The Proud Bastards: One Marine's Journey from Parris Island Through the Hell of Vietnam

by E.Michael Helms

Book Overview

A riveting memoir of one marine rifleman's journey from Parris Island through the hell of Vietnam and the Tet Offensive with the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines.

In 1967, a young E. Michael Helms boarded a bus to the legendary grounds of Parris Island, where mere boys were forged into hardened Marines--and sent to the jungles of Vietnam. It was the first stop on a journey that would forever change him--and by its end, he would be awarded...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743483243
• ISBN13: 9780743483247
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Pocket Star
• Length: 273 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.3" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Awsome Book

One of the best Marine Corp, and Vietnam related books that I have ever read. Really gives a sense of what the Marines and Vietnam were like. I would recommend it to anyone.

A banquet of emotions: I laughed, I cried, I mourned

"The Proud Bastards" is not about war; it's about a man who went to war, a 20th century hero's journey told with gut-wrenching truth. Follow Mike as he leaves his ordinary world, still an idealistic boy. Laugh as he endures often hilarious and grueling days of Marine boot camp. Then follow him on to the dark, frightening culture shock of war-torn Vietnam. It is an odyssey that takes you from boyhood dreams to adulthood's most gruesome reality. Not for males only, it is an insightful look into the soul of a young man as he faces the challenges of battle and brings home the precious elixir--life.

101st. vet declares "Not just another Viet Nam war story!"

This isn't just another book telling you about jungle combat in Viet Nam. Mike Helms thrusts an M-16 in your hands and drags you along as he tromps through the mud and blood of firefights and ambushes. Your stomach will tighten into knots. Fear will gnaw away at your mind as you climb to the top of another vine covered hill. Feel adrenaline flow as bullets buzz your head and stitch the ground in front of you. Learn why Veterans hold tightly to one another years after the war has ended, why some wake screaming in the night. As a Viet Nam combat veteran, I've experienced the horror Mike tells so vividly. He has mastered the technique of putting the reader into the hot seat. I was grateful when the book ended and I could close the cover and cry. Mike has every right to be one proud bastard.

If there was a six star rating, Proud Bastards would get it.

As a career fighter pilot and a retired colonel with a combat tour in Southeast Asia, I always wanted to know what the war was like in the trenches--now I do. Don't pick this book up unless you like those stories that reach out, grab you and won't let go. This one did just that. I couldn't put it down. When the author was at Marine boot camp, so was I. When he faced the North Vietnamese Army, so did I. When he was severely wounded, I felt it. Proud Bastards is in the same league with Born on the Fourth of July and Private Ryan. Mike Helms' book is the "Top Gun" of Vietnam War sagas--a must read.

A fine book, it kept me turning pages until I finished.

I've seen many of the Vietnam War movies (Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Born in the USA). To me, The Proud Bastard would make the best movie of all because it's written by a grunt who was there. I'm a former magazine editor who doesn't read much these days. A friend told me about The Proud Bastards and I obtained a copy. I couldn't put it down, and read it cover to cover although that cost me some sleep. Its stream of consciousness style reminds me of works by Jim Harrison, an author I greatly admire. It is a gutsy, no-holds-barred account of the way things were in the trenches. I can't believe it hasn't already become grist for a movie.