The Twins Platoon: An Epic Story of Young Marines at War in Vietnam [Hardcover]

Christy W. Sauro Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2006

In the evening of June 28, 1967, 150 young Americans were sworn into the Marine Corps as part of the pre-game ceremonies of a Minnesota Twins baseball game. Before the end of the fourth inning these volunteers were being hustled on to buses, on their way to boot camp. It was a journey that would take them from a boyhood of baseball in the American heartland to manhood on the killing fields of Vietnam. Christy Sauro was one of the Twins Platoon, and in this book he tells what it was like—from the pomp and ceremony of induction to the all-too-real initiation by fire that would shortly follow: in mere months, he and most of the Twins Platoon were on the ground in Vietnam and promptly faced with some of the toughest fighting of the war, the Siege of Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive, including the brutal Battle for Hue. From baseball to boot camp to brutal combat, his is a firsthand story of American life being lived at the limits—and changed forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Sauro's modest study of 150 men from Minnesota who enlisted in 1967 adds respectably to the literature of the Vietnam War. After the thoroughly grim ordeal of basic training, the young midwesterners finished advanced training just in time to arrive in Vietnam at the end of the year. Many served at Khe Sanh, where one was killed in action. Others drove amphibious tractors in the defense of Danang during the Tet Offensive, marched up and down, survived painful wounds, and, in one case, married a nurse. Their tours over, they came home, many of them to encounter the more virulent kinds of antiwar sentiment, and one to commit suicide as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, which was not then recognized per se. Based on extensive interviews with a cross section of the surviving veterans, the book makes rather grim reading. But then, it's about young Americans in a rather grim war. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Military Book Club, March 2006

“Christy Sauro was a member of the platoon and his battle accounts are incredible. His jarring memoir takes you to some of the craziest fighting in the war where Marines inflicted serious damage on the enemy. But Sauro doesn’t shy away from the beating his side took, as well. The tales of Marines falling to the bullets and artillery of the enemy are truly heartbreaking.”

 

Military Heritage, August 2006

“Every person who has ever been in the military, especially in a combat situation, often wonders what happened to those they served with. Chisty Sauro, in his new book The Twins Platoon, wondered just about that but decided to do something about it. Sauro’s story is an interesting one. After years of exhaustive research, he compiled dozens of taped interviews, questionnaires, and scoured the official records to write an account of what became of individuals who went off to war from his home state of Minnesota…The author does a masterful job of weaving together all the various accounts. Often times it is poignant. From the DMZ to Da Nanag, they served with pride and honor. Sauro and his fellow Marines embody the spirit of the Marine Corps, giving meaning to their motto Semper Fidelis.”

 

Military Trader Magazine, November 2006

“…powerful, engaging and respectful. In recounting the volunteer experience, Sauro has hit a home run with The Twins Platoon.”

Leatherneck Magazine, September 2006

“The stories [in the Twins Platoon] are told in the words of those Sauro interviewed. Often, the simplicity by which total horrors of the war are described is the most chilling aspect of what we read. Equally cold are the stories of confrontations between the Marines and demonstrating civilians protesting the war. There are few good endings to the stories, but Sauro stays true to the truth, and the result is a book well worth reading…The Twins Platoon is a remarkable achievement, and Christy W. Sauro Jr. is to be commended for the single-mindedness and determination that enabled him to write it.”

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press; First edition (March 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760323879
• ISBN-13: 978-0760323878
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author "Christy W. Sauro Jr." was a member of the Twins Platoon. The book is highly accurate and reads like a novel. Based upon the stories in the book FOX Sports North produced the award-winning half hour Television documentary "Spotlight-the Twins Platoon "in 2007, which continues to be televised each year. The book is recommended reading by the New York Public Library under "Books for Teens". In 2011 the book was awarded the prestigious "Stars and Flags" military book award "Biography Gold" when it tied for 1st place in the category "Non-fiction Biography". To learn more about the book and the impact it is having visit www.twinsplatoon.com. Contact information

Mailing address
Christy W. Sauro Jr
40417 Elmcrest Ave
North Branch, MN 55056

email address:
[e-mail]

Phone number
651-674-4329

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING, June 19, 2007

By 

Patrick O'Donnell - Combat Historian - We We... (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twins Platoon: An Epic Story of Young Marines at War in Vietnam (Hardcover)

I discovered THE TWINS PLATOON in a bookstore on my way to a publishing meeting with my editor in the spring of 2006. Each chapter captivated me, and I devoured the book on the long train ride from Washington to Boston. Beginning with the opening paragraph, I felt like I was transported back in time from the platoon's origins in 1967, through boot camp, their fighting in Vietnam, and the men's homecoming.

I found the narrative gripping and personal since I felt like I was reading the book I just completed 37 years later titled: WE WERE ONE. As I flew through the beautifully written narrative it sometimes felt like only the individual Marines names' changed. From boot camp to battle, Chris Sauro captures the intangible spirit that makes Marines -- Marines. He also captures in words how combat changes ordinary Americans. The brotherhood, pathos, valor, and even the invisible scars of battle are felt by the reader on each page of THE TWINS PLATOON.

What became completely obvious after reading the first few pages of the book is the enormous amount of time and care the author devoted to researching his fellow Marines and telling their story. This book was a decades' long crusade and each chapter is brimming with detail. The reader feels the emotions, spirit, heroics, of the twenty or so Marines who comprise the book's focus.

To say I recommend the book is an understatement. THE TWINS PLATOON should be mandatory reading for all Americans since it transcends the war in Vietnam and provides a "foxhole" view of Americans at war. Often obscured by politics, the war on the ground, told by privates, corporals, and sergeants fighting it, is often the forgotten view of the global War on Terror just as it was during the Vietnam War.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author's Obsession Becomes a Great Story, January 25, 2007

By 

W. H. McDonald Jr. "The American Author Assoc... (Elk Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Twins Platoon: An Epic Story of Young Marines at War in Vietnam (Hardcover)

By Christy Sauro's own accounting he has put thousands of hours into the research and writing of his book "The Twins Platoon: An Epic Story of Young Marines At War In Vietnam". The end result is a magnificent obsession! He has captured the heart and soul of those young Marines who were known as "The Twins Platoon".

On June 28, 1967 150 young men and women were sworn into the USMC in front of thousands at a Minnesota Twins baseball game. The swearing in ceremony was just the beginning of many personal and sometimes heroic and even tragic stories of which the author shares with us. We get to follow the lives of some of these men as they go through basic training and eventually go to Vietnam. Some are killed, some physically wounded, others emotionally damaged, but all of them have changed in some ways.

The problem of readjusting back to their old lives once they left the Marines is another issue the book deals with. For some, this transition ended in suicide, divorce, drugs or booze. Yet, some managed to over come the inner demons and go on with their lives successfully.

The book is obviously well researched and presents an anthology of stories that Sauro weaves into his over-all history of this group of Marines. It becomes evident that Marines are always Marines and that there is something special in being one. There is pride in the telling of these stories and it shows.

The subtitle says this is an "epic story"; that may be an understatement. The author will allow you to sense and feel the emotional and spiritual pain of these Marines. You will become engrossed in the book but more importantly, you will become changed. For those who have never served in combat it will be an eye-opener and those who have it will be a re-run through your emotional memories. It is well written, entertaining, educational, riveting, and an emotional story that is filled with a love of country, the Marine Corps and fellow veterans. A MUST READ! I personally recommend this book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake-up call to war, July 7, 2006

By 

K. Schulz "Ageditor" (Winnebago, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Twins Platoon: An Epic Story of Young Marines at War in Vietnam (Hardcover)

Going through school while the Vietnam war was winding down, our history books and classes ignored this event in U.S. history. So for me, the "Twins Platoon" was the first introduction to the Vietnam War that I've read. The first-hand account of Sauro and his fellow soldiers took me to the frontlines, and you felt as they fell or their comrades fell. The timing of this book, though not intentional, is perfect. Vietnam was a war that very few understood, and many didn't agree with, just as the debate stirs around the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though some may not agree with being at war (in Vietnam or in Iraq), this book proves the fact that young men and women are doing the job that they signed up to do, regardless of the consequences and political ramifications. This books tells the touching tale not only of what happens during preparation and actual battle, but also to those who came home. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the Vietnam War, or any conflict for that matter.