Customer Reviews

One Very Hot Day

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This was the first book I ever read about our days in the Mekong Delta with the American advisors. David Halberstam was one of the first outstanding journalists stationed in Saigon, who came down and covered operations in the Delta in the first years of the war. His writing is intense, and always unfailingly accurate. This story here was one of the early books written about the war, and was a "bible" for those of us who were there in the mid-sixties. I flew helicopters out of Vinh Long, just up the river from My Tho, and worked with the 7th ARVN Division quite a bit. I write up my exploits in the book OUTLAWS IN VIETNAM, which is also listed on these Amazon.com pages. I was stationed with the 13th Aviation Battalion during the years of 1966-67; nothing had changed much from the accounts Halberstam writes of in ONE VERY HOT DAY. A collector's fine; I still need a copy!

I first read this novel in 1972, on recommendation from another veteran of the American military advisory effort in Vietnam. David Halberstam captured the essence of the military advisor's duty, and the ambivalent nature of the US Army's approach to it, perfectly. From my perspective, as one who performed the duty in less luxurious circumstances than those described in the novel, there were some substantive inaccuracies. However, the inaccuracies are irrelevant when compared to the story in its entirety. I can say that I knew men similar to each of the characters in the novel--both American and Vietnamese--and Halbertstam depicted them very, very well. For one who served in such circumstances, even 45 years ago, the novel can evoke emotional responses. For a reader who has experienced military advisory duty anywhere, there should be at least some instances of reminiscence. For other readers, especially for those who would like to grasp something of the Vietnam conflict diffrent from the current conventional wisdom, this is a worthwhile read...take it from someone who has been there.