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No Safe Spaces: Marines in Vietnam

“A moving testimonial to the lads who answered their country’s call and whose devotion is brought to life in this searing, captivating account of infantry combat in Vietnam."General Jim Mattis, U.S. Marines (ret.) & 26th Secretary of DefenseFollow a 17 year old Marine recruit through Marine Corps boot camp at Parris island and a combat tour in Vietnam. The gripping accounts of ambushes in the jungle, firefights in rice paddies, and night watches in listening posts. There is humor, horror, sadness at the loss of friends and primal fear. There is also bravery. During the entire Vietnam war, only one platoon in the US Marine Corps was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation. The engagement that brought about that distinction resulted in the members of that platoon being awarded a Medal of Honor, a Navy Cross, three Silver Stars, and a number of Bronze Stars. You will feel as if you were present when an understrength squad attacked an enemy force that outnumbered them fifteen to one, in order to prevent a rocket attack against the airbase in Da Nang. You will meet the young men, most of them still in their teens, who fought that brutal war.An expanded version of the best selling first edition. This second edition adds boot camp and infantry training. Three of the Parris Island drill instructors his boot camp platoon served in Vietnam at the same time as the recruits they trained. Two of them were killed in action. Members of the boot camp platoon, including the drill instructors, fought and died in battles from Da Nang to Khe Sanh. One drill instructor was a platoon sergeant whose unit was almost wiped out on the ghost patrol during the seige of Khe Sanh.This was a time when Marine infantry units experiened casualty rates approaching 85%.There were no safe spaces.Read more

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