Customer Reviews

Dog Company Six: A Novel (Bluejacket Books) (Blue Jacket Bks)

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While "Dog Company Six" is billed as a novel, it might well be viewed as a diary of a Marine rifle company, the down-and-dirty war fighters, during its long guelling days of combat in a miserable war that shouldn't have happened. Author Simmons knows all-to-well of which he writes. He's been there and back, having commanded every kind and size of Marine Corps combat unit from platoon to a division while serving as a Marine during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He is also an accomplished writer and Marine Corps historian with a shelf full of fine books to to show for it.

Throughout the battles that ensue, from the mud flats of Inchon to the frozen wastelands of the Chosin Reservoir, Simmons masterfully and meticulously sets the scenes in which the company operates, allowing the reader to share in the intensity and realism experienced by Dog's Marines. The ongoing dialogue, expertly and abundantly woven throughout the book, will indeed be familiar to those who have endured and survived combat.

Dog Company Six: This is an excellent book, exceedingly well written. Although presented as a novel, this work of fiction provides a thorough history of Marine Corps action in Korea, from the landings at Inchon up to the end of the war. The author, General Edwin Howard Simmons, records the Marines' struggles, up and down the peninsula, north and south, through the eyes of Captain Bayard, the commanding officer of Dog Company. General Simmons writes with an excellent command of the English language, which he employs to describe the foul-ups and successes of the Marines in Korea. This book is definitely written from the point of view of the "grunt" in the mud (or snow). The highest rank for a character in the book is a light colonel. I would highly recommend this book.

"Dog Company Six" is one of the best war novels I ever read, and I'm a fan of the genre. Without swashbuckling heroics, it shows what war is really like from the point of view of an infantry company commander. That it is set during the Korean War is coincidental. It could have been set in any modern war. The courage, loyalty, self-sacrifice, exhaustion, grief and heartbreak experienced by the officers and men of Dog Company are universal. They have been experienced by the men fighting all mankind's wars throughout history. The author's own experience as a combat Marine in Korea give it an authenticity that is rare in war fiction. "Dog Company Six" deserves a lot more attention than it has received.

Don't let the title fool you. This book is not about dogs. Dog Company is the phonetic alphabet designation for D Company that was used by the U.S. armed forces in World War II and Korea. Dog Company Six is the kind of book that many will want to read at least twice because it's so good. It's a novel about Marines in combat written by a Marine combat veteran. The prose is spare and to the point. The combat scenes are realistic and exciting. The book begins with an inexperienced infantry captain struggling with fears and doubts about his ability to lead Dog Company into war in Korea. As Dog Company fights its way through the Inchon Invasion, the battle for Seoul and the Chosin Reservoir - some of the most honored and storied battles in U.S. Marine Corps history - the commander matures into a tough, capable and brave captain of Marines. Author Edwin Howard Simmons is a retired Marine brigadier general who also fought his way up and the down the Korean peninsula in the same battles. His dialog is true to the Corps and his combat scenes have the realism that only a man who's been there can write. Dog Company Six isn't just a book about war and killing. It's about bravery, sacrifice and dedication to duty. Dog Company Six isn't just a book for and about Marines. It's an entertaining story, well told and deserving to be read by a wide audience.

I loved this book. One cannot doubt that the author knows his soldiers, knows the terrain and knows the weapons. An immense authority infuses the story.
The action begins slowly, as the war began slowly, builds in intensity, ends in retreat.
The scenes in Japan were not quite as convincing. There can't be all that many beautiful willing women waiting at the bar, although many Marines must wish for them.
I don't understand why this little masterpiece didn't get more attention.

In recent years, the trials and sacrifices of World War II and Vietnam veterans has been brought to the attention of the public by huge movie productions and media hype. However, the story of the American soldier in the "Forgotten War" in Korea largely remains to be told. Simmons' book tells this story with the authority of a retired Marine General, the accuracy of the director of the Marine Corps Historical Center, and the passion of a front-line infantryman. Given the media attention this book deserves, it could easily fill the gap in the American consciousness regarding the Korean War, and give the men who fought there their long delayed due.

In _Dog Company Six_, Simmons expertly combines realistic accounts of combat, an engaging character study of an everyman Marine officer, and sneaks in the `big picture' view of the operational and political climate in Korea. While the combat is harrowing and the historical account is instructive, I felt one of the most interesting and overlooked aspects of the book was the character study of the Dog Company Six (Six meaning Commanding Officer in Marine lingo), Captain Bayard. Simmons shows where Bayard came from, where he grew up, how he came to be a Marine. He develops Bayard's career from a bit role in World War Two, through time in the Reserves, back to an active duty role with connections in Washington D.C.. In doing so, Simmons gives a real feel for where the citizen soldier comes from - Bayard could easily be the reader, the reader's father, Grandfather, the neighbor next door. The character evolves before the reader, giving a real sense of how war can change the individual.

Standing on its own merits, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. However, if you really want to get the most out of this book, a superb adjunct would be the first few chapters of _First to Fight_ by Victor H. Krulak. _First to Fight's_ opening chapters concisely provide a first hand account of the struggle for survival of the Marine Corps in the post World War II force reductions amid the attitude that "...the era of amphibious warfare is over...", and the later affirmation of the Marine Corps' role with the amphibious landing at Inchon. Krulak illustrates that the Corps mobilized for Korea with a speed and expertise that no one else could match, in a logistical feat that is still mind boggling today.

Finally, to the Chosin Few, and all Korean War veterans...Thanks.

This was a great novel and I enjoyed reading it thoroughly. Simmons is a wonderful writer and has been given the gift to convey the pain, the power and the emotion of Bayard. I found the novel engrossing and I could barely keep it down. When I finished it, I was left hoping that Bayard could live a happy life that he had earned. I actually found myself caring about the character, which tells a lot about how well he was created. I recommend this to anyone that wants to know more about the Korean War.

This was book was recommended reading by my local public library. If you have any doubts that our top military men are intelligent and aware, read this. I write for a living, and I think Simmons is a top-notch thinker and writer.
This is the first book I have read about the Korean Conflict, and I found it to be a fast-paced, well-written account of what it was like to be on the fontlines in Korea. If you like Stephen Ambrose (e.g., "Citizen Soldier"), you will probably like this book.

This novel is the best combat read since Black Hawk Down. The Naval Institute Press wanted a successor to Tom Clancy; they have found him.

"Dog Company Six" is the moving story of Captain George Bayard, USMCR, in his tour of duty as commander of Dog Company, 2nd Battalion, of an unmentioned infantry regiment in the 1st Marine Division during the Korean War. Brig Gen Edwin Howard Simmons, USMC, (Ret), is a gifted story-teller that won't leave you disappointed.

The story is told as a series of present tense flashbacks as Capt Bravard recuperates in Japan. The reader follows the chronological sequence of Capt Bravard's tour of duty, beginning with his introduction to the Red Snapper, the battalion commander who is nothing short of a World War II legend. The story is a coming of age for the young company commander as he discovers himself, and has to deal with the harsh realities of combat - from watching a life senselessly extinguished and having to write the letters home to the next of kin.

The timelines and locations for the Marine Corps unit participation are historically accurate, but sometimes spartan in details. This is appropriate for a story told from a company level point of view - a company commander may not have the overall strategy for the entire division.

Simmons assumes a level of familiarity with Marine Corps lingo. As an Airman, I cannot tell the purposes of an SCR-300 or an SCR-356, yet these radio designators are used extensively in the book without an explanation of their purpose. The book could be improved with a glossary of terminology and possibly a few maps to show routes of advance and key terrain features, such as "the Nose" which features prominently in the battle of the Chosin Reservoir.

Simmons is to Korean War fiction, as Jeff Shaara is to Civil War and World War II fiction. "Dog Company Six" is a very readable book, which would be well complemented with "Retreat, Hell!" a book that features the biographies of many of the Marines who fought on this turf. This book needs to be in every company commander's reading library.