Customer Reviews

Lost Crusade: America's Secret Cambodian Mercenaries (Naval Institute Special Warfare Series)

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"Lost Crusade" must be counted as one of the best books ever written about the Vietnam War, and yet it goes far beyond the category of books 'about' Vietnam. "Lost Crusade" is much more than a book about war and for this reason will be valued even by those with no prior interest in the Vietnam War.

In "Lost Crusade" Peter Scott describes his experiences working with native Cambodian soldiers (the Khmer Krom) during the Vietnam War, and the book centers on the relationships he and other advisors built with these soldiers over the course of the War. At the same time Scott offers a broader, historical context of the conflict and the place of the Cambodians within it. This is what makes the book such a strong effort on two levels: it functions as both a historical document of the War from the perspective of one who was involved in it on the ground, and it is a moving recounting of the relationships between men who fought together as told by a skilled writer.

Scott introduces the large cast of characters with the same easy clarity that characterizes the book as a whole, and in a very personal way the reader soon begins to feel some of the attachment for his soldiers that Scott himself must have felt. We also encounter, quite vividly, the brutality of the War itself as well as the barbaric history of the region that pre-dated U.S. involvement. This allows the reader to understand some of the ferocity and drive that motivated these soldiers, and difficult as the material is to read at times, these passages could be seen as some of the most vital and necessary in the book.

The true measure of the book's success, and what makes the book accessible to all readers, is how deeply attached Scott causes the reader to become to his characters. This is largely due to the incredibly effective way in which it was written. The style appears to be effortless, and it is not until one actually stops to consciously consider it that the great care and craft invested in the book's writing becomes evident. Such a style quickly allows the reader to become involved in the personal relationships Scott establishes with the soldiers, and amplifies the tragedy that consumes many of them by the book's end.

"Lost Crusade" is both tremendously moving and also historically important, and it manages to effectively accomplish both its goals. Peter Scott has succeeded in writing a book 'about' war that, like all great books of its type, is really about the relationships that result from people being placed in situations such as war. While historically informative, most people will value the experience of reading the book for what it shows of human nature and human frailty. The book is certain to grip its readers and consume them from its fiery start in Southeast Asia to its bittersweet conclusion on America's West Coast.

"Lost Crusade" is a valuable view from an American advisor of the counterinsurgency efforts during the Vietnam War. As he advised Cambodians largely resident in South Vietnam, Scott brings out the nationalistic elements in the conflict. (This reviewer strongly believes that nationalism kept the VC and the NVA going, not Communism.) Scott discusses the civil war in Cambodia during that period and connects it to Cambodia's ancient past. My main criticism is twofold : a confusing timeline as Scott jumps around mixing national, military and personal histories, and a viewpoint that may reflect Cambodian biases. A larger complaint : the Cambodians here, like the Montagnards and Nungs in other books on the Vietnam War, are labelled "mercenaries." Why? Because U.S. forces paid them to fight? The South Vietnamese soldier was paid to fight, and many of them seemed less interested in the war than a good number of the ethnic minorities in the country. Are these soldiers "mercenaries" because they fought under American command? The term "mercenary" implies an attitude that the soldier so described doesn't really care about what the fight is about, but only that he makes it to pay day. In "Lost Crusade" Scott shows that, in fact, the Cambodians did have a definite ethnic identity and a purpose for fighting. The NVA was seen as a Vietnamese force and not a universal liberator of the oppressed and downtrodden, and the Diem and Thieu regimes as authorities to be survived, not embraced. The Cambodians may not have cared about who was in power in Saigon, but they cared very much that whoever was in power in Saigon had designs on Cambodia. If fighting for Ho or Thieu (or Westmoreland) would result in their achieving autonomy or independence, they would do that.

There are thousands of books that come out each decade about the Vietnam War. I think the story told in this book is worthwhile, since it gives the account of border Cambodians in their fight with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. I would not label it a literary masterpiece, simply because it is a combat story of why America lost the wars in Southeast Asia. These ethnic minorities in Vietnam were promised American support in their efforts to rid their homeland of occupiers (namely the Viet Cong) and America turned its back on them in order to leave the Vietnam War. Who suffered: the ethnic Cambodians who fought against the Communists and were killed off.
This book also puts an end to the story by liberals that the Viet Cong were liberators of the South. They killed, taxed, and made the local Cambodian population suffer their brand of Communism. The South Vietnamese may not have been much better, but at least they respected the local population better. This is a story of American betrayal of the Cambodian population of South Vietnam.

Having known Peter Scott just prior to his departure for Vietnam, I could hear his voice in my ears as I read Lost Crusade. Thank you Peter for this extaordinary contribution to literature about the war in Southeast Asia. For those of us who served but did not work directly with indigenous people, this book provides rich detail and insight in to the lives of the individuals we fought so hard to help. Should Peter Scott happen to read this, please accept my personal best wishes and thanks for your contribution. Trace Gordon, 101st. Aviation Batallion, 101st. Airborne Infantry Division 1969-1970

I read 1-2 titles a week and this is one of the most compelling things
that I have ever read. Peter Scott writes with clarity and a passion
for humanity that made me shudder. It is not fair to the rest of the
book to single out any one chapter, but a chapter near the end about a
Pentagon general and Mr. Scott trying to decypher a paper battle map,
crudely and simplisticly describing a battle on the other side of the
world that must have invovled some of Mr. Scott's friends, is one of
the cruelest things that I have ever read. I had to put the book down
for a few days after.

If this book were a work of fiction, it
would fail - not because of the quality of the writing, which
surpasses most fiction and stands with the best, but because an
experience this fantastic is just not believable. Unless, of course,
it is real.

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