The Four Deuces: A Korean War Story [Paperback]

C.S. Crawford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

These memoirs are not an attempt to answer, solve, or resolve the problems arising from or about the three-year-long Korean War or the much longer stalemate that followed. This story was written to let you know how one very young, very scared marine saw his very first war and how he reacted to the killing and the mayhem of it. The stories are my view of that war, a war gone to ground in the trench lines. Dig into the stories and you may find something you were not expecting.

I am well aware that my view of the Korean War has no historical importance. Still, it is my view, and I want to share it with you. I do not have a cause to plead or an ax to grind, and that alone ought to count for something. My memoirs are selective and most certainly tainted with time. My recollections are a lot like boot mines, and ought to be approached with caution.

I was a grunt, a Four Deuce forward observer, assigned to duty with a marine infantry company every time the 1st Marine Regiment went back up on line. During the time I was in Korea my boondockers were firmly planted in trench-line mud. When I came home in September 1952, I was proud that I had helped in the attempt to stop Communism in Korea. I was proud of all the men I served, and served with, and I was a little bit proud of myself, too.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crawford served with the Marines during the Korean War as a forward observer in a 4.2 mortar company. But fire-missions interested him less than the doings of fellow enlisted men, who seemed to devote much time and effort to hoodwinking officers, making midnight requisitions from U.S. Army depots and generally behaving like "characters." In combat, the author got banged around a good bit, but couldn't manage to earn an official Purple Heart wound. The story of his attempts to achieve this goal is virtually the only unifying theme in this collection of wartime anecdotes and tall tales. Marines of all ages will enjoy Crawford's yarns. Others may wonder how so many devilishly clever, cynical, foul-mouthed and courageous young men could possibly end up in one outfit. Crawford spent 21 years in the Corps, serving in all ranks from private to master sergeant.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Press (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891416919
• ISBN-13: 978-0891416913
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,235,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best read on enlisted Marines in the Korean War, July 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Four Deuces: A Korean War Story (Paperback)

Author wastes no time to bring you in as one of his men once in Korea. His prose flows exactly how jarheads communicate to each other, what they thought of [post WW2] Harry Truman's WAR,...the Corps and any other extraneous subject matter. He even takes you on his brief R&R to a pastoral Japanese locale. Albeit, the author"s prose is profane, yet in essence, it is pure and typical Marine lore to anyone who wants to recall the precipitious Eastern Front battlefield at the Punchbowl, while continuing on to the bloody, murderous sieges for the rat-infested combat outposts on the Western Front. The combat actions are vivid and varied; however, just being there, reduces the doubt, how it is to being an enlisted Marine at WAR..., which just wouldn"t go away. If you want a view of that maelstrom, this is the book for you. C. S. Crawford pens the TRUTH of how it is to be a Marine grunt up to his eyeballs in mortal combat against a resolute and inscrutable enemy....there was a slogan in WW2 times: "Is this trip necessary?" Well, this book is just that. "THE FOUR DUECES" is a 5 star reader.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Korean War Novel, April 25, 2008

By 

Mouthpiece "ilike2fish" (upstate NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Four Deuces: A Korean War Story (Paperback)

Crawford draws on his own personal experience in Korea to turn out a really good novel of Marines at war. The main character, "Cautious", is a FO (forward observer) on the main line of resistance with regular Marine grunts directing the fire of his 4.2 inch heavy mortars in the rear. (Hence the name of the book.) He was there from 1951-1952 when the war had settled down into a WWI-like trench war when both sides dug in to hold their ground and sniped at each other. Most of the book takes place in the Eastern Front area of the Punchbowl. He later goes to the Western Front at a place nicknamed Bunker Hill, again as a FO. There is one chilling Chinese human wave assault near the end of the book, where the Marines hold on but just barely and at an enormous cost.
He has a lot of true-to-life wacky characters in his book like the Funny Gunny, Lt. Les Able, Red and a crack shot called the Candy Bar Kid that really make it believeable. Definitely one of my favorite Korean War novels.