Customer Reviews

The Blue Spaders - Vietnam: A Private's Account : History of the 1st Infantry Division in Initial Days of the War

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I also was in Phuoc Vinh, the very same base camp that Carl Bradfield talks about. However, I was there about a year later and the base camp was in very good shape (thanks to people like Carl).

My experiences in Vietnam were not like Carl's at all. And I'm very thankful for that. I must have hit it just right. I arrived in Jan. of 67 and missed out on all that "fun" of setting up the base camp and dealing with the VC who were being displaced by that action. Then I left for home at the end of Dec. 67, and heard on the news about the Tet offensive that I also just missed out on.

Well, sometimes it's good to miss out!

THE BOOK WAS VERY EDUCATIONAL, I THINK ANY ONE WHO IS IN SCHOOL DOING A REPORT ON THE VEITNAM WAR, OR ANYONE WHO HAS QUESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT SHOULD READ THIS.I LOVED IT.

This is a great first-person account of the initial optimism that the U.S. military took to South Vietnam in 1965/66 during the early days of our troop buildup there - and the maturation of a young soldier while in combat. To me, as a contemporary of Mr. Bradfield both in age and military experience at that time, his personal story of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry, already a legendary part of the Big Red One, is a latter-day real-life version of the fictional Civil War story, The Red Badge of Courage. It should be read by anyone seeking a no-nonsense account of what Vietnam combat was all about from an infantry GI's viewpoint. In closing, all I can say to Mr. Bradfield is to echo the words of WW II war correspondent Ernie Pyle and say: "Thanks pal!"