Customer Reviews

Apprentices of War: Memoir of a Marine Grunt

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From the first chapter on, Gary Tornes hits the reader deep in the guts with his horrific true life experiences as a Marine grunt in Vietnam. I predict Apprentices of War will go down as one of the best war stories of all time. Tornes has an easy going style of writing and quirky humor that makes this fascinating story a real page turner.
If there ever was a lucky man in Vietnam, Tornes had to be it, at least for awhile. He writes of the absurd irony of war, of how death can happen to anyone at anytime and of the great bravery of many of his comrades, especially the corpsmen.
Apprentices of War is both the ageless story of infantrymen who do the dirty work of war and at the same time a excellent training story for anyone who is now in the military and expecting to be going into a combat zone soon. For them this is a must read, for they will be getting great timeless information from a real pro.

A "must read" for all American citizens because it vividly illustrates what the Marines do for us.

As a Navy corpsman working with a Marine infantry unit, I served in RVN in 1967, 1968 and 1969 in roughly the same geographic I Corps area as the author. Since receiving this book last summer as a gift I've read it 3 times. It is a difficult book to put down and caused me to continually reflect on my own experiences and remember many details I'd either forgotten or hadn't thought about in years. While reading this book I could almost smell the smells, ; feel the heat, humidity and rain; live in the situations again and more importantly recall some of the characters that were routinely coming into or going out of your life for a variety of reasons. It's not that I continually ruminate over having been there but it was, and always will be, a significant part of me. I would recommend this book without reservation to any and all people who were there and all who are curious as to what the average American soldier was feeling and going through his mind. It is void of politics for a political war and does not take a judgemental tack on what was happening but relies on a very personal account to tell his story. It is truly a moving experience to read this and I am forever indebted to the author for having the wherewithal to put it on paper for what is sure to be the benefit of others. Thanks for releasing it.

In reading Apprentices of War: Memoir of a Marine Grunt, I was transported back in time to the many sounds, smells and combat operations that I thought had long been forgotten. Gary Tornes brings out the reality and pain of combat and the commoradrie of the close knit units of a patrol, squad and fire-team. His book is as real as it gets. I urge all combat veterans, especially Vietnam era vets, to read and re-read his book; it gives a perspective that will touch you to the core and as it did for me, remove the guilt of coming back alive!

Charles Clark
USMC
K-3-3
Danang, Chu Lai - 65-66