vivid and colorful story of a musician experiencing war.)
You can find this book at M.C.R.D. San Diego History museum bookstore.
Williams, Robert H. “THE OLD CORPS, A portrait of the U.S.
Marine Corps between the Wars” Naval Institute Press. 1982
(The days when the Corps numbered under 20,000. An
interesting photo of the “horse marines” big guys on little ponies.)
Yianilos, Theresa Karas, “WOMAN MARINE, A memoir of a
Woman who Joined the U.S. Marines Corps in World War 11 to ‘Free a Marine to
Fight’” La Jolla Book Pub. Co. 1994
(I knew we called Woman Marines “BAM’s”, but I never
knew that they called us “HAM.s”. I found this readable, detailed very
personal account of Mrs. Yianilos’ Marine Corps experience very fascinating
and important. She begins her story
as a naive girl who had kissed 17 young men on their way to war at the same bus
stop. After deciding to do her part in the Marine reserves she grows to
understand and recognize the opportunity to “prove that the high standards of
the Marine Corps shall be safe in our hands and prove to each Marine that women
are necessary to help win this war.” When the war was coming to a close she
and her nineteen thousand sisters realized they were about to become “Veterans
of World War 11”. Along the way they had freed enough Marines to create the 6th
Marine division. “We were few and we were proud! No one could take that away
from any of us.”) This book can be found, signed by the author at M.C.R.D. San
Diego history museum bookstore.
Young Paul R. “FIRST RECON-SECOND TO NONE, A Marine
Reconnaissance Battalion in Vietnam 1967-1968. Ivy books by Ballantine 1992
(Lt. Young’s personal account as a platoon leader.)
Zaczek, Ron, “FAREWELL DARKNESS, A veteran’s
triumph over combat trauma. ”Naval Institute Press, 1994
(If you need help, get it)
OTHER
MARINES
“Miguel de Cervantes, author of ‘Don Quixote’, served
in the ‘Infanteria de Marina’ at the Battle of Lepanto, October 7th
1571, during which he was severely wounded.”
History of the Spanish Marines web sight
Vaux, Nick “TAKE THAT HILL! Royal Marines in the
Falklands
War” Pergamon-
Brassey’s. 1986
(It’s good that we are on the same side.)
Leasor, James “BOARDING PARTY The last action of the
Calcutta light horse” Naval Institute Press.1978
(No Marines, just a great “Amphibious” story with middle
aged English men doing more than their duty during WW11.)
Montagu, Ewen “THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS” Kingsport Press 1953
(A corpse dressed as a “Royal Marine” tricks the Nazis
into saving allied lives during the Sicily invasion.)
REQUIRED
READING
“To take charge of this post and all government property in view.”
Marine Corps General Order number one
Forester, C. S., “RIFLELMAN DODD”
Nautical and Aviation Pub.1989
(Fiction account of an English rifleman during the Napoleonic
wars. Gen. C. Krulak 31st Commandant would like you to read this.
“It is required reading at many war colleges and military academies”.)
The following are also
“suggested for reading” by the Commandant. They need to be reviewed.
Mersky Peter, “U.S. MARINE
CORPS AVIATION: 1912 TO THE PRESENT”
Moorehead, Alan “GALLIPOLI”
Trythall, Anthony J., “BONEY
FULLER: SOLDIER STRATEGIST, AND WRITER 1898-1966”
