Merriam Press Vietnam War Series First Edition 2017. As you probably know, there are hundreds of books on a variety of topics about the Vietnam War. Many of these manuscripts deal with heroic actions and stories of courage and sacrifice. Professor Schaap's work does as well.
The majority of the other tomes published about this conflict are presented strictly in a historical perspective. Some books actually bounce around the course of military events that happened over a ten-year period of time. Besides, many of them-especially the memoirs-talk about the same old stuff-one combat event after another in an impersonal and unemotional way, using one vulgar word after another.
However, Dr. Schaap, an academician for over 38 years, has addressed the Vietnam War quite differently. He has adopted the individual side of this conflict in a more personal way. The author has also included a collection of his dangerous experiences and deadly missions that reflect what young warriors went through during the early phase of the Vietnam War. As such, this book is most touching as well as enlightening to read.
By comparison as well as product differentiation, Vietnam: My War-Five Decades Later is primarily about "educating" the first-time reader to what life was like for a typical combat Marine in Vietnam. Like some of the other books about Vietnam, it does cover key combat operational events. But it really goes well beyond that. Schaap's work reaches to the more poignant and emotional side of the reader. Further to this point, it shares with the reader, in a true-to-life way, with virtually no vulgarity, what a Marine Corps existence was like for the author for almost two full years, starting off by completing a full beachhead landing in Da Nang, Vietnam, and ending with him as a military policeman in Camp Pendleton, California.
Schaap's book provides the reader with what he or she needs to know about the Marines and the early part of this conflict. This is accomplished from a "big picture" as well as a "small-picture" standpoint. It is written in a way that youcan easily understand and appreciate.
99 photos/illustrations/maps
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Looking Back-Five Decades Ago
Chapter 2: Vietnam: Da Nang
Chapter 3: Vietnam: Reassigned to Another Unit
Chapter 4: Vietnam: Chu Lai
Chapter 5: Vietnam: Batangan Peninsula ... and More
Chapter 6: Vietnam: Que Son Valley
Chapter 7: Vietnam: An Trach
Chapter 8: Vietnam: It is Time to Go Home, or is It?
Chapter 9: Camp Pendleton: The Later Days
Chapter 10: Five Decades Later: So, What Does It All Mean?
Chapter 11: Epilogue
Glossary
Appendix 1: Vietnam War Statistics (20 tables)
Appendix 2: Myths and Facts About the Vietnam War
Appendix 3: Facts About the Vietnam War
Appendix 4: Presidential Unit Citation to the Third Marine Division (Reinforced)
