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Green Knight, Red Mourning Mass Market Paperback – October 1, 2002

by Richard Ogden (Author)

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Only 17 years old when he joined the Marines in 1965, Richard Ogden was sent to Vietnam and took part in the amphibious assault at Red Beach. This critically-acclaimed first-person account of his experiences tells the vivid truth about men at war.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pinnacle
Publication date

October 1, 2002
Dimensions

4.4 x 0.81 x 6.84 inches
ISBN-10

078601511X
ISBN-13

978-0786015115
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pinnacle; Reprint edition (October 1, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 078601511X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786015115
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.4 x 0.81 x 6.84 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,355,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #29,066 in Military Leader Biographies
- #101,314 in Memoirs (Books)

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10 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Stirring account of Vietnam experience

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2013

This book, published in 1985, is the story of the author's time in Vietnam as a Marine at age 18. It portrays the rough things he went through, and the disciplinary problems he had, though he gives stirring accounts of the exploits he performed. He portrays himself as not believing in the willingness of fellow Marines to do atrocity-like things to captured Viet Cong. There is no hint that he kept any kind of diary and one can't help but wonder how he recalls so accurately (apparently) all the exciting things he went through. As Vietnam accounts go I feel this is a pretty good one and there are events of real excitement, as well as poignant times, and, in general I found the book easy to read and it evoked anew my appreciation for all the awful things endured in Vietnam.

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2008

One of the reviewers summarized this book as "bogus". I may have evidence to back that up. I am a voracious reader of Vietnam memoirs and bought this book with some others at an upscale junk dealer in Phoenix. I mention that because of the mysterious previous reader who left some interesting marks in this book. After coming across several circled passages, I noted a common thread in them: the reader was noting inaccuracies as far as I could tell. So here is the list of them (with my comments):
P.24-"It resembled the twenty-millimeter sawed-off shotgun." This is a reference to the M-79 grenade launcher that is FORTY-millimeter-the standard for US grenade launchers in Vietnam. I have also never heard of a shotgun being referred to in millimeters; they are in gauges.
P.28-"During the first hour, the first heat exhaustion casualties began to appear." Any Vietnam combat Vets know what's up about this?
P.85-"The average lifespan in Vietnam is only thirty years" I leave this one to demographic experts to verify or not.
P.86-"It was the first actual assault by Americans in Vietnam, an order that came directly from President Johnson." The date and location appears accurate if you change the spelling the author uses (Le Mai) to Le My. So I'm not sure what the reader was disputing.
P.146-"But drinking all we wanted, with the heat and exhaustion would be dangerous if the priceless, lifegiving salt tablets weren't used." Again, I defer to Vietnam combat vets to verify or dispute this.
P.159-"When I had run out of rounds the hammer was still hitting an empty chamber..." Wow! This one really leaped out at me. The author numerously cites using his .45 auto and I am familiar with this weapon. The reader by this time had abandoned his earlier pen and circled this in red marker. No wonder, a 45 auto locks the slide back after the last round is fired. It is IMPOSSIBLE for the hammer to "hit an empty chamber" unless the slide is released and the hammer is thumbed back every time. The author is simply describing something here that did not happen and displays an astonishing lack of knowledge for a "combat vet".
P.160-"Captain,sir,this is Ogden." and "we will use yellow smoke, over."
again, red markers circle these words. My guess is with the VC monitoring the airwaves and popping their own smoke to lure in Hueys, this is outrageous radio protocol.
P.173-"I found an unattended jeep...I lucked out: the keys were still in the ignition." Clear factual error circled in red-jeeps in Vietnam did not use keys.
P.203-"I brushed heavy gun oil on my new forty-five and twenty millimeter." Again with the 20mm which would be a small gumball sized grenade at that.
P.207-"I put his machine-gun tripods around my neck." As the author pulls a wounded man off the battlefield. I'm sure you Vets know more than I, but it sounds physiologically unlikely.
P.210-"The smell of yellow smoke..." ?
P.237-"I searched the sand; the body was gone. I was glad. It was probably dragged off by a comrade and buried in the sand nearby without a trace. It relieved me of explaining the savagery and the method I had used to initiate the kill. I knew though, that if necessary I would do it again and again." The longest circled passage. Again, I defer to combat vets to analyze this.
P.239-"Each kill was treated as though it were a trophy. The Vietcong picked up their dead and weapons at any cost to refute any compiled statistics against them." Ditto.
P.246-"I put on clean underwear and crawled into a cot." Troops went "commando" in the jungle for two reasons- easier to cut away to dress wounds and aired out the balls to prevent crotch-rot.
P.256-"The bodies dropped, to burn for days." Refers to a napalm attack on Charlie; I'm guessing the dispute is how long the bodies burn.
So there it is. I leave it to the jury: is it bogus or not?
One surprise witness remains:
P.302 (biographical note) "He is also an actor, stuntman, and technical advisor in Hollywood, California." I checked IMDB for this. There are four Richard Ogdens cited, but none doing any of this work and none until the Nineties (and most even more recent). This is years after the book was published that I read (1985). IMDB is very comprehensive, even including uncredited performances in the industry. So I would say I have some deep reservations about the authenticity of this writer.

3 people found this helpful

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Fred Blechman

Tighten Your Seatbelt

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2001

This is a rough ride! As an author myself, I was VERY impressed with the writing ability of Richard Ogden. Rarely do I start a book and not get diverted to others -- but not in this case. Every night I picked it up to read more, and had trouble putting it down until my eyes refused to stay open.
Be prepared for some gory details of a Marine "grunt" in the early days of the Vietnam War. As a young "punk" not used to military life and discipline, Ogden had trouble adjusting. He reaches into the depths of his feelings throughout this book -- good and bad -- and pulls no punches.
This book is not political, and does not attempt to analyze the military decisions beyond those in his immediate command. He develops a few good relationships, in many cases to see his friends get killed. Blood and guts surround him. Not a pretty sight.
I was particularly intrigued by the writing style, where many analogies were used to express his thoughts. In contrast to my own writing about flying F4U Corsair fighter planes ("Bent Wings"), where I tend to be very factual and technical, Ogden's writing instead is very descriptive and visceral, putting you in his boots and through his eyes and heart.
It is hard to understand why this book is virtually unheard of. It is the stuff war movies are made of. From the clever title to the explicit detail of the life of a ground-pounding Marine in the jungles of Vietnam, I found this book fascinating -- and made me glad I was not there!

2 people found this helpful

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PATRICK ADAMEK

this book rocks

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2003

This is a great book, I have read almost every book out there on Vietnam and this as good as any. Very similar to 'GUNS UP' which I read just before this . Yes the writing style is different but very funny and a welcome variation. I imagine the author had to find some way to deal with all that he went through. If you like this kind of book you won't be disapointed, the action scenes are great.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Disappointed

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2002

I am always glad to see new work on the Vietnam War. It is also very difficult for me to be critical of the authors out of respect for their experience. Unfortunately, that's not where Ogden takes me. I felt as though I were reading about a group of sadistic Boy Scouts in a very bent version of the "Lord of the Flies"; rather than the United States Marine Corp. I think that Ogden is obviously a talented writer and perhaps I really don't understand his approach. I do know however that I was disappointed and didn't feel enlightened in one way or the other.

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eaglewiz

I don't think he was there

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2005

While Ogden's writing is pretty good, the facts are way out of line. He refers to the M-79 as being twenty millimeter when in fact it was forty millimeter. He also says that he changed his underwear as often as he could. No grunt ever wore underwear in 'Nam because it caused nasty jungle rot in the crotch. He amkes numreous other mistakes that only someone who wasn't there would make. The book is BOGUS.

One person found this helpful

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chris m. haynes

Green Knight, Red Mourning

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2000

Once I started this tale of a young Marine just out of training and on a landing craft headed for the Viet Nam war I could not put it down. The tales of his exploits are truly amazing. To think that one boy could endure all of this is unbelievable.To some, no one person could endure all he went through. A great read that will bring back many memories for Nam Vets. Some good, some not so good.

2 people found this helpful

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