Rating: 
Summary: CDR USCG Retired
Review: CWO4 Paul Scotti has encapsulated the 9 years of Coast Guard involvement in Vietnam to an informative, action filled, and sometimes suspensful narrative. Reading this book would be a great learning experience for all patriotic Americans. Most citizens have no idea what the Coast Guard does, or has done, away from the shores of the United States. Smooth flowing and vividly informative, I would recommend it as required reading at all military academies. I completed a tour in "Market Time" in 1967-68 and was never aware of our full Coast Guard involvement. Best book on Vietnam that I have read, thanks Paul..5 Stars!!
Rating:
Summary: Been there, done that!
Review: I am a CG Vietnam veteran having served aboard the CG Cutter Chase, CG Squadron 3 in 1969-70. Paul Scotti's book is the definitive book about the CG operations in Vietnam. Paul gets you up front and personal to the point you can smell the smoke and hear the gunfire. His book vividly describes the everyday life of a Coastie in Vietnam be it on the water, in the air or at the base and will touch your hearts as you read not only about combat but about the many humanitarianism projects that the folks back home never new about. After reading this book you will realize just how important and diverse our Coast Guard is and have a new respect for the brave men and women of our oldest "Naval" military service. "I know, I was there". Read this book and you'll be there too!!
Rating:
Summary: Great read.......
Review: I could not put this book down. I was in the Coast Guard from 1974 to 1978. I spent my last year and a half on a 82ft WPB. The stories about the 82's peaked my interest. The Coast Guard did a great job in in Vietman. Even my 13 year old sons read the book and learned about the Coast Guards role in Vietnam. Semper Paratus.....................
Rating:
Summary: Different mission, same Coast Guard.
Review: In a short 205 pages Paul Scotti weaves a great story about great organization, knowledge, sources and a flair for storytelling. His work isn't hard history although it could have been, with a foot note here and there from the wide variety of official and first hand sources used in this work's creation. Paul does not analyze the story to death but uses the anecdotal form to demonstrate the human side of the Vietnam War. The Coast Guard used the background of its peacetime activities to translate success into successful wartime feats with tenacity, courage, chivalry and, at times, chicanery. As Paul amply points all operations were not directly in the works of war fighting but many involved the more humanitarian functions of assisting children, medical teams or in the case of rescue downed pilots the exploits of the Coast Guard aviators. As in any war, the human losses, boredom , the triumphs and tragedy in Vietnam were as eventual as the monsoon rains. Paul, as a first hand witness to much of it, carry's this to the reader's mind as a reminder that wars are human endeavors. Although a part of the war, Paul uses a reporters detachment to record the high drama, compassion and humor of the war. As an author on this topic I appreciated Paul's notations of the human effort and will that caused success for the Coast Guard even in the face of unpopular sentiments during that era, however, as he notes all of it to be nearly forgotten in the end. Paul does an excellent job in presenting these complexities in the manner that will, hopefully, spur greater research and writing on this topic. This is an excellent work from a person who's personal experience and knowledge leans a tenor of credibility and compassion not found in other works. Admiral Loy, Coast Guard Commandant, also a Vietnam veteran, noted in a recent speech that more should be done to illustrate the Coast Guard's heros. Paul Scotti has done this well in this book and hopefully there will be more in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Different mission, same Coast Guard.
Review: In a short 205 pages Paul Scotti weaves a great story about great organization, knowledge, sources and a flair for storytelling. His work isn't hard history although it could have been, with a foot note here and there from the wide variety of official and first hand sources used in this work's creation. Paul does not analyze the story to death but uses the anecdotal form to demonstrate the human side of the Vietnam War. The Coast Guard used the background of its peacetime activities to translate success into successful wartime feats with tenacity, courage, chivalry and, at times, chicanery. As Paul amply points all operations were not directly in the works of war fighting but many involved the more humanitarian functions of assisting children, medical teams or in the case of rescue downed pilots the exploits of the Coast Guard aviators. As in any war, the human losses, boredom , the triumphs and tragedy in Vietnam were as eventual as the monsoon rains. Paul, as a first hand witness to much of it, carry's this to the reader's mind as a reminder that wars are human endeavors. Although a part of the war, Paul uses a reporters detachment to record the high drama, compassion and humor of the war. As an author on this topic I appreciated Paul's notations of the human effort and will that caused success for the Coast Guard even in the face of unpopular sentiments during that era, however, as he notes all of it to be nearly forgotten in the end. Paul does an excellent job in presenting these complexities in the manner that will, hopefully, spur greater research and writing on this topic. This is an excellent work from a person who's personal experience and knowledge leans a tenor of credibility and compassion not found in other works. Admiral Loy, Coast Guard Commandant, also a Vietnam veteran, noted in a recent speech that more should be done to illustrate the Coast Guard's heros. Paul Scotti has done this well in this book and hopefully there will be more in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: A Whole New Take on the Vietnam War at Sea.
Review: In peacetime, the invaluable service provided by our nation's fifth branch of the armed forces, the United States Coast Guard is certainly well known. Especially after 9/11, the Coast Guard shoulders the responsibility for protecting thousands of miles of coast line. Commercial and pleasure craft alike can count on the Coast Guard to respond to any distress in foul weather and in fair. It is befitting that President George W. Bush had recently bestowed such praise on the men and women that serve in the United States Coast Guard. In wartime, however, the accomplishments of the Coast Guard are often over-shadowed by the other branches of the service. Nowhere is this oversight more glaring than the Coast Guard's participation in America's involvement in Vietnam. In _Coast Guard Action in Vietnam: Stories of Those Who Served_, Paul C. Scotti provides a remedy for this omission with an engaging narrative of a little known chapter in the Vietnam conflict. Scotti blends organizational, operational and oral histories splendidly in a fast-paced account that never gets bogged down in jargon. The author thoroughly outlines the five-fold mission of the U.S. Coast Guard in Vietnam: interdicting enemy supply lines at sea; providing security at South Vietnam's harbors and sea ports; implementing and tending to buoys and other navigational aids; ensuring quality control over civilian merchant shipping; and of course, conducting search and rescue missions. Scotti devotes a chapter to each of the five tasks while delegating others to individual combat missions. Scotti clearly demonstrates that it was the Coast Guard that squelched the North Vietnamese efforts the supply the south by way of open sea. It was the Coast Guard that brought efficiency to South Vietnam's chaotic and primitive harbor facilities, allowing merchant vessels to contribute to the United States mammoth logistical apparatus. And it was the Coast Guard that performed numerous humanitarian missions as well. Scotti writes from experience, having himself served as a gunner on an 82-foot CG patrol boat in Vietnam. It is this craft, the workhorse of the Coast Guard fleet, and the men who served aboard them that provides the nucleus of the book. Scotti became USCG public affairs officer and his observational and organizational skills as a journalist are evident throughout. Nowhere, however, does he allow unit pride to obscure an honest attempt at objective history. The book is generously sprinkled with maps, graphs, and photographs, many from the author's own collection. Numerous appendices containing historical and statistical data, bibliography and notes complete the package. One small criticism, however, it is regrettable that Scotti's work did not receive a hard cover edition for which it is certainly deserving. Reading Scotti's book will leave one with a whole new take on the Vietnam war at sea, and a whole new appreciation for our U.S. Coast Guard veterans. This book comes highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: Paul Scotti presents a thoroughly researched and documented history of the Coast Guard in Vietnam. He expertly uses first-hand sources to supplement and tell his story. Real people with very human emotions and reactions. It is a historical overview but reads like a novel. You will enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A little known story that needs to be told
Review: Paul Scotti's interesting and well-researched work deserves to be read by all Americans. The Coast Guard is the smallest of the five Armed Services yet arguably provides the public with the most value, dollar for dollar, than any of them. Many Americans are unaware of the myriad duties and responsibilities assigned by law to the Coast Guard, and too many more are incredulous upon learning of the significant Coast Guard presence in Vietnam. This book goes a long way toward telling that story; a story without which the history of American involvement in Vietnam cannot be complete.
Rating:
Summary: A little known story that needs to be told
Review: Paul Scotti's interesting and well-researched work deserves to be read by all Americans. The Coast Guard is the smallest of the five Armed Services yet arguably provides the public with the most value, dollar for dollar, than any of them. Many Americans are unaware of the myriad duties and responsibilities assigned by law to the Coast Guard, and too many more are incredulous upon learning of the significant Coast Guard presence in Vietnam. This book goes a long way toward telling that story; a story without which the history of American involvement in Vietnam cannot be complete.
Rating:
Summary: Great overview of USCG's role in Vietnam
Review: This book is an outstanding look at the role of the U.S. Coast Guard in the Vietnam war. Paul Scotti has written an excellent account of the CG's little known contribution to help win the war in southeast asia. All areas are covered here including Operation Market Time, ATON, Port Security, LORAN, as well as Search and Rescue (SAR is the primary mission of all CG assets and the mission most familiar to the public). This book is highly recommended to all those interested in the USCG, or the Vietnam war. Alex Larzelere's "The Coast Guard at War" is also recommended for further reading on the CG in Vietnam.
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