A Sniper in the Arizona: 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, in the Arizona Territory, 1967

by John Culbertson and John J. Culbertson

Book Overview

"Morning was always a welcome sight to us. It meant two things. The first was that we were still alive. . . ." In 1967, death was the constant companion of the Marines of Hotel Company, 2/5, as they patrolled the paddy dikes, mud, and mountains of the Arizona Territory southwest of Da Nang. But John Culbertson and most of the rest of Hotel Company were the same lean, fighting Marines who had survived the carnage of Operation Tuscaloosa. Hotel's grunts...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804118701
• ISBN13: 9780804118705
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Facts, Truth and Leadership

I attended the same Sniper school as John Culbertson, have read both his books, A Sniper in the Arizona and Operation Tuscaloosa, fought in the same operations during the same time period and found both books to be factually accurate and extremely well written. His no-holds-barred approach to the truth is refreshing and unusual. John doesn't try to glorify the war, nor is he reticent about pointing out the errors that always occur in combat, but so few authors are wont to write about. Young Officers and NCO's should include both of these titles on their required reading list. Mr. Culbertson has unearthed dozens of "lessons learned" for the junior leaders of our military and presented them in an entertaining and truthful setting - The hell of the rice paddies and jungles of Vietnam during the most vicious fighting of the war.

Sniper Shniper!

I don't understand the harsh criticism of this book based on its title. John J. Culbertson attended 1st Marine Division Sniper School in Da Nang, and his secondary MOS reflects that fact. Readers who expect stories about lone gunmen perched in tree hides had better look under fiction for such a book."A Sniper in the Arizona" is the companion volume to Culbertson's superb "Operation Tuscaloosa," in which he chronicles the tenacity and heroism of a few good men pinned down on a sandbar by relentless enemy fire. In "A Sniper" the author continues his gritty and spare narrative of Hotel Company as they take on the VC/NVA in hostile villages on a piece of deadly real estate west of Da Nang. I almost feel I've bonded with Culbertson, Lafly, Gedzyk, Burns, et al, and I've gone back to re-read "Operation Tuscaloosa."This book keeps you reading. You hate to put it down. You can't wait to pick it up again. Gunny Mitchell's sniper course, Sgt. Wadley's wise leadership, Burns' obsession and breakdown, Lt. Pindel's love for his men all combine to offer a vivid picture of Marine Corps culture and esprit d'corps as it existed before Tet of 1968, when the media snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and began its campaign to demoralize the warriors in the field.There is plenty of suspense and tension here, so I don't know how one of the reviewers reported that he was bored. Check it out: "All we heard was [sic] clicking insects and the cries of monkeys high in the jungled canopy. The NVA soldiers would be coming. Moving like army ants up our mountain, higher and higher, until I would blink and one would be standing over me with his bayonet poised at my throat; a smiling North Vietnamese killer that felt no pain, no mercy, no conscience. They were coming, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do but wait."Pure warrior blood coursed through the veins of Culbertson and the other grunts of 2/5. These are the kind of men you want defending your homeland, your country, your children. Has the warrior spirit been able to survive the past thirty years of the feminization of American society under the self-loathing ideologues of the left? Clinton's attempt at getting homosexuals into the military is just one example of how this country's elite despise those who serve, fight, and sacrifice all for their countrymen.Read "Operation Tuscaloosa" first. Then sink your teeth into "A Sniper." You'll come face to face with the kind of men and the values that made this country great a long, long time ago.

Time trip

I followed John Culbertsons tour of duty in An Hoa and surrounding area by arriving in July of 67, and being assigned to H 2/5. His account although not known first hand by myself was pretty much substantiated by marines we both had known, and by my own tour as an 0311.Reading his account of daily survival,and running patrols,ambushs,LP's,etc,etc rings pretty true, and it brought me back to the frame of mind we all had then. STAYING ALIVE! His descriptions of your senses being razor sharp,and our battle hardened Marines putting up with conditions that most people can't even imagine while fighting in the Arizona territory, Antenna Valley,and various ville's throughout their TAOR are very accurate. If its wanting to know what combat with the Marines in 67 was like then this is your book.Although this may seem strange,but as I was reading it, it seemed like I had taken a time trip to the past.Thanks John for bringing me back to those days when the thrill, and terror of combat were two sides of the same coin.

a sniper in the arizona

As an avid reader of books that are personal true accounts of wartime experiences, I found this book fascinating! John Culbertson did an excellent job of getting to the point and telling the story without too much self glorification. I may be a little biased when I refer to this book. I am a close personal friend to one of the characters in the book. I guess that is why I commend Culbertson even more for writing this book. He was able to share his experiences with us and also share with us some of the wonderful and courageous Marines that fought by his side in the Vietnam War. This book also helps some of us who are too young to have lived in that era to understand our Marines and learn more history of the battles fought in Vietnam. This book is highly recommended to any Marines and anyone else who enjoys their freedom day by day!

True sacrifices of the young marines

This book made me aware of the real sacrifices of American Marines barely old enough to drive a car. This is one of the most sensitive and compelling stories of combat I've read. Our American troops did not loose the war in Vietnam on the battlefield. These Marines were true heros in every sense of the word.