Not Going Home Alone: A Marine's Story [Mass Market Paperback]

James Kirschke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2001

Experience the pain, the pride, and the triumph of the Marine Corps

All the members of 1st Lt. James J. Kirschke’s mortar platoon and then rifle platoon knew the stakes: the Marines are America’s military elite, expected to train harder, fight longer, sacrifice more. Kirschke led by example in the hotly contested zone just south of the DMZ and in the dangerous AnHoa region southwest of DaNang. There Kirschke’s units, with resources stretched to the limit, saw combat almost daily in some of the fiercest fighting of 1966.

Sustained through the toughest firefights and bloodiest ambushes, the men’s morale proved a testament to Kirschke’s leadership and his dedication to what the U.S. Marines stand for. Those beliefs, and the faith of his men, in turn helped Kirschke through his long recovery after he was wounded by the triple explosion of a box mine rigged to an anti-tank rocket round and a frag grenade.

The Marines’ legend and reputation are based on the blood, courage, and discipline of warriors like Jim Kirschke. Sparing no one, he has written a powerful chronicle of the deadly war his Marines fought with valor.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Experience the pain, the pride, and the triumph of the Marine Corps

All the members of 1st Lt. James J. Kirschke?s mortar platoon and then rifle platoon knew the stakes: the Marines are America?s military elite, expected to train harder, fight longer, sacrifice more. Kirschke led by example in the hotly contested zone just south of the DMZ and in the dangerous AnHoa region southwest of DaNang. There Kirschke?s units, with resources stretched to the limit, saw combat almost daily in some of the fiercest fighting of 1966.

Sustained through the toughest firefights and bloodiest ambushes, the men?s morale proved a testament to Kirschke?s leadership and his dedication to what the U.S. Marines stand for. Those beliefs, and the faith of his men, in turn helped Kirschke through his long recovery after he was wounded by the triple explosion of a box mine rigged to an anti-tank rocket round and a frag grenade.

The Marines? legend and reputation are based on the blood, courage, and discipline of warriors like Jim Kirschke. Sparing no one, he has written a powerful chronicle of the deadly war his Marines fought with valor.

About the Author

James Kirschke was born in Norfolk, VA but grew up in South Philadelphia. He earned his bachelors degree from LaSalle College, and his masters and Ph.D. degrees in English at Temple University. He is currently an English professor at Villanova University.

In Vietnam during 1966 and 1967, James Kirschke was commander of the mortar platoon of 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, and of a rifle platoon in Hotel Company, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines. He was medically retired in 1968.

Kirschke is also the author of Henry James and Impressionism, Willa Cather and Six Writers from the Great War, and the forthcoming biography, Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816): Author, Statesman, and Man of the World.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345440935
• ISBN-13: 978-0345440938
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #822,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Military > Vietnam War

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How it must have been, September 3, 2001

By 

Howard R Sutherland (Oyster Bay, L.I., New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Going Home Alone: A Marine's Story (Mass Market Paperback)

Not Going Home Alone is the best example I have seen yet of the growing genre of Vietnam combat memoirs. Retired Marine Captain James J. Kirschke takes us through his tour in Vietnam with the 3d and 2nd Battalions, 5th Marines, sadly cut short by his grievous wounding in the An Hoa Valley. Kirschke goes beyond combat descriptions (although he provides plenty) and presents all the things that a platoon commander in combat has to think about and do. For anyone considering becoming a Marine or Army officer, especially as a grunt, this is a fine introduction to what one should be able to do. The book is very well-written; Kirschke does a great job bringing the Marines he served with alive for us, as well as conveying what Vietnam in the bush was like. Kirschke also provides a useful reminder that the Vietnam War and Vietnam veterans are not as portrayed by Oliver Stone and his ilk. With this book, Kirschke has given his comrades who died in Vietnam and since a wonderful memorial.
Not Going Home Alone has a special resonance for me; like Kirschke I was a grunt lieutenant in the 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, although in more peaceful times (1981 through 1983). I cannot vouch personally for his Vietnam descriptions, but his descriptions of Camp Pendleton, Okinawa and the Philippines brought back a lot of memories. This is an outstanding book; here's hoping it finds a huge audience.
P.S. to Hollywood: Not Going Home Alone would make a great movie, if you don't mess with it.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Vietnam memoir that details the work of war, June 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Not Going Home Alone: A Marine's Story (Mass Market Paperback)

Pedestrian writing can ruin any subject, even the ready-made drama of war. Vietnam memoirs are no exception. But such is not the case in James Kirschke's account of fighting in some of the bloodiest zones of the war in 1966-67. With a colorful, engaging style that does not shy from personal revelation, Kirschke weaves a compelling narrative made genuine by its generosity of spirit and plausible by its even hand. Kirschke's experience as both an English professor and a writer gives him an advantage over the competition, true. But potent material like this still needs adept storytelling, and in Kirschke, a retired Marine captain, it finds a capable craftsman. Casual and passionate reader alike will be touched as Kirschke relates the critical and formative aspects of his service: training and bonding with his mortar platoon at Camp Pendleton, exhausting daily combat in the area just south of the DMZ -- commanding first his mortar platoon and then a rifle platoon -- and his final battle of the war, the injury that left him near death for many months. The reader will also appreciate that Kirschke has steered clear of the kind of cynical self-confession and cloying apologia that too often mars Vietnam memoirs. Not Going Home Alone is about the work of war and the love and sorrow encountered along the way.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INSPIRING READ, November 5, 2001

By 

Gregory Moss (Diamond Bar, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not Going Home Alone: A Marine's Story (Mass Market Paperback)

Lt. James J. Kirschke demonstrated outstanding leadership skills stateside and in Vietnam. He loved his men, and they loved him. As an 81 mortars platoon commander, Kirschke drove his men to become the best of their kind in the USMC. The men he trained developed not only incredible proficiency and stamina, but also a deeply seated sense of pride in serving their country and the Corps. After Kirschke transfered to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, he became the CO of a rifle platoon. At this juncture in the narrative, the action and tension in this finely written book heats up and never cools down. Kirschke was not a hell-raiser or macho warrior hyped up on testosterone. He was simply an excellent human being on whom God had generously bestowed such rich gifts as those of leadership ability, compassion, and sense of duty. It is incredible that Kirschke teaches literature in one of today's foremost universities, given the anti-white male and looney leftist fringe that rides herd over modern academia. When I put this book down, I thought of Kirschke the way Mark Antony thought of Brutus at the end of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world, this was a man." Thanks, Jim, for your unselfish service and for writing this book.