Customer Reviews

I Served

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I Served relates to the reader the very essence of what happened. His descriptions of what he saw were to a "T" what I saw . No one is given any more importance than the other, and only Don's experiences are recorded. He tells of his youth in a Catholic Orphanage. About his brutal treatment and his coming of age in one of the longest battles of our generation. Many things that have been left unwritten, feelings have been repressed, emotions that nobody really understands, have gone unacknowleged, gratitude and understanding is only now being expressed. It was like we fought battles for so many who would never appreciate the freedom they so freely take for granted. As we look back on the years of our youth, students with college deferments became the most educated people ever for fear of being drafted. Many didn't even want to go to college.
Don Hall has captured in print what I have wanted to tell others about for over thirty years. Many people have looked at me with , unbelieving looks in their eyes, or "is this guy for real" eyes as I recounted many of the truly unbelievable events that actually took place. Don and I were team leaders in different platoons of "F" Company 51st LRP (Airborne) Infantry. We both served with the 173rd at Dakto . All of what Don experienced after arriving in country is exactly what I felt being with the herd until the 51st was formed. The mosquitoes, spiders, snakes, leaches, climbing the mountains with 160# rucksacks, not batheing for over 50 days, uniforms ripped to shreds by "wait a minute" vines. We both encountered similar and different experiences. We sprung ambushes against bigger elements because we were compromised. Logically speaking we would never have done a lot of the things that we had to do. We jumped out of Helicopters 10-15 feet in the air that couldn't set down in our primary or secondary LZ's. We counted over 250 NVA less than 100 feet away in broad daylight. We were in their area of operation, we were a six man team walking parallel to them going in the same direction. We were a top secret operation, very little was known about our unit, but CHARLIE knew about us. Sometimes, Nothing sounds so far from the truth than the truth itself.
We were in the prime of our youth, we were given a job to do and we did it to the best of our ability. We were not glory hunters, we were survivors, and survive we did. We accomplished what others have only dreamed of doing and Don is telling his account of "F" Company 51st LRP (Airborne) Infantry. I served tells it like it was. I would highly recommend this book as part of anybodies history class on the Vietnam Conflict.

I have read other books about VietNam, but none comes close to the power of this one. The power of this story comes from the simple, straightforward manner in which it is told. The style is personal, not grandiose. There is no attempt to "glorify," consequently, the events, simply stated, become huge, heartfelt and inspirational. How he survived the decade from 1958 to 1968 is nothing short of a miracle and is a testament to his tremendous courage. The story of F Company, 51st LRP is not well known to most Americans. It should be. Hopefully, Don and Anette's book will make it so. I remember after seeing "Born on the Fourth of July," saying to myself that Oliver Stone's voice should be heard by all Americans. I have read "I Served" four times and I believe that Don and Annette's voices are just as important. This book is an astonishing achievement. It is an important American work.

I am the fortunate owner of a signed first edition of the 1994 limited edition and I am thrilled to see it in print again. I cannot recommend it too highly as a valuable addition to the LRRP genre. I have many many books in my collection of 490 books on the Vietnam War which cover LRRPS, rangers etc and this is one of the best. It gives a much fuller account of the man and his experiences than many others in this field. The endorsement of such luminaries as Michael Lanning, Jim Morris and Keith Nolan all of whom produced standout works should be enough for any reader. When you have enjoyed the book check out the video.

Having a very unique and special perspective on the author of the book "I Served", Don C. Hall, and having read the book I felt compelled to add my name to the list of those endorsing it. While not an author, nor carrying any literary credentials myself, I did find "I Served" very interesting and factual. I had never met Sgt. Don C. Hall prior to our both showing up at BIEN HOA Air Base from the 173rd Airborne Bde volunteering to be part of the new "LRRP' units being formed by Gen. Westmorland. So, any of Don C. Hall's life prior to 1967 I can not verify. On the other hand, I was assigned to the same platoon as Don C.Hall as POINT MAN of another team, Team 2-1. So this began our tour of duty together. We began our specialized training, including the MACV Recondo School put on by the U.S. 5th Special Forces, together. In reading the book, I find Don C. Hall still carrying on the LRP tradition of reporting accurate SITREP'S (situation reports. Don C. Hall is first and foremost a professional LRP NCO. He has spent many, many, hours researching and gathering facts to make sure his memories served him correctly. ... Don C. Hall has presented facts and personal accounts about a highly decorated combat unit that was so successful, along with its sister unit, that the formation of the RANGER units followed in 1969. The fact that "disturbing" events occured in a time of war and that records were less than perfectly kept in that same war and previously untried methods, (including the use of individual soldiers carrying pill kits containg 1/4 grain morphine serets and anphidimines and other drugs) were indeed true, may be hard to except by some, but the messenger, in this case Don C. Hall, should be thanked for taking the time and effort to document the actions of the elite, cutting edge, combat unit. A unit which from 25 September 1967- 1 Feb. 1969 acounted for 811 combat patrols and an actual body count of 551 KIA VC/NVA. If you have any questions on Don C. Halls creditability you may email me at houghtpb@centurytel.net

As a participant in many of the incidents written about in this book, I have a unique perspective on it. Apart from writing a rousing war story, Don and Annette did a fine job of capturing the lunacy that typified our war. Being a member of an elite force in wartime is something to be proud of. The Hall's have put Don's pride in print and the book itself is worthy of pride. This work is the story of one man's journey into manhood, and of what a strange trip it could be. I recommend the book to any reader, not just to veterans of Vietnam.

...It is beyond the shadow of a doubt, the best book I have ever read.
I am retired, and reading non-fiction books about the Vietnam experience is what I like to do best. In the year I've been retired, I have read as of 5/8/03 between 75 and 80 books all relating to Vietnam and what these people went through.
Mr. and Mrs. Hall's book "I Served" is without a doubt the best I have ever read. In all honesty and truthfulness, I can't imagine a better book to read. It has more to offer than any book, and I loved every word of it. The writing has a way of making you feel like your standing right there watching it all take place. It is a very rare quality to be able to write like that. I honestly feel if Mr. Hall ever wanted to, he could be one heck of an auther, and probably could write a good number of book's and have before long, a following of faithful readers.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone over any other book I have ever read. I would like to say, Please check this book out. It's not an expensive book, it's worth is far greater than any amount you would pay for it. I can guarentee, you will love it the same way I and everbody else who read it does. This is a book you will be sorry you didn't read. And that's the truth. So help me God.
From his day's in an orphanage, to the end of his tour in Vietnam, Mr. Hall reveils so much about himself that other people wouldn't want anybody to know. It is so honest and forthright as to put it a league all it's own.
I will keep this book for as long as I live. And I will hope and pray that my two son's find the time time read it. I know it will have a positive effect on them both. And I'm sure it will have the same effect on you. You won't be sorry you bought and read this book, so please do for your sake.

I did not serve in Vietnam (I was of another time), but have great respect for those who did. Mr. Hall's book, I Served, strikes me as a straight-forward effort on sharing his thoughts and feelings about life experiences. The simple act of revisiting these experiences and "talking" about them strikes me as requiring enormous courage. Reading ANY book is nothing more than listening in on the author's thoughts and feelings. I felt grateful that Mr. Hall was willing to let me listen into his thoughts and feelings. Through I Served I feel I've got a little better understanding of the phenomena of Vietnam that I missed in time by 10 years.

If your interested in the Vietnam history of a truly elite unit, I strongly recommend "I Served" by Don and Annette Hall. The authors accurately chronicled what service in F/51st Infantry, Long Range Patrol was like. I know, I was there.

I read I served by Don Hall in two nights. It was so riveting I could not put it down I had to read one more page until three in the morning each night. I was in Vietnam during Tet of 1968 at Plantation Army airfield in Long Bien. I served with the 195th. Assualt Helicopter Company. I supported F. Co. 51st Inf. (Airborne) LRPs until May of 1968 when my helicopter was painted Camo (first ones in the Army) and I was assigned to MACV- SOG. Our first platoon kept on supporting F. Co 51st Inf (Airborne) LRPs. Don's story of his upbringing in an orphanage where he met his wife and then his tour with one of the greatest LRP companies to serve in Vietnam is compelling reading for anyone who would like to get a feel for combat in Vietnam. I have given the book to others to read and they all agree with me you can't put it down. As a Soggie I have supported the best and Don Hall's book tells it like it is. Don has searched the Army's achives and obtained the after action reports so his story is woven with the actual facts.

A well written factual account of what it was like to be a LRP in Vietnam.

I have read this book several times, and each time enjoy itmore than the time before...................................... I think that both Don and Annette Hall did an excellent job writing about how their lives were shaped by their experiences. The Halls have a unique ability to write so the reader can hear, feel and smell what's happening. The statistics at the end of the book help the reader understand how much this honored unit contributed to the war in Vietnam. Much like "In Love and War" by Admiral James and Sybil Stockdale, this book artfully uses and interweaves the background of childhood and adolescent events to set the stage for adulthood experiences. This book also lays bare some of the less romantic aspects of war -- that interspersed among the heroic and selfless deeds and acts of compassion by good soldiers and great leaders are also those which do not bring much glory or honor. And that's what makes this a great story - it is how Don Hall remembers the events which make him the man he is today - one who served. I highly recommend this book.