Where We Were in Vietnam: A Comprehensive Guide to the Firebases and Militar Paperback – June 1, 2002

It was September 16, 1970, and the author, Mike Kelley, was in hills southwest of Hue, with a platoon of American soldiers. He was a "short-timer," as the expression had it, with less than a month and a half left on his one-year tour. His time in country would become much less than that month and a half. Stephen T. Smith, the platoon medic, and a conscientious objector, universally simply called "Doc Smitty" would step on a landmine and be blown 30 ft. into the air. He would die of his wounds within a few days. Mike Kelley and three others were wounded also, and by happenstance, a medevac was flying nearby, which almost certainly saved Kelley's life. Later, at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, he discussed the location where he was wounded with a Special Forces sergeant. Was it Firebase Brick, or Firebase Blitz? The confusion, and the subsequent belief it was one, and then the other, led to the creation of this truly encyclopedic work.

In his introduction Kelley points out that the American presence during the war is being erased due to two powerful forces, one political, the other pragmatic. The Vietnamese are getting on with their lives; their own dead are honored in all too many cemeteries, and our one-time presence requires no commemoration. Yet, as the title suggests, the reader will be the "we" that were there, and particularly for those who were in the field, Kelley's words will resonate: "Nothing in my lifetime has ever approached the intensity of emotion or heights of experience of that which painted the eleven months I spent in the mountains south and west of Hue. Nothing... it is the people, the sounds and smells, the places we lived, worked and nurtured with our sweat and our blood that will remain inextricably woven into the fibers of our memory and character..."

The book weighs four pounds, and is over 800 pages long. The vast majority of the book, almost 600 pages, is a numerical and alphabetical listing of the place names associated with the locations utilized by Americans while in Vietnam. In addition, there are a large number of maps, and an extensive glossary of terms and acronyms used during the war. And there is also a bibliography, although The Quiet American (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) and Hell In A Very Small Place: The Siege Of Dien Bien Phu are missing, as well as an appendix listing internet reference resources. I found numerous useful nuggets of information concerning matters I had often wondered about: for example, why some places were called firebases, and other landing zones (LZ).

Kelley does not mention it, so I suspect the answer is in the negative: did he ever return to Vietnam? I did, three times, once in each year, 1994, '95 and '96, and part of the motivation is central to this book: could I find the locations where I had been during the war? And I could! Mainly because the topography of the land, since there are no markers or landmarks, as Kelley so rightly indicates. In fact, I was able to find them all, save for LZ Oasis (too close to the Cambodian border for my driver's comfort) and Polei Klang (blocked by a river, with no bridge). Pragmatic is Kelley's operative word for the Vietnamese. On the site of LZ North English there is now a hospital, and on LZ Uplift there is now a school, surrounded by mature trees that seemed much older than 20 years, but could not be, when I was there in 1996. LZ Schueller and LZ Action were scrub land, though there were houses being built nearby. The only remnant of the American presence that I could find was a small piece of a sandbag on LZ Action. And Camp Enari, base camp of the 4th Infantry Division had cows grazing on the land, but there was still the concrete base to the MP stand at the entrance.

As other reviewers have noted, there are a few problems with the book. Most glaringly, many of the maps are unreadable since the scale is wrong for the book, and thus the place names are far too small. And then the descriptions of some of the LZ's I was familiar with are not correct, for example, LZ North English was described as "on a hilltop near coast at Bong Son and just N of LZ English. It could be seen from LZ English..." Au contraire. It was not on a hilltop, nor on the coast, and it was considerably north of Bong Son (at least 10 km.) and I do not believe it was within sight of LZ English. Furthermore, LZ Tom and LZ North English were two separate and distinct places, several kilometers apart. I do agree with the quote from the authors of Charlie Rangers concerning LZ North English: "...was surrounded by some of the most beautiful countryside I'd ever seen." I do not remember LZ Schueller being "dry" and LZ Action being "wet," necessitating a beer run. I had numerous beers on Schueller, without a problem.

"In fact, stereotypes of the Vietnam veteran notwithstanding, I'm also convinced that the war emotionally strengthened many more of us than it might have damaged or destroyed," is what Mike Kelley concluded in his introduction. But the war eventually caught up with him, and he committed suicide two years ago today, on Christmas Eve, 2011. This is his legacy, and important one, that can still be built upon, before the "we" in the title likewise disappear, taking our fading memories with us. 4-stars.

This review only covers the download Kindle version, not the actual paper book. I'm sure that the paper version is the more useful for people doing research or old veterans wanting to trace their battles and fire fights. The Kindle version will not fill the bill for these purposes, the maps are not clear enough to read grid coordinances and the more you enlarge them the less clear they become. I have not seen the printed on paper version which hopefully would be clearer. That said, the other information in the book is helpful and useful.

Sam Dauer, survivor of the 1968 TET

Very helpful in locating and giving a brief description of the LZs and locations of Vietnam. Serving in the Coastal Central Highlands of Vietnam during that war, we knew very little of where we really where and what was nearby. It seemed that we were under a "need-to-know" basis. This book is very enlightening, as to names that one heard, now I could place them on a map and add to my growing knowledge base of my service time. Super helpful, and there was not a single referenece that I did not find.. I treasure this book and will use it to enlighten my fellow Viet vets in conversations.. as they too always seem to lack all of the information as to where they where in Vietnam. If you served in Vietnam, you need to own this book.

This is a very informative book. A lot of detail & a lot of information regarding Vietnam & the bases, outposts, etc., In Country. I've taken to bringing it when I get together with fellow Vietnam Vets & having them find where they were & signing the page. It's helped me learn more about where a lot of 'brothers' were stationed & what their role was in Vietnam. It's pricey, but for me, it was worth it.

I was expecting a complete listing of all of the firebases, LZ's and all of the other locations that made up my experiences in the war. While many of the locations I was stationed at or passed through were listed, too many of the places that we fought for our very lives are missing. I bought this book in the Kindle format. Don't do that. You need to get the real book to read all of the maps and details. The Kindle version requires a magnifying glass to read the maps and many of them are not readable, even with the magnifying glass. However, the verbal part of the book is well documented and very complete as to those names that it actually mentions. Highly recommended except prepare for disappointment if you want a truly complete listing of all of the places in Vietnam.

GREAT BOOK WITH A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION FOR THOSE WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM DURING THE 60s AND 70s.

I was very excited when I first saw this title, it's content and it's high rating and I downloaded it immediately. Then I opened it - and what a disappointment! it may be a great book in hard copy form, but it is next to useless for reading on an iPad, because none of the maps or charts are of sufficient resolution to be readable, once they are expanded to a usable type size. This book is loaded with maps, charts and diagrams; these are where the value of the book is found. I may order the book itself - and probably will - but if you are thinking of buying it wirelessly, make sure that you download a sample first to avoid disappointment.

This was a pretty comprehensive book, but as the author stated some would spot omissions or minor mistakes, which I did. My only real beef was that the maps were impossible to read, especially with old eyes. The maps could have been better if they were only one to a page. Overall the $26.00 I spent was worth it, considering what the author went through to get the info.