Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir

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Summary: The Cost of War
Review: In this story, Ehrhart beautifully tells of the I Corp Marine's experience in '67-68. The cost, both physically and spiritually,to the soldier has to my mind never seemed so true. Can the innocence and ignorance, if indeed they are different things, last in the face of the reality of war's warped and mishapen environment? What happens to the soldier when faced with his own ignorance and the evils of war, for which he is in many ways responsible? The tension between the two different Ehrharts in the book lies in the attempt to justify his actions in Viet Nam to himself, and if nothing else, to find some comfort even from outside himself. He is both proud and disgusted (I wish I had a stronger word here) by his "accomplishments" in Viet Nam. Where do we find ourselves when the conflict is over? The answer is perhaps nowhere, perhaps in the shower. (You must read the book to understand my last statement):)

Rating:
Summary: Wrenching voyage from innocence to ...
Review: This is one of the best books written by a combat soldier in Vietnam. You travel with Ehrhart from his home in Perkasie, PA to boot camp and then to some of the most harrowing fighting of the Vietnam War. But this isn't just another great war story. There's a personal voyage of discovery--as there is in many war stories. But this one is into a deep and broad wondering, not just about the nature of war and the feelings roused by killing and seeing death, but into a broader horror about the truth of this war. Ehrhart slowly peels back the layers of his awakening, not so much to any truth, but to a series of questions about his own gullibility (perfectly understandable) and a nation's gullibility. The truth as it is revealed seems too simple to Ehrhart; the twisting of honorable intentions too obvious. But if he get's it, many of those he faces upon his return do not. What to do? Write about the simple yet profound truths he found in Vietnam, and keep writing about them since the follow-up books are very moving and affecting portraits of a man being honest about himself, and in the process divulging powerful insights about our nation. The personal in this case makes big points about who are all are as Americans. Can't recommend his writing highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: Simply AMAZING
Review: Was required reading in a class I took about the Vietnam War. Reading this memoir rapidly went from a school assignment chore to pleasure. I read the next two books in the series the following summer. Ehrhart exposes his inner self on the page to the point where it can actually be somewhat difficult to read. He gave a lecture to our class at the end of the semester, and it was quite moving. Do check it out.