" ... A much decorated former marine who fought and was wounded in Vietnam, Webb tells the story of a platoon of tough, young marines enduring the tropical hell of Southeast Asian jungles while facing an invisible enemy--in a war no one understands. It is a powerful work that brilliantly expresses the basic ambiguity of war: the repulsion of war's destruction contrasted with the grisly attraction of war as the ultimate test of survival"--Cover page...

"All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory. Exploring how this troubled memory works in Vietnam, the United States, Laos, Cambodia, and South Korea, the book deals specifically with the Vietnam War and also war in general. He reveals how war is a part of our identity, as individuals and as citizens of nations armed to the teeth. Venturing through literature, film, monuments, memorials, museums, and landscapes...

The Vietnam War is without doubt one of the most significant events in the history of the United States. It remains the longest conflict ever fought by the U.S. armed forces and the longest war in modern history. More than 50,000 servicemen lost their lives but numbers alone cannot convey the impact of the war on the world's most powerful democracy. It was unique at the time for its high visibility as millions of families watched the war fought...

Each year, the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps selects one book that he believes is both relevant and timeless for reading by all Marines. The Commandant's choice for 1993 was We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young. In November 1965, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese...

Vietnam veterans speak about atrocities committed upon Vietnamese soldiers and civilians during their time in the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam. Through testimony given at the Winter Soldier Investigation held by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in 1971, press conferences, and interviews with individual participants, the film graphically portrays the effect of U.S. government policy and practice, which turned soldiers into animals bent on destruction...

Platoon is the story of every soldier whose innocence was lost in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam. Chris Taylor arrives in Vietnam and quickly discovers that his worst enemies are not just the Viet Cong, but gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and the anger growing within himself.

"Things in the sleepy fishing town of Cold Storage, Alaska, are changing. It's the summer of 1968; the men are wearing their hair long, the Vietnam War is at its height, and multiple assassinations have gripped the country. But some things remain the same. Ellie's bar is still the place to catch up on the town gossip, and there's a lot to talk about, from the boys who have returned from the war (and the ones who haven't), to the robberies that are...

In his memoir, Marlantes relates his combat experiences in Vietnam and discusses the daily contradictions warriors face in the grind of war, where each battle requires them to take life or spare life. He also underscores the need for returning veterans to be counseled properly.

It was the war that lasted ten thousand days. The war that inspired scores of songs. The war that sparked dozens of riots. From the first stirrings of unrest in Vietnam under French colonial rule, to American intervention, to the Tet Offensive, to the battle at Hamburger Hill, to the fall of Saigon.