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

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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.

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!

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.

For those of us who went to Vietnam, there were those who served and those who fought. Christy Sauro's account represents the brutal, heart wrenching reality of the latter.
It's a prideful story of young Minnesota boys who, because of tradition or a sense of adventure, volunteered to serve, and ultimately fight, in a country that few had heard of and fewer still understood the calling of the war.
It's unvarnished and candidly brutal in its portrayal of Marine Corps training. Training that would ultimately steel them in their daily struggle as they were thrown into the teeth of the conflict during the Tet Offensive of 1968.
It's painful and revealing, sad, yet inspiring as these young warriors fought for their very survival only to return to a nation tired by war and indifferent to their needs and sacrifices.
What was learned by our nation's people and our government about the scars and demons these fight men dealt with upon their return - those who came home upright - remains to be seen
and understood.
Read it.

THE TWINS PLATOON - a "must read" anthology of United States Marines during the Vietnam War - documents in detail the life changing and, for some, the life ending events of those Marines of this platoon.
The author and member of the TWINS PLATOON, Christy Sauro, Jr., captures and presents the essence of the hardship, terror, and heart break of these Marines and their families. Sauro captures
the meaning of "Semper Fidelis" and answers the question, "For What?". You feel it in your gut and in your heart. This Non-political documentary should be required reading for every political office holder at every level of government!
A.J. CARELLI
Semper Fi

I really enjoyed this book, being of that age as well as from the Midwest and attending ball games in the Met Stadium really brought times back.

I served in the Navy on the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea during this same time. I am proud to say that our planes supported the troops inland. During these times everything occurred so fast that you didn't even have time to think about what part you played in the war. On three to four occasions I was scheduled to go inland to get our planes that had gone down up and flying again, but every time I was not allowed to go. My brother Bob who was in Nam with the 101st Airborne division would not consent to me coming inland! Now that this book tells it like it was, I say to my brother, "thank you"! Christy Sauro - this is a great read thank you for your ability to write about such difficult time for so many people!

MR.SAURO WRITES A COMPELLING MEMOIR AS ONLY ONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE. HE SEARCHED HIS SOUL AND LIVED THE RESEARCH TO PUT THIS TO WRITING. AS A VIETNAM VET, WHO SERVED IN THE INFANTRY, I CAN SAY WITH SOME AUTHORITY THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS EPIC STORY TO VETERANS OF ALL WARS BUT ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT DID NOT SERVE IN NAM OR IN CURRENT OR PAST CONFLICTS SO THAT THEY CAN APPRECIATE WHAT OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM HAVE SACRIFICED FOR OUR COUNTRY. BE SURE TO HAVE PLENTY OF KLENNEX CLOSE BY. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND THIS AUTHOR AD THE TWINS PLATOON FOR THEIR SACRIFICE. P.S. I SERVED AS AN INFANTRY COMPANY COMMANDER WITH THE AMERICAL DIVISION TWO YEARS AFTER THE TWINS PLATOON LEFT I CORPS. TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THAT MOST OF US CAME HOME SAFE AND SOUND TO WATCH OUR CHILDREN AND NOW GRAND CHILDREN GROW UP BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY AND THEIR FELLOW COMRADES ACCOMPLISHED CPT. R.W.RICKLEFS

I read this book because a friend of mine was a member of the Twins Platoon. My friend has never talked much about his time in Viet Nam and through Christy Sauro's book, I was able to understand some of what he and so many others went through. The personal descriptions of the conditions, the battles and the horrific results are written in the manner of those who are simply telling their story, not creating or enhancing one. In return for the horrors they faced and their sacrifices, many were shunned by their fellow countrymen upon returning home and have suffered in silence, in many cases daily, ever since. As I read the stories, it became abundantly clear that these silent young men are true heroes of our nation who willingly volunteered to serve because their country asked them to.
This book should be read by all who have served in any conflict, but especially by those who were affected by the Viet Nam war. It brings to reality the horrors of the war and the emotional effect it can have on the participants, particularly when they feel they cannot talk about it. After you read The Twins Platoon, you may feel compelled to thank a Viet Nam veteran, even if you did not agree with the war.

The best Viet Nam era book I have read. It tells the whole story from numerous points of view. A perfect cross section of who fought the war. From high school sweet hearts to becoming old men at 19. It stays away from the gore, the politics and the technical arms and equipment comments and follows the personal stories of these kids through that time. Those that opposed the war should know who these 19 year old returning "killers" really were. The story of the olive drab USMC car coming to the Marines home was hard to read. The letters from home could have come from almost any family. I could almost hear my drill instructors yelling and could almost smell the fuel burning. This should be required reading for everyone that thinks they know what went on and those that want to know the truth about that time.
These guys were taught how to "kill 100 ways" when they were seventeen and thats what they did when they were 18 and then they were sent home and put on the street at 20. These youngsters paid dearly for your freedom. Honor them by understanding who they really were and are.

This is a wonderful book! A gripping personal account of the authors service to our country in Vietnam, as a young marine, as well as stories from other soldiers of the Twins Platoon. I couldn't put the book down when I started reading.
I am a Vietnam era veteran, though I did not serve in Vietnam. I had tears in my eyes in many parts of this book. It still angers me to think there was no welcome home for these brave soldiers after the unimaginable things they endured, and their tremendous personal sacrifice.
I think this book should be required reading in all high school history classes. No one should forget how much our veterans have given, they paid a very dear price for our freedom.
Christy, Thank You for your service, and Thank You for this book!!!