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³The United States slid into Vietnam so gently, so slowly it was all but imperceptible to the average observer.² (track 2) But by 1971 America was heavily involved in southeast Asia and young lieutenants fresh from West Point expected to serve there. McDonough was one of these West Point graduates, a brand new 2nd Lieutenant As the author states he cannot claim to have written a definitive history of the Vietnam conflict, instead his is ³one story about an American platoon leader in combat.² (track 1). Lt. McDonough had spent the year after West Point graduation assigned to bases where he could take the specialized training necessary to a member of an airborne brigade. When he was felt to be sufficiently prepared he was shipped overseas and assigned to the Strategic Hamlet Program. Implemented in the 60s by those who felt that by putting the civilians under the local control of the US armed forces they could sever Viet Cong dependence on, and ties to the peasantry of the local ville; by 1970 it was considered a failure. However, the army had not yet pulled the troops out of this line of attack. Second Lieutenant McDonough arrived at his first command to find a platoon essentially maintained by the non-commissioned officer. The lieutenant he was replacing had spent his whole time in the field trying to (successfully) keep out of harms way; the day the author arrived he found his counterpart literally lying flat on the ground, and there he stayed until the helicopter came to take him back to Saigon and home. Morale and efficiency was at low ebb with a leader who refused to lead or fight. McDonough spent the rest of this first night alone surveying the situation and deciding how he should proceed. He was determined that he would be a real leader; he hoped to inspire their loyalty and to assure them he was interested in not only completing the mission but in protecting the lives of his men in so far as was possible in combat. Lt. McDonough had a lot to accomplish. In a most interesting and compelling way McDonough guides us through the first difficult days in establishing leadership. He proved to the men he was not above participating in patrols and demonstrated his capacity to effectively plan and carry out the constant observation and frequent engagement of the enemy. The author also shared the loneliness of command‹he listened to the men no matter what they needed to share, personal or military, yet he never had the luxury of sharing his own fears and hopes. There is no attempt in this memoir to hide the ugly side of war, the feelings that cannot help but arise against those who are constantly trying to kill you, and the difficult no win choices that often confront those in command. Joel Rooks does a very good job reading this book. The timbre and sound of his voice is that of a man old enough to have been a brand new officer in the early 70s. It is the voice of a leader.
Reviewed by Martha Hopkins, April 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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