Customer Reviews

The Memorial: A Novel of Vietnam

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Very good Nam novel about a group of Marines known as "the walking dead." (Do you want your Purple Heart now, or do you want to wait and get it later?) Jake Adams is a young, newly commissioned 2nd Lt. whose platoon is in plenty of firefights with the VC and NVA. The sweep through the A Shau valley toward Laos at the whim of some REMF colonel trying to get some combat experience results in many contacts with the gooners, and heavy casualties on both sides. You can actually experience the terror of NVA sappers penetrating the perimeter at night causing all kinds of havoc and confusion for the weary Marines, and the tension of trying to evacuate a PZ (pick up zone) while under fire from the gooks all around. As you get to know Boston, Preacher, the Professor, Bo and other members of this Marine company you will understand their frustration at taking and retaking the same ground from the enemy for no apparent purpose other than to get some body count. What does winning in Vietnam mean? Why aren't we loved by the Americans we are risking our lives for over here? They keep mentioning the fact that their country has never lost a war and they don't intend to lose this one. The setting is 1969 just before the troop withdrawals of Vietnamization start.

The title comes from Adams' visit to the Wall in D.C. some 17 years after the war is over and he flashes back to his whole Nam experience from coming in-country to being sent home.

This book is a real tribute to the men of that generation who did their duty courageously and died for each other, even if the American people they were fighting for didn't appreciate their sacrifices.