4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good read but maps would be helpful, June 16, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: With a Black Platoon in Combat: A Year in Korea (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)
The first impression this book made upon me was consistent with 'forgotten war' nature of this bitter conflict: the book has yet to be checked out of my university library, despite 4 years on the shelves. Rishell was a white Lieutenant assigned to the Black Platoon of Able Company, 24th IP. Like many Korean War books written by soldiers on the ground, it covers the year from the beginning of the conflict to May 1951, when the stalemate began to emerge.
The book has a good description of how the topography (especially the Taebek mountains), climate and lack of infrastructure in Korea affected the outcome of the war and presented formidable difficulties for both sides.
One criticism I have is the lack of maps in the book. Of course all readers at this point would have a general idea of the layout of the peninsula and how the war raged from one end to the other. But the author constantly refers to small locations and battles, and without some kind of map, the story becomes very confusing. Ironically the author himself states how invaluable maps would have been in managing the conflict more effectively. In the earliest days of the war, the only Korea maps the US had were copies they obtained from the Japanese.
On the all important issue of how the Black Platoons perfomed in Korea, Rishell is more clear. He claims bugouts were widespread in all units early in the war. He criticizes Max Hasting's "The Korean War" account of the Yechon battle, the first victory by US led forces in the war. He praises the 159th Artillery Battalion, also black, for its support.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Comrade in Arms, May 8, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: With a Black Platoon in Combat: A Year in Korea (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)
I was shipped to Korea as a rifleman and assigned to the 24th Infantry Regiment's 2nd Battalion, G-Company, 1st Platoon, 1st Squad. where I was to serve from Dec.4 1950 until Sept. 1st, 1951. The regiment originally known as the Buffalo Soldiers, and can truely state that it was one of the most outstanding combat units in the Korean War.
In my book WHAT'S A COMMIE EVER DONE TO BLACK PEOPLE?, I wrote of my experiences, it details the psychological effect of the war, on a 17-year-old kid, It also tells the story of a black man's fight in a racist United States army. A war where we black soldiers soon realized the bitter irony of our situation--supposedly fighting to protect the rights and freedom of an ethnic people, many of us had never heard of before; even as that freedom was denied us in our own country. My experience was a rude awakening to the realities, not only of life and death, but of politics. Writing this book was one of the most difficult decision of my life. But perhaps it along with books like, WITH A BLACK PLATOON IN COMBAT, will serve as an inspiration to other Black-veterans, to tell their stories, our history. Reflecting back now, at age 66, and realizing the advancements we Americans, of African decent have made, I feel very proud of my participation; and privilege to have served under warriors like Capt, Lyle Rishell; together we are sharing our experiences with the younger generation.. Yes! perhaps, if I had known then at the ages 17, what I know now, I too might've stayed home and remained in school (war is not like those in movies). But I didn't. I chose the road of adventure, The Creator spared me, perhaps to add this chapter, to the history of African-Americans in the making of this our great country..
Hopefully Capt, Rishell's book will impress upon the now generation, that the freedom and opportunities we now enjoy, many black men also fought and died for it. Freedom, indeed, was not Free..
PS; Even now, 49 years afterward, tears come to my eyes, when I recall comrades, Whites, Blacks, Reds & Yellows, that gave their very all..
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
War from an infratryman's point of view., September 4, 1998
This review is from: With a Black Platoon in Combat: A Year in Korea (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)
This is a no-nonsense, non-embellished account of one platoon leader's experience with the oft-maligned 24th Infantry Regiment in Korea.
Rishell tells in a matter of fact tone the hardships, heroism, and sacrifice of men under the strain of combat. Despite the fact that he was a white officer in a predominately black regiment, race does not play a factor in his recollections, as it most likely did not in combat.
He has written an important account about his platoon(2nd of Co. A) that should be read for the wealth of detail it contains about a soldier's life in Korea during a very difficult time.
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