War in I Corps [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard A. Guidry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 1997

"We were fighting the NVA and our own leadership,
and both seemed equally determined to kill us. . . ."                

In 1967, one of the hottest areas in Vietnam was the so-called Demilitarized Zone in northern I Corps, where the NVA had abundant troops and in many places could call up massive artillery firepower--against Marines in the field or as counterbattery. For thirteen months, author Richard Guidry, a young black Marine from Texas, fought there as an infantryman in Bravo, 1/4, in some of the war's worst infantry combat.

In riveting, relentless, bloody detail, Guidry captures jungle, mountain, and grassland battles, where death could erupt in a second, your best friend could vanish without warning, and you could become just another loved one's memory.

Such was life along the DMZ.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"We were fighting the NVA and our own leadership,
and both seemed equally determined to kill us. . . ."                

In 1967, one of the hottest areas in Vietnam was the so-called Demilitarized Zone in northern I Corps, where the NVA had abundant troops and in many places could call up massive artillery firepower--against Marines in the field or as counterbattery. For thirteen months, author Richard Guidry, a young black Marine from Texas, fought there as an infantryman in Bravo, 1/4, in some of the war's worst infantry combat.

In riveting, relentless, bloody detail, Guidry captures jungle, mountain, and grassland battles, where death could erupt in a second, your best friend could vanish without warning, and you could become just another loved one's memory.

Such was life along the DMZ.

About the Author

Richard A. Guidry grew up in Houston, Texas, at a time when it was one of the least urban of large American cities. The southern tradition of military service was a normal part of his working-class circumstances, but not much else was normal; his family had acquired the rather unpleasant habit of dying. So by the time he reached Vietnam, he was accustomed not only to steamy tropical heat, but also to the constant specter of death.

Like many veterans, he found it hard to obtain work when he returned home so he left the country and worked as a diver on a project killing starfish that were destroying reefs in Micronesia. When he returned to Houston, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and went to work for the CIA immediately after graduation. He left the agency in the early 1980s and now works as a history teacher at a junior high school in Inglewood, California. With his lovely wife, Chandra, he lives a quiet life in a suburb of Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books; illustrated edition edition (December 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080411692X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804116923
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,266,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Heart pounding book, May 26, 1999

By 

Colin Wear [e-mail] (Dallas Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War in I Corps (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book very much and to anyone who reads this i hope that they will also take this wonderful opertunity to read this book. I have read this book 3 or 4 times and i really enjoyed it very much. It was EXTREAMLY detailed and Richard Guidry captured every detail to each blade of grass. A MUST READ LOVED THE BOOK.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great War Book, April 2, 2004

By 

J. D Philipson "Joemomma17" (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War in I Corps (Mass Market Paperback)

The author Mr. Guidry is a good man, he was my World History teacher at Highland High School in Palmdale, CA. This is the book that sparked my interest in the history of war...

He was a quiet man but there was something about him, when he taught us students even those that hated history couldn't help but be amazed at how history just came alive. This isn't some book some historian wrote but a story of a war through the eyes of a soldier.

Every chance I get I recommend people to read this book. If you do I promise you will not be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A True Account of a Marine Grunt in Vietnam", May 12, 2006

By 

Neil E. Wilson (Oliver Springs, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War in I Corps (Mass Market Paperback)

As a member of a Marine rifle company in Vietnam in 1968-69, I found this book to be dead on, in its portrayal of the day to day life of a grunt. This book, for the most part stays clear of the political messages and other distractions that infect many of the other books about Vietnam. If one was to ask the author why this would be, I would guess that his response would be, that a Marine in the bush does not have time to reflect upon anything other than the mission at hand. I was also glad to see a book about combat in Vietnam,that was written by a black Marine. The year of 1967 was a deadly year for the Marines, especially for those Marines in and around the DMZ. The NVA were determined to kill as many Marines as possible, in order to sway public opinion in the United States. They (NVA)did this knowing that they would probably lose every battle and suffer untold casualities.