Customer Reviews

Mid-Century Warrior: A Soldier's Journey to Korea

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

 

 

What a wondefull book, although not the normal fare of my usual reading I certainly enjoyed the most clear and uncluttered way that the author takes us back in time to his youth as a soldier in the Korean war.


What we are talking about here is a soldier, a real soldier that is, at a time when a soldier did his duty without question, anxieties or conflicts. The Korean war, ridiculously called a police action may perhaps be a harbinger of our current events where on the heels of a major war with Germany even the most stalwart of a politician in the 1950's did not have to guts to clean out North Korea and finish the problem once and foreall ....


See how easy the reader may fall into the trap of being judgemental drawing critical parallels that the author marvelously manages to avoid.


Written in a diary style this biography carries the reader along a vicarious journey back to simpler times where there was still some unquestioned purity in true patriotism...


For the reader that has often longed for their own fathers to write about his 'life' story this certainly makes up for all those dogs of war that 'never got down to it' .... Wonderfull I really enjoyed it ......

While reviewing the list of Andover (MA) vaterans of WWII and Korea for an interview session, I discovered that Warren G. MacDonald had written a book on his experiences serving in the Korean War. Obviously I purchased a copy and was extremely pleased with what I read. His command of the English language is commendable and his writing techniques and capabiolities make this a book you don't want to put down until you have finished it. His descriptions of the action are so vivid, you have no difficulty placing yourself in the center of the action. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Koreamn conflict or military service in general.

Korean War veteran Warren MacDonald has authored a wonderful memoir of his own experiences in that war in his book called, "Mid-Century Warrior: A Soldier's Journey To Korea". In it, he takes the readers from his high school days and how he cheated the system to enter the US Army at the young age of 17 years old, to the cold battlefields of Korea and his own personal hell. He shares with us the rigors of training and the people he meets along the way. He paints his memories with simple wording and phrasing that makes it is easy for the reader to picture what he went through and how he felt.

He gives us a look back at a time and a place long forgotten by the world. This was a war that brave men fought in; but a war that Americans never embraced, nor the men who fought there. It is said to be the "Forgotten War" but as his book points out it should really be called "The Forgotten Victory" as the tide of the war had changed enough to force North Korea and China into wanting to negotiate a settlement before things got any worse for them.

The author gives vivid details of the action he was involved with. He doesn't play himself up as some kind of big hero and I feel he actually understates what he did. He did get two Purple Hearts for his wounds and had to spend 18 months in the hospitals recovering and trying to heal to get his young life back together. He talks about real heroes and men who fought, got wounded or killed or came back greatly changed by their experiences--but he is one of them himself. His book reads like a dairy that someone might write for their grandchildren or for future generations to read. It is a narrative that is comfortable to read and follow and allows you to gain an insight on what it was like for not only this author but for a lot of veterans of that war.

The book is not too long and can be read in one sitting (107 pages). It is entertaining, educational and inspiring. Well worth spending a little time with. This is real history from a man who lived it. I personally recommend this book if you have any interest at all in the Korean War, military subjects, history or just want to better understand the men who fought there.