No Shining Armor: The Marines at War in Vietnam?an Oral History

by Otto J. Lehrack

Book Overview

Winner: General Wallace M. Greene Award

"No more Vietnams "

A quarter century after the war in Vietnam, that battle cry brought a flag-waving nation to its feet and ignited the superpatriotism of the Gulf War era. But hard as we tried--with yellow ribbons and "We Support Our Troops" bumper stickers and Norman Schwarzkopf videos and Olympics-style homecoming celebrations--we couldn't seem to erase the disturbing memory...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0700605347
• ISBN13: 9780700605347
• Release Date: June 1992
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas
• Length: 426 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great Oral History

I enjoyed the recollections of the 3/3 Marines in Vietnam. It was the same unit my uncle served with during the war. I would suggest reading a history of the Marine Corp involvement in Vietnam with maps to follow the unit's movements to get the big picture of the war strategy. The political decisions during this time by our President's and a gutless US Congress made a no win outcome.

No holds barred look at life & death "in-country" as a marine

I have read many books on the Vietnam War, this book is up there with the best. It's done in an "easy to read" interview style that really keeps the narrative up & running, while giving a detailed account of a Marine company over several years in the war. It can be difficult to identify with individual characters in the book as there are lot's of personell changes throughout their time spent there as they are wounded, killed etc. but provides a fantastic overview of the Marines in combat & is not for the faint-hearted. I thouroughly recomend this book to anyone interested in the Vietnam War or Marines in combat.

In their own words...

Everyone, regardless of whether they were "for" or "against" the Vietnam War should READ THIS BOOK! It gives an unflinching, brutal and grim portrayal of ground combat by the men (specifically U.S. Marines) who know it best because they were there, they experienced it, and they lived to tell others about it. It shows what heroism and duty to country really are and it shows by the examples of these men. I've read many, many books, both fiction and non-fiction on the war, and none come close to giving the sense of how it really was for these men in ground combat in Vietnam.Many veterans are still paying the price in physical, psychological and/or emotional terms for doing their duty as American citizens. And most non-participants will never realize the sacrifices these citizens/soldiers made. Personally I have no knowledge myself since I was only 17 when the war ended in 1975, however, I am still un-nerved by the treatment these men received by fellow-countrymen then, and to some extent now (even though it is now "OK" to be a Vietnam veteran).Read this book and see how it truly was for these brave men in their own words (and for those of all the other services involved, as well). Whether you thought this war was good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral...READ THIS BOOK and see how it truly was for the soldiers fighting on the ground.

The human side that sustains existance even in a dirty war.

Otto Lehrack has edited a vast compilation of recollections of the front line grunts who fought the war up close and personal. The good, bad and grotesque are equally represented. Unlike the REMFs who conducted the war from air conditioned offices in the rear or in Washington, Lehrack talks with the foot soldiers who suffered, lost their buddies and were forever changed by their experiences. Perhaps most prominent is the unique sense of brotherhood embodied by these story tellers. Driven together by the senselessness of the Vietnam conflict they come together out of need for one another. This book hits home because of the clear message it sends; the troops didn't always know what they were fighting for but it was clear that they had to support one another if they were going to get home. As Capt John Ripley, winner of the Navy Cross in 1972 on his second tour puts it, "The worst that can be said about a Marine is that he wasn't around when we needed him, that we couldn't count on im. That was absolutely unthinkable to him." The Marines who recount their tale in this book provide a clear understanding of what it was like to spend thirteen months in-country with the enemy trying to kill you each and every day.Perhaps if Americans at home understood what was going on sooner this war might have had a different outcome. By the end of No Shining Armor, the reader will certainly have a new respect for the tremendous sacrifices made by those who chose to honor their country by serving in Vietnam.

Real life stories told by those who were there.

These are the words and reflections of Marines from one unit which saw a lot of combat action west and north of DaNang. The author has done a wonderful job of interviewing a good cross-section of officers and enlisted men and organizing their stories chronologically from 1966 to 1970. The pride of the Marines and these mostly young soldiers is evident even 30 years after the war. This is the "grunts" story told in their own words with humor, pride, and passion. J.Kratz, US Army, Vietnam '66-67, '70-71.