James R. McDonough
Autor von Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat
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- male
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- USA
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- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
United States Military Academy
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This is the second time I've read this book. When I first started reading about Vietnam I wanted to find out what the US was doing there aside from reading about it from historical accounts which I knew to be slanted politically and often unreliable factually. Memoirs became the easiest way to find out what soldiers, marines, airman and sailors were occupied with in their own words. I have learned so much from Vietnam memoirs that some have been the most beautiful reflections I have ever read. War is war and it is never an easy topic to cover but books such as this make the sacrifices offered by thousands upon thousands of people somewhat understandable given the heartbreaking circumstances they were put in.
This book goes over the basic elements of military leadership. Care for his soldiers, making tough decisions which others might not agree with, dealing with ranking officers above him who may be incompetent, trying to make sense of a war policy that may not be able to achieve political victory even when a tactical loss is never suffered.
Probably not the most exciting book on the war or even the most profoundly felt one either. It is nevertheless a sincere work by Brooklyn man born of an Irish father and Italian mother and who was so proud of his country that he did not shrink from serving in a war that his newlywed wife must have agonized through. The book is written (1985) to pay homage to the men he served with who never received the rewards of a grateful nation once they returned home. McDonough does not seem to be religious or else deliberately removes those type of recollections from this book.… (mehr)