Customer Reviews

Vietnam Military Lore: Legends, Shadows & Heroes (signed)

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I would like to recommend "Vietnam Military Lore - Legends, Shadows and Heroes" for a lot of reasons but especially to Army aviators because there is quite a bit of coverage of the first Helicopter transportation companies that were sent to Vietnam way back in 1961 and 1962, namely the 8th, 57th, 33d and the 45th, which later became the 117th, 120th, 118th, 121st and 145th Helicopter Companies. I know the old timers will recognize a lot of names of aviators that Bows has written about. I thereofre recommend this book to all those interested in Army helicopter aviation. I recommended this book to Art Conroy, Publisher of the Transportation Corps Army Aviation Newsletter. Bentley Herbert

I bought Ray's first book when it was first published, "...Another Way To Remember."
At first I did not notice the slight mistakes in the book, but then I did and I wrote Ray about it and of course I did not get a response.
If you would check the map of I Corps, you will notice that Camp Evans and Camp Eagle are not in their right places. Camp Evans was between Hue and Quang Tri, and Camp Eagle was just alittle north of Phu Bai. He also left off Tan My Island, east of Hue, which was a very important port for the northern I Corps area. Thats all I have to say, except like in most books and magazines, the Transportation Units are mostly forgotten, even though we hauled most of the gear, and also had to fight along the way alot of the times. Thanks, Shep.

I would recommentd this book for all to read. This book tells a little about some of us that were part of the original people assigned to Vietnam prior to 1964. This was one of the first books to tell about myself, having been captured on 24 December 1961 and held for six months. Most people do not want to talk about those of us that were part of The Expeditionary Forces of the time.

while you wrap yourself in your flag and say I would go and fight,
others already have. In current times we all try to get a meaning or a sense of our America, this book blows anything you have ever read of war away...when we are all searching for the human element most of the time it is lost and unreachable yet here like rolling echoes of thunder from a distant shore real lives and heroic acts of soldiers so revered.....so moving if you ever needed a motivating force, this book is it. And yet where is the elusive Ray Bows?

Without indulging in either flattery or superlatives,I find "Vietnam Military Lore - Legends, Shadows and Heroes to be the most powerful book ever written on the subject of the Vietnam War. It is head and shoulders over everything else. The magnitude of Bows' research is astounding, and of all people who have wriiten of the war, Bows is a towering figure of truth, an element often either missing or mangled to fit an agenda. Bows deserves a marketing program of the first rank, this book has got to get into the hands of millions of people. I could go on and on about the poignant drama, the pride, the anger and all the elements Bows handles, not adequately, but masterfully. Bob Need, Tan Son Nhut Assn.

I receieved "Vietnam Military Lore, Legends, Shadows and Heroes" Wonderful work. It is the most expansive literary production on the Vietnam War ever done! Excellently compiled Meticulously indexed. Abundantly referenced. Overwhelminly pictured. Wonderfully organized. As Americans in Vietnam were never out-gunned, your book will never be out-done. It is the last word on America's Vietnam War democratic mission. Every American with an interest in our Vietnam War history: every American who made a human investment in Vietnam's hope for survival; every family who gave one of their own in America's longest war MUST own a copy of your book" Roger Simpson Public Information Officer The American War Library

Ray Bows transported me back to my tour like it was yesterday with his book "Vietnam Military Lore: Legends, Shadows & Heroes." It tells it like it was and as I remember the men, units and events. There are no personal distortions of history and the facts. The book does not attempt to glorify battles or pass judgment or try to interpret the whole war. The book acknowledges many individual contributions and preserves many names and places which might otherwise be forgotten over time. If I had a choice of only one book on U.S. efforts in Vietnam, this would be the one book I would select.

A WELL-researched book! Don't let the 1200 pages intimidate you. It reads well, and has the right mix of 1st person narrative from the participants and the witnesses. It's wonderful to read a book by an author who is both a professional soldier and a professional writer.

You won't find popular heroes, such as Gunny Hathcock, in this book. You will learn about the unsung and forgotten heroes (and some scoundrels) whose names and deeds should not be forgotten.

A big point in the author's favor is that he pretty much refrains from editorial comments. He gives the evidence, but the opinions and interpretation is left to his interview subjects, the ones who have the right to comment. It's not "one man's opinion". He gives you the gut-wrenching and heart-felt beliefs of those who were involved and survived, at the same time as he gives you the hard facts.

This book is on the MUST HAVE list for any serious student of the Vietnam War.

...The author has done extensive research into the Vietnam War as he strode to write mini biographies of the names listed on just one panel of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washngton, DC. His manner of writing is extremely good and easy to understand. While the book is thick--it is full of information that took him years to uncover. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet the author, get an autographed copy, and then sat back to read it cover to cover. This is not a book you want to skip around in reading, although you could easily do it. He has included a glossary and an index to make it easier for some to find things and define them. There should be more books like this one for our historians as well as students to read. I'm sure glad I did. Thanks Mr. Bows for keeping the memories of so many Veterans alive!

Great work by Mr.Bows. His work is really relayed from the heart. I recommend this book to all. I hope Mr.Bows writes more in the future and tells us of all his experiences. Thanks Mr. Bows.

Dave Sistaro
Staten Island,New York