Customer Reviews

A Hard Place: A Sergeants Tale

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

As a Vietnam Vet who spent my year in the bush, I think this book came out of Mr. Peterson's imagination of what he would liked to have done during the war.
I went on LRRP missions and know the reality of what it was like to be out among the enemy with a small group for days at a time. You certainly don't start firefights with only 6 men.

The US Army has NO units that are operated independently by Sergeants like he claims in this books. Do you think that rank crazed officers are going to let some E5 or E6 Sergeant grab all the glory? Certainly not in Vietnam.

We worked with the Phoenix program folks for a short period and I have seen how the clandestine intel types operate and this book is nothing like what I observed.

It was entertaining to read but super soldiers like this did not exist. The Vietnam War was fought by ordinary soldiers displaying amazing bravery in the most trying of circumstances.

I didn't think that my 1st. review would be to slam somebody's work but.......I brought this book thinking that I was buying a true account or non-fiction. This book has all the feel of REMF fantasy.

We are attacting you to a unit of truck drivers and your unit does't exsist. Really? We are giving you a badge that identifies you as CID. Really? You don't have to make after action reports. Really? You are this super-secret spy hunter but everyone knows who you are (Wink Wink) and all your past exploits. Really? You can operate in anyones AO. Really? We have this super secret spy room that can only be accessed by going though a secret panel in a barracks. Really? He even made the hookers moan. ETC. ETC. ETC.

Even as a work of fiction this is a poorly written. Needed a proof reader.

Way too many books out there are some kind of introspective from some officer trying to rewrite the red badge of courage while singing their academy alma mater. This one is gritty and real all the way from the jokes to the feel of the jungle at night on patrol. From begining to end its war through the eyes of a Sergeant which is the way it should be. This book isnt for the PC and it doesnt try to crusade about some moral plight of war. Its straight up non stop good reading about what real soldiers do when the BS ends and the action begins. Very few books make you feel like you can actually see, hear, smell, and feel all of the details within the story and this one of them. If you wanna know what the real Green Berets of Vietnam were like, this is a must read. Every NCO in the Army should read this book and probably every officer too. A great read, and I really hope this one gets made into a movie. What a fantastic story it would make for the big screen.

Putting aside the abhorrent grammar and spelling, this book smacks of fantasy. The entire premise of a super-secret Mike force that apparently everyone knows about is hard to believe. Moreover, I've never read a war memoir where the author switches back and forth from meters to yards to feet to kilometers to miles. Maybe an author will stray from meters to compare an LZ to a football field, but this guy is all over the map. Also, the author vacillated back and forth from Tranh to Trahn -- seems like you would know how to spell his name if he was the main focus of your job for months. Too hard to believe. Check out the LRRP books if you want something similar that is also authentic and reasonably well-written.

I doubt that he was ever there. By way of foundation, I spent 32 months in country (and as a result I am 100% disabled) and in the areas he professes to have been deployed. As a corpsman with the Marines, I made the beach landing at Chu Lai and served in operation Starlight to clear the area. When it was secured and safe, we turned it over to the Army. His first visit to the village at Chu Lai is in his imagination. I stayed there as the village Bac Si or doctor for several months with just two ARVN soldiers for company. I would frequently walk back to the base from there alone and armed only with my gov't issued colt 1911 45 cal. There were no VC or NVA in the area by then. He came later and they were swarming?

His loud mouth bravado about taking lives is pure REMF imagination. No one ever claimed a kill for themselves. It was always "I don't know, I was pointing in that direction so maybe." Someone else made the confirmation..."Yeah, I saw Max take that one out." A death on either side took a little bit of your soul. The only rejoicing was that you were still alive. Yes, a few FNG's took a scalp or and ear but it was always someone elses kill. They soon (if they survived) learned the disgust that comes with death.

I've been on LRPs and 6 man patrols as well as large operations. I served in Da Nang, Chu Lai, Kai Ha and An Hai. I served with MAG 12, 16 and 36. I generally served with MAGs (marine air groups) and helicopters. The way he tells of injuries or deaths tells me he has never held a friend with a sucking chest wound and had his face covered with a spray of blood from the hole when the dying man coughed. He has never seen a bullet hole, the damage a toe popper or bouncing betty does. He has never heard a man cry for his mother with his last breath or heard a death rattle. This guy and his flip bravado smacks of someone who has never seen combat. Someone who, when he begins his line of ___ makes the real combat vets shake their collective head. His "Tag 'em and Bag 'em" quote is pure unadulterated B.S.right out of the movies.

If you want pure fiction, this is it. All wrapped up in a video game. A waste of my time and money.

I am an avid reader of US history and a VN vet 69-71. I thought, based on the books description, that I was purchasing a fact based work of non-fiction. Nope, this is war as it would have been if written by "Rambo". Amusing but with no basis in reality at all. But I only paid $2.97 for it, and that is what it is worth as a comic book read. UPDATE: Forced myself to finish it. Sorry I did.

The language used is accurate and the descriptions of locations are correct but this appears to be a fairly good fiction novel about the war. The events, (if they happened at all) are exagerated.

I am embarrassed to have read this. To point out the mistakes both in content and grammar would take as many pages as this book is long. What time does it get dark in Vietnam? How did the convoy leave Danang for Chu Lai and end up south of An Loc returning to Chu Lai in one day? This outfit was a secret all right, non-existent and over played. When telling a story at least get the fiction to align with real world facts when referencing time, locations, etc.

I could not put it down. I want a bunch of my former Infantry buddies to read it asap. I was mesmerized by the story, characters, descriptions of the jungle, weather, thoughts, intense observations of people and circumstances. All the cliches and humor are genuine and right on. I kept asking myself , is this real? Its got to be real. This guy had to have lived this story to write this so real and so well. I am so glad I got my KINDLE FIRE and this is one of the first books for me to read on it. I actually took time off work to read this book in 2.5 days. (I'm slow reader) It is one of the few best books Ive ever read. I am inspired to keep writing my own book. (Teenage Combat Helicopter Pilot.) The mission and the book ended as abruptly as my tour ended. I got out of the army the day I got home. Reading these sort of books helps me keep a perspective on my own PTSD. I flew all my missions with that kind of dedication you exhibited with Rock in his missions. I flew 1862 hours of combat flight time in the three corp area. I loved every minute of my tour and a half and I enjoyed every minute of this book. THANKS FOR WRITING THIS BOOK I THANK GOD FOR LETTING ME SERVE MY FELLOW SOLDIERS ...I survived. I hope Rock is OK...GOD help us all.

I never have been in the US Military and I often wondered what it would be like to be in a war. This book makes you feel as though you are there with them. The action is intense and palpable. You can almost smell the jungle,the gunsmoke and the fear. Boy! this one would make a good combat movie! Looking forward to going to the theater to see it! Good job!