Customer Reviews

Incident at Muc Wa (Go Tell the Spartans) A Story of the Vietnam War

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Daniel Ford's novel served as the basis for the excellent Vietnam war film, "Go Tell the Spartans". The movie was generally faithful to the novel, with just a bit of Hollywood added. The story follows draftee Stephen Courcey through special forces training and finally into the jungle of the Central Highlands of the Republic of South Vietnam. There, the experience of his military advisory team seems to be an allegory to the American involvement in Vietnam. One of the characters, a number crunching junior officer, allows that it will take 50,000 American combat deaths to "stabilize" the situation in Southeast Asia. This statement in this work of fiction written in 1967 is pretty amazing when you consider that the final American death count in Vietnam was 58,000 and change.

The novel moves quickly and flows nicely. The characters are strong. You find yourself somehow inside Corporal Courcey's head and laughing at Captain Olivetti's obsession with his CIB, his combat infantry badge. The role of Major Barker in the book is much less central than it is in the movie. But then, Burt Lancaster played the ... out of Major Barker in the film, so they may have made certain adjustments for the star.

There is a sadness and fatalism about the book that may bother some. However, the topic is not exactly uplifting. On the whole, a worthwhile and enjoyable read.

I read this book in a college course. We started with the Quiet American and went right through. Muc Wa was one of my favorites. It puzzled me why Mr Ford called the Green Berets "Raiders" and the Viet Cong "Charlie Romeo" but I guess that's because the war was still going on when the book was published. If more people had read it in 1967, maybe we wouldn't have gotten into the quagmire we did.

The hero is a young draftee who volunteers for Nam. He gets sent to garrison a useless town and then falls in love with the place and the people. (However, it's the sergeant who gets the girl!) Then when the VC attack and the Americans are ordered to leave, he stays behind to lead his gang out.

In the movie, Burt Lancaster (the major from headquarters) stays with him. The major is killed, the corporal lives. I thought the book's ending was more real.

If you know the Vietnam movies, you're familiar with the Burt Lancaster classic "Go Tell the Spartans". Well, here's the story it was based on.

It's 1964 and a team of U.S. Army "Raiders" (Special Forces) and local mercenaries are sent to put the old French garrison at Muc Wa back in business. Sergeant Ski falls in love with a refugee girl, and Corporal Courcey falls in love with the town he helps build. Not a good idea. The Viet Cong put the screws to Muc Wa and the Americans are ordered to "exfiltrate". Sounds like a metaphor for the Vietnam war, doesn't it? Sure, except that it was written and published years before the U.S. got out of Vietnam.

Dan Ford was a reporter in the Nam, writing for "The Nation" magazine. I like his stuff--it's masculine, gritty and funny. Check this one out. Then if you haven't already, rent or buy "Spartans" and see what Jonathan Goldsmith and Craig Wasson do with the roles, not to mention "Butterfly" and Burt Lancaster as the major from headquarters. -- Paddy O

This is a classic, a story written by a journeyman reporter who was in Vietnam before the war escalated out of control. The story is a metaphor for the conflict: a handful of Americans and a platoon of Vietnamese mercenaries are told to garrison a "town" called Muc Wa. There is no town--just the remains of some French emplacements and a graveyard. (The graveyard becomes a major theme in Go Tell the Spartans, the Burt Lancaster movie made from Ford's novel.) They set up a garrison, the Viet Cong attack, the garrison is reinforced, and onward and upward in a spiral of violence that ends only when the Americans are ordered to "exfiltrate." For a novel that was published in 1967, that was a darned good prophecy. Read it, and wonder how the United States was so pigheaded as to believe it could ever win a war being fought on those terms.

Ok, even though this happens to be a fictional account, and the names and places are completely fake, the description of events is extremely eerie and just plain dead-on for what became Vietnam. The book came out at a time when the war was still believed to be winnable, but Ford gives us an honest look at the unwinnable situation of Muc Wa, and what it did to its ever-loving and overwhelmed young commander. I think we've all heard too many storied of this same sort that happened in Vietnam, and here it is again, but its simply one of the best books if you want to get a feeling of what it might have been like to be a young man with what was basically a nearly impossible mission, one he felt a patriotic and militant duty to fulfill, but, like so many other times the powers that be wouldnt allow it. Another strong point is its brevity, it gets the job done without having to do it over a 300 or 400 page novel, the book and the language within it will flow easily for most any high school student. An excellent read on the subject, and highly recommended.

Contrary to popular thought there really was a Muc Wa. Why do I make this bold statement? Because I was one of the gunship fireteams that flew in support of Muc WA many times. We were the last airfield in the Delta and the closest support to Muc Wa. The men of Muc Wa were a special breed of warrior, in that they were in the middle of the VC and NVA infilltration routes. Nights were routinely broken up into mortar rounds and enemy troop probes. Many nights we would arrive to find the VC in the wire and we had to place fire dead close, that is 25 meters. The VC and NVA were determined to take Muc Wa at any costs. And Saigon was determined to not let that happen. Only problem was, Saigon never bothered to supply them when they needed help. Between my fire teams of Viking Gunships, and Spooky, we lite up the night many times. The author described the fight for Muc Wa in chilling detail as the men fought a cat and mouse battle with the VC and NVA regulars. The compound was supported with Yards rangers who fought boldly with their American counterparts. I fly into Muc Wa one mission and was told to land at the CP. Asking where that was I was instructed it was the conex in the clearing! I was warmly welcomed with my load of ammo, food, water, and fuel. Never saw a bunch of guys more happy to see a chopper anytime! Always asked if we had room to take the wounded out and we always tried to help. Even at the best flight time we were still over30 minutes away and I always hoped they would still be there when I arrive on station! The author was able to show the daily lives of the troops at Muc Wa and how it went, day by day, always wondering what Charlie would do at sundown! Muc Wa was easy to find at night because it was the outpost with the flares over it!His details of the history of the area was true as I knew it.This small band of rag tag warriors were able to hold off the enemy battalion surrounding them, that had wiped out a French fighting force that had held the area before them.I highly recommend this book for the history of the area and the battle that was fought there. And yes, there really was a place called MucWa.
Brian Reiss,1LT,121 Asslt. Helicopter Co., Viking Gunships.

Note that Incident at Muc Wa is available as an e-book for the Amazon Kindle:
Incident at Muc Wa: A Novel of War in Southeast Asia

There's also an Author's Guild 'Back in print' edition, a paperback facsimile of the original hardcover:
Incident at Muc Wa: A Novel of War in Southeast Asia

Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

First, I am a veteran. Also, I instructed and advised foreign troops. So, I read this excellent book differently than the other Amazon reviewers . Ford's book is also a metaphor for how we COULD have won the war in SE Asia. Our special ops people (SF & SEALS)
had the right idea and the proper operations in place to win. Our guys won every battle, including Tet. The war was lost by careerists vs warriors, i.e.,too many career ambitious remf staff officers
who defeated the special operations mindset whenever they could.

Also, the war was lost by nitpick meddling from elected things in DC and by a defeatist media. If you don't believe me, read what the miltary leaders of the NVA wrote in their histories of that war.

Ford's book is a metaphor for this interpretation every bit as much as it is for the civilian interpretation. Like all reviewers here I share the same awe for Ford's incredibly accurate , on-target,
conclusions of the book/war, considering it was written in the
mid '60s.

I though the book was written and fairly accurate for a work of fiction. The characters were true to form and even some were like soldiers I met in Vietnam in 1969 when I served as an infantry grunt in the 4th division in the Central Highlands. The action was well paced and honest and it was a quick easy read. I didn't particularly like the way it ended as the major character of the book was to smart and well trained for it to end like it did. He was excellent in every situation until the end and then he basically committed suicide by going back to the village alone and unarmed. Other than that it's a very good book and would be on my recommended list.

The author attempts to show both the futilety of the U.S. presence in Vietnam, and the sacrifices that were made by U.S. soldiers there, by alluding to the battle of Thermopylae.
There are two important omissions by the author of this book. Firstly the author tries to draw a parallel between the fate of the U.S. troops in his story and the three hundred Spartans that died fighting against the Persians at the battle of Thermopylae. The problem with this idea is that the Spartans battle was preplanned to allow the Greek states sufficient time to put together a successful counterattack against the Persian forces and destroy the Persian kings chances for victory. The sacrifice of the three hundred Spartans and their supporting allies was what led to the Greek victory. In this story the author offers no corresponding reason for what the U.S. soldiers have been asked to do.

Secondly, the author traces the order for the soldiers to occupy the abandoned village of Muc Wa to the General. The author forgets that there is such a thing as the chain of command that leads ultimately to the President and the congress of the U.S.

It was the people of the United States who, through their elected officials, including the congress and the president, sent the military to Vietnam. Starting after the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, it is a matter of record that those in the military who had the courage to point out the futilety of the Presidents strategy were summarily "retired" by the administration.

In short the authors storytelling makes only half of the intended point.