Product Description
This book covers the US Marine Corps in the Vietnam War, centring on the structure and function of the two Fleet Marine Force (FMF) divisions and the corps command level, III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF). This detailed examination of III MAF explores its infantry, armor, artillery, aviation, service and engineer elements. Author Ed Gilbert explains how they functioned and highlights tensions that arose in the command structure as the war progressed. He also illustrates how the two FMF divisions bore the brunt of the fighting in the more conventional war against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army units, and the very different role of the four Combined Action Battalions based in Viatnamese Villages. ... Read more

Product Description
US Army, Combat Trauma Treatment and Management Handbook, Survival Medical Manual

Introduction to Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries…………………1-6
Introduction to Ballistic, Blast and Burn Injuries
Small arms, wounding agents, and their effects
Explosive munitions, wounding agents and their effects
Flame and incendiary munitions and their agents and effects
Medical Implications of Conventional weapons
Treat a Casualty with a Burn Injury………..……………….………7-16
Mechanism of injury and eliminate the source of burn
Assess the severity of the burn
Manage the casualty with thermal burns
Manage the casualty with chemical burns
Manage the casualty with electrical burns
Manage the casualty with inhalation burns
Treat a Casualty with a Heat Injury……………...………………..17-21
Recognize an environmental emergency
Identify and manage heat injuries
General assessment and prevention of heat illness
MOPP Gear
Treat a Casualty with a Cold Injury………………………….……22-28
Recognize an environmental Emergency
Perform general assessment and prevention of cold injuries
Perform specific assessment and management of cold injuries
Treat a Casualty with Ocular Injury……………………………….29-30
Assess and provide emergency medical care for an injury to the eye
Treatment steps for an ocular impalement
Treat a Casualty with a Head Injury………..…………...……...…31-37
Assess and identify the severity of the head injury
Assess and provide emergency medical care fro traumatic facial injury
Identify specific head injuries
Treat a Casualty with a Spine Injury..…………………………….38-44
Identify immobilization devices
Identify and treat injuries to the spine
Identify injuries to the neck
Spinal immobilization using backboards
Treat a Casualty with a Musculoskeletal Injury…………………45-55
Assess the musculoskeletal injury
Provide emergency care for extremity injuries
Treat specific joint injury
Principles of splinting
Treat a Casualty with a Abdominal Injury………………..………56-58
Determine mechanism of injury
Provide emergency care for an abdominal injury
Treat a Casualty Chest Injury………………..…………………..…59-66
Review of the thorax, mechanism of injury, and general assess of thoracic trauma
Identify major, immediate life-threatening thoracic injuries
Identify potential life-threatening thoracic injuries
Identify other chest injuries
Appendix A – Treat a Casualty with a Spine Injury, Competency Skill Sheets
Appendix A – Treat a Casualty with a Spine Injury, Competency Skill Sheets
Appendix B – Treat a Casualty with a Chest Injury, Competency Skill Sheets ... Read more

Product Description
This Marine Corps album was designed by a Vet, and is made in America for Vets, active duty service members as well as those of you in basic training. It can be used as a scrapbook, a photo album, or a memory book for those of you who have served. Or, it can also be used in any combination of these three of these options. If you are just coming on active duty, it can be also be used as a daily journal. Archival pocket pages are ideal for preserving cherished documents such as orders, training certificates, award citations, decorations, patches, challenge coins and any of your other Marine Corps memorabilia. This affordable 3-ring style binder is infinitely flexible. Each album becomes a treasured family heirloom and an important genealogical record. Specs: Red vinyl leatherette, with the Marine Corps seal and lettering embossed in gold. 11 x 11.5 cover, 3-ring steel binder, with thumb releases. Includes 20 clear vinyl archival (acid free) pages: 10 1-pocket pages, 4 2-pocket pages, 4 4-pocket pages, and 2 20-pocket pages. Additional pocket pages can be purchased from us, or perhaps locally from office supply stores. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not a good value. A glorified photo album.
I was let down by the quality of this product. It is just a plain 3 ring binder with a Marine logo on the front. I paid more than what the item was worth in my opinion. I should have not decided to be so cheap and go with this particular item. I got what I paid for. It is a 3 ring binder with about 10 plastic inserts for photos, etc. ... Read more

Product Description
The US Marine Raiders were an 'elite within an elite'. They were modeled on the British Commandos and, in the 2nd Battalion, also on Communist Chinese guerillas.They were organized to conduct long-range amphibious hit-and-run raids behind Japanese lines and trained to secure beacheads in advance of more conventional landings. Raiders were trained to land from submarines, specially converted high-speed destroyer transports, and small craft and rubber boats. They were expected to be skilled in watercraft, jungle survival, and jungle warfare. They were the earliest forerunners of the various Special Operations units of the modern US military.

Raider units would conduct operations with only the equipment they could carry on their backs, their heaviest weapons being light mortars and machine guns. They were the first American units to be issued with specially manufactured camouflage uniforms and rubber-soled boots developed for jungle warfare. Highly trained in close-in fighting, they carried many distinctive weapons such as the Fairbairn Commando dagger, the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), the Thompson submnachine gun and even the British Boys Anti-Tank Rifle.

The Raiders battle honors include Guadalcanal, as well as the Solomon Islands and the Dragon Peninsula campaign. This book follows two Raiders from different battalions through some of the toughest training ever experienced by a Marine and onto combat during the Makin Raid and the horrific jungle battles of the Solomon Islands giving a soldier's eye view of life, combat and death in this 'elite within an elite'. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gung Ho!
One of the best Osprey books, this one summarizes the short history of the U.S. Marine Corps Raiders in World War II.

While Colonel Darby was forming the army Rangers for the North African and European theatres of operation, Merrit Edson and Evans Carlson were tarining similar commando-units of Marines for the Pacific campaigns.

Merrit Edson was a former Marine Corps aviator, a veteran of counter-insurgency operations in Central America, a staunch advocate of Marine Corps rifle-marksmanship, and a primary developer of the amphibious-warfare concept. He and his Raiders would find theirultimate defining moment defending a vital piece of terrain on Guadalcanal from a massive Japanese assault.

Evans Carlson had been an army-officer in World War I. He resigned his commission, and joined the Marines as an enlisted man. He was re-commissioned as a Marine Corps officer. Most notoriously, he briefly resigned his Marine commission to serve with Mao Tze Tung's communist rebels in China, and learned much about guerilla-warfare in the process. Resuming his place in the Marines, he applied his new knowledge to the Pacific war, especially the raid on Makin Island.

Certain elements were highly opposed to the commando-concept in the Marine Corps, not realizing that special-operations would grow in prominence in the coming decades. It was Evans Carlson's connections with the Roosevelt family, (Franklin Roosevelt's son was a U.S.M.C. officer) that certainly helped the Raiders come into being. Their operatinal history was short, but their exploits were legendary! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A great all-in-one resource on U.S World War II Aircraft
Includes extensive info and photos on all the great U.S planes of WWII. And I had no trouble finding the (Curtiss) Helldiver, "Vultee", Catalina, Avenger, and Liberator, alongwith many many more.

Highlyrecommended!

This book is excellant source of infomation
This book is great! There is only one flaw; it don't included other planes like Helldiver(mind you, I like this plane),Vultee,Catalina,Avenger, and Liberator. ... Read more

Product Description
D-Day Japan V-J Day The Atom Bomb: they are only a small part of the poorly recorded, distorted and obliterated history of World War II in Asia and the Pacific. This book will show the unbelievable loss of life and horrors of what would have been D-Day in Japan, which was prevented by the atomic bomb, and V-J Day well before D-Day Japan. The atom bomb was 100% correct, and this book will tell you why. It ended the rape, torture, killing contests, cannibalism, and murder of 30,000,000 civilian men, women and children by the Japanese. This true account of history will tell you why all Americans should have a clear conscience about the bomb. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Two war heros take on d-day japan
After reading this book, I have more insight on why the bomb was dropped. The illustrations show the horror of that war and the Japanese Holocaust.

I now understand why the bomb was necessary. I was a child during this period and only looking back can I see what really happened.
A must read for anyone who questioned the atomic bomb decision.

Sloppy editing and bad writing.
Okay, let's begin with the fact that I completely agree with the two authors' contention that the atom bombs SHOULD have been dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs saved millions of lives - both Allied and Japanese by making an invasion of the Japanese mainland unnecessary in the Fall of 1945.

However, their book is badly written and edited.

A few examples that I remember. "Celeste Holmes" should be "Celeste Holm". (What American man of that generation wouldn't know the correct spelling of her name?). Robert E. Lee graduated West Point in 1829, NOT 1879 (Since he died, according to Wiki, in 1870, graduating nine years after his death would have indeed been a feat!). Also, "Enrico Ferni" should be "Enrico Fermi".

Those are just the three that I found. The problem with finding factual errors is that if there arethree wrong that I found, how many more are wrong that I DIDN'T catch? And in a book of non-fiction, that's fatal for an author who wants the reader to believe what he is writing is factually correct.

Also, the authors repeat the same canards over and over. We, the readers, know after the second long mention of the Japanese atrocities all over north Asia and southeast Asia. To keep writing about the same things, time after time, is mind-numbing and a waste of time for the reader. This book could have been 2/3 the size with proper and judicious editing.

I know the two authors, both WW2 veterans, wanted to write a book supporting their thesis (and mine) that dropping the bomb when and where the US did was correct. There have been way-too-many naysayers and revisionists over the years rewriting history. I just wish these two writers had chosen to have their work edited. It would have made the book much better. ... Read more

Product Description
US Marine Corps, First Aid, MCRP 3-02G, Survival Medical Manual

PREFACE
This manual meets the first aid training needs of individual service
members. Because medical personnel will not always be readily available,
the nonmedical service members must rely heavily on their own skills and
knowledge of life-sustaining methods to survive on the integrated battlefield.
This publication outlines both self-aid and aid to other service members
(buddy aid). More importantly, it emphasizes prompt and effective action in
sustaining life and preventing or minimizing further suffering and disability.
First aid is the emergency care given to the sick, injured, or wounded before
being treated by medical personnel. The term first aid can be defined as
“urgent and immediate lifesaving and other measures, which can be
performed for casualties by nonmedical personnel when medical personnel
are not immediately available.” Nonmedical service members have received
basic first aid training and should remain skilled in the correct procedures for
giving first aid. This manual is directed to all service members. The
procedures discussed apply to all types of casualties and the measures
described are for use by both male and female service members. ... Read more

Product Description
Designed originally as a carrier-borne interceptor armed only with missiles, its beginnings were so promising that the USAF adopted it as a tactical fighter ands was quickly followed by an impressive number of other air forces around the world which explains why certain examples are still in service today. The evolution of the Phantom goes back to the summer of 1953 when McDonnel gave one of his engineer teams the task of modernizing one of its earlier creations: the F3H Demon. In July 1959, the F4H-1 was officially christened Phantom II as a tribute to the McDonnelL FH-1, the first American jet plane designed in 1953 and intended for carrier-borne from the outset. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

PRETTY --INACCURATE
SAVE YOUR MONEY!!

It never ceases to amaze me how many reviews for books rate them as 5-stars, without qualification other than how pretty their pictures and drawings are.In this case, one reviewer went so far as to say the illustrations were "accurate to perfection."Come again??? I looked at this book in a bookstore and was astonished to find that the author has many, many errors regarding something as basic as being able to distinguish earlierF-4B/J models from their later, rebuilt versions known as the F-4N and F-4S.Look at the upper intakes shoulders for the semi-tubular fairing of the AN/ALQ-126 ECM antennae on the F-4N and F-4S, which are NOT present on the F-4B or F-4J.It is a key ID recognition feature for a breakout of the various models.To be perfectly blunt, if one does not know this, there is no business writing a book about Navy/USMC Phantoms, or reviewing same.The author did mention these antennae in his text but this brings me to the other issue of proofing and editing:one reference for the AN/ALQ-126 is mistyped as ALAQ-126, a designation that simply doesn't exist. Reject this and any other book that makes such basic errors and shows that the publishers do not demand proper fact-checking, proofing or editing.Too many "junk" books like this are on the market and essentially rip off those who don't know the subject matter well.Readers have a reasonable expectation that published books are accurate, but there is increasing evidence that publishers only care about cranking out volume and don't care a whit about accuracy. Authors and publishers who engage in this kind of incompetence should be avoided.

I would also recommend that unless a publishers allows a close look at the contents of their books, they should be avoided with suspicion and I call upon Amazon to insist that they either make examples available--with legible text--or Amazon won't carry them.This would avoid a lot of the problems.In this case, yes, you do get to see some samples of the pretty illustrations but the text is illegible.When I first saw the book, I was anxious to have a look.As an aircraft historian, author and a weapons systems maintainer of F-4D/RF-4C Phantoms, and an imagery interpreter on RF-4C imagery,I really looked forward to the book.Within just a few minutes, that same experience had me angered and disgusted.The book went back on the shelf and, if it is any indication of what this publisher puts out, I will never consider another of their products in the future.

As for the other reviewers,please take a look at the contents of this book and consider revising your high 5-star ratings.The book does not deserve such praise.It is visually attractive but it has absolutely no credibility.A 5-star rating also damages the credibility of those who rate it so highly.

Frankly, I am stunned that anybody who knows anything about the Phantom would praise this book, and I suspect that it has not been condemned by more people simply because true Phabulous Phantom 'Aphicionados' have not taken a look.If they had, they would be appalled at how wrong this book is.

Phantastic and colorful
This French publisher continues to put out worthwhile books, and this is the first of a multi-part series on the Phabulous Phantom.As with earlier volumes in this series, this is primarily a book of color side-view drawings.A brief 4-page synopsis describes the original development of the F-4 and a description of each of the navy variants, followed by 2 pages describing the aircraft's camouflage and markings in general terms.The rest of the book covers all the squadrons in numerical order, each squadron getting one or two pages of coverage, providing a brief history of the squadron's use of the F-4 and a picture of the squadron badge, along with from 3 to 7 side views of squadron Phantoms in a variety of color variations.Although these are primarily left-side views, there are a few top and bottom views to show certain variations.Special navy squadrons such as the VC and VX squadrons are covered, followed by the Marine Corps VMFA squadrons, as well as Marine reconnaissance squadrons flying RF-4Bs.About the only negative comment has to do with a few errors in translation and proofreading, often a weakness of H&C books.Even with all that has already been written about the F-4, I think all Phantomphiles will want a copy of this book in their collection of references.

One of the best titles in an excellent series--or any series, period!!
Histoire & Collections (French publishers, who sometimes favor us with titles in English as with this one) have outdone themselves with Gerard Paloque's McDonnell F-4 Phantom Volume 1: US Navy and US Marine Corps.This book is filled with well over 100 stunning (and accurate to perfection) full color side-view and occasional four-view drawings of Phantoms of every Navy and Marine squadron ever to fly this classic fighter, of which more than 5,000 were built. There is worthwhile and informative text about the various units and their respective histories.

But it is the artwork which steals the day!Rarely has such a monograph been offered the enthusiast, although the regular citizenry can certainly appreciate it too.Just the schemes showing this plane in its Bicentennial Celebration (1976) colors from different squadrons is worth its "at a steal price."Also depicts every model and form the Naval/Marine F-4 flew in.Many of the color schemes were gorgeous, if that's the right term for a warplane.

Don't pass this up! I look forward to what I hope will be two more volumes -- US Air Force (not nearly as colorful as the Navy/Marine ones)and non-US Phantoms.ENJOY!!!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Down-to-earth introduction to Marine boot camp
Devil Dog Diary is not great literature, not written by a skilled wordsmith. What it IS is a very honest, genuine, approachable account in easy-to-understand language of one young man's journey through Marine Corps boot camp.As such, it is invaluable.

I confess that I liked Keeping Faith (Frank Schaeffer) and Making the Corps (Thomas Ricks) better; they were more reflective and somehow more noble.:-)But I'm fairly certain that my 18-year-old son would have preferred GySgt Price's Devil Dog.It is geared toward a young audience and doesn't make any attempt at pretense.

I wish we had discovered GySgt's account before my son left for basic, but I believe that he will enjoy my copy immensely when he returns home.And for those of us parents waiting at home, Devil Dog Diary may be the closest we will ever come to attempting to understand the experience our young people are living, enabling us to be more supportive of our beloved young warriors and more appreciative of their courage and sacrifice, than we could have been otherwise.

Loved It!
This is one of the best books I've ever read!! It's really inspiring in everyday life, not just if you want to become a marine. It's funny, serious, impactfull. I have suggested this book to all my friends and family; I completely LOVE IT!!

Great Account
I thought the book was a great account and i found theat the day by day writting of it gave me alot of details most people leave out when telling you what to expect in boot camp.

A Good Read
My husband is currently a Drill Instructor on Parris Island, so this was very interesting to me. Although there are some differences in Recruit training these days, it was still a good read. I read it in two days and wished there was more!

The Real Deal
I really enjoyed GYSGT Price's tale of his days at boot camp. My son is at camp now and I dont know
much of the details of his daily life there.This book provided me a peep hole into that world. I enjoyed the humor and the transformation of this writer. Ooo Rah!!
... Read more

Product Description
John Carey was brought up in a suburb of Boston. His knowledge of world events was influenced by the weekly newsreels he saw at the local movie house, showing the unrest in Europe, Asia, and labor/management strikes in his own country as the Depression ended.He was a junior in high school when Pearl Harbor was bombed and part of a group of teenagers, not yet of enlistment age, who feared the war would end before they had a chance to 'get even' with those who attacked the USA.His education in the real world started with Boot Camp in '42 where he learned to exist, in a platoon of recruits from every walk of life, under the direction of uncompromising Marine Corps drill instructors. He witnessed the segregation in the South, and was trained as a scout sniper in still primitive American Samoa. He joined the Third Marine Division on Guadalcanal and was in the assault wave on Cape Torikina on Bougainville and spent the next two months when many men were wounded and died in a Hell on Earth.The purpose of this book is to put on record some of the events and attitudes as we entered the war. It then tells the story of many Marines, many of whom performed deeds in combat that were never recorded, never recognized, and quickly forgotten by all but a few. This is his effort to record those deeds for their children and grandchildren and report what he witnessed.He proudly describes himself as a Green Marine: young men who enlisted in the Marine Corps reserve for the duration of the war-plus six months. The Green Marines were never issued the fancy dress blue uniforms. They had only dungarees, khakis for summer and greens for winter. They joined to help win the war and now that it was over they wanted to return to a life without blind obedience or excessive protocol. The Green Marines left the Marine Corps with their heads high and proud of the service they provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great read
This is a great first hand 'you are there' account of what life in the Marines in WWII was like. It's an easy read. I couldn't put it down. It really puts you in the experience. I think it ranks well with Eugene Sledge's books. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
The US Marine Corps Winter Survival Manual is chock full of survival tips, tricks, and methods for survival in harsh winter environments.A must read for anyone serious about surviving in cold climates. ... Read more

Product Description
US Army, Medical Handbook Core Skills, Survival Medical Manual

Perform a Casualty Assessment…………………………………………………………1-9
• Determine threats
• Initial casualty assessment
• AMPLE history
• Immediate life-threatening injuries
• Additional casualty assessment
Airway Management and Oxygen Therapy……………………………………………10-22
• Establish an airway
• Assess for airway obstruction
• Provide oxygen
• Suction the airway
• Combitube intubation
Control Bleeding……………………………...……………………………………………23-28
• Identify external bleeding
• Identify internal bleeding
• Review dressing and bandages
Treat for Shock……………………………….…………………………………………….29-36
• Definition of shock
• Assess for shock
• Provide medical care
Appendix A - Perform a Casualty Assessment, Competency Skill Sheets
• Primary survey
• Primary and secondary survey
Appendix B - Airway Management and Oxygen Therapy, Competency Skill Sheets
• Nasal Trumpet
• J Tube
• Combitube intubation
• Needle chest decompression
Appendix C - Control Bleeding, Competency Skill Sheets
• Primary survey
• IV infusion
• Mechanical methods
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Overview of the US Marine Corps as it Fought World War II
This work is entitled a "Handbook", and in that sense it covers the organization, equipment, amphibious vehicles and other factors that made the US Marine Corps what it was during World War II.It is NOT a history of the Marine Corps or a history of the campaigns fought in World War II.Interestingly enough, it is written by an Englishman, rather from the point of view of an outsider looking in.Apparently a lot of information was extracted from the pamphlets produced by the Marine Corps Historical Center entitled, "World War II Commemorative Series."

The section on amphibious landings was probably the most interesting and the author describes the plan for the Iwo Jima landing in great detail.The reader should be reminded that the Marine Corps was never thrown off a beachhead in an attack (if one overlooks the Carlson's Raider's foray in 1942.)It must be remembered that there is no retreat when attacking a beach -- it is go forward or die.

The photographs are often publicity photos, but that hardly detracts from the narrative.Groups such as the Raiders, Paramarines and glider troops are covered as well as Marine Aviation.Surprisingly, the author spends a whole chapter on the USMC Women's Reserve.Some of the best information is included in tables giving statistics and details on equipment.

As a result, this book is a fine introduction to the Marine Corps, but can hardly be called a definitive work.I recommend it to those who would like background information on the Marine Corps while studying World War II to see how the Marine Corps was organized, how it fought, and with what equipment it went into battle. ... Read more

Product Description
US Army, DENTAL INSTRUMENT SETUPS, SUBCOURSE MD0503, EDITION 200, Survival Medical Manual

In order to obtain maximum benefit from professional capabilities of the Dental
Corps, a carefully organized dental service system providing technical and administrative support for professional personnel is necessary. Dental specialists and other auxillary personnel play very important roles in making this possible. A dental officer working with an efficient assistant can provide better and substantially more dental care than by working alone.

The subcourses in the Army correspondence course program for dental specialists
are not designed to turn out completely trained personnel. This can be accomplished only by close supervision while in an on-the-job status. The subcourses are designed to provide a review for personnel working in the dental area and provide the basic fundamentals and techniques for personnel interested in the auxiliary dental fields.

This subcourse presents a general discussion of the instruments, their use, and the
instrument setups used with the various procedures of dentistry, including basic
examination, anesthetic, restorative, surgical, periodontic, endodontic, and prosthodontic.

This subcourse consists of five lessons and two appendixes. The lessons and
appendixes are as follows:
Lesson 1, The Basic Examination and Anesthetic Instruments.
Lesson 2, Restorative Instruments.
Lesson 3, Surgical Instruments.
Lesson 4, Periodontic and Endodontic Instruments.
Lesson 5, Prosthodontic Instruments.
Appendix A, Typical Instrument Setups.
Appendix B, List of Instruments Used in Restorative Procedures. ... Read more

Product Description
US Army, CARDIAC RHYTHM INTERPRETATION, SUBCOURSE MD0571, EDITION 200, Survival Medical Manual

INTRODUCTION
In this subcourse, you will study recognition of cardiac dysrhythmias. This
information will aid you in maintaining and improving the health of soldiers. In that
pursuit, do your best to achieve the objectives of this subcourse.
Subcourse Components:

This subcourse consists of one lesson:
Lesson 1, Dysrhythmia Recognition. ... Read more

Product Description
Lee E Russell utilises his expert knowledge to guide us through the post-WWII history of the Marines, chronicling their involvement in Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon and Grenada. The account includes such remarkable exploits as the gruelling Chosin Reservoir campaign, which proved a supreme test of courage and discipline with the Marines isolated and overwhelmingly outnumbered in an unhospitable terrain where temperatures reached as low as -35F at night - they nevertheless emerged unbeaten - and the siege of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam conflict, providing a comprehensive overview of the history, organisation, appearance and equipment of these famous troops ... Read more

Product Description
When the first wounded Marines arrived from Korea in the fall of 1950, Charles Hughes was a Navy hospital corpsman working on the wards at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California.He was gripped by the stories those young men told. Too young for World War II and having missed that opportunity, Hughes now discovered in himself a strong desire to escape routine ward duties and travel to the country whose existence he had just recently learned about and find out what combat is really like.He and his friend Ollie Langston decided to volunteer for the Fleet Marine Force.Just days after they submitted their request they found themselves undergoing combat training at Camp Pendleton, the Marine base at Oceanside, California.Their desire to see what combat was like was more than satisfied in the months that followed.

Accordion War: Korea 1951 - Life and Death in a Marine Rifle Company is a detailed personal account of combat in the Korean War during its most violent "blitzkrieg" phase, the first third of the three-year war.While the descriptions of battles are up close and graphic, the conflict is also viewed from the perspective of the 21st century, from a keen awareness of the wars since —Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and the war on terror.Interwoven into the narrative is a meditation on life, death and war —on the question of why men spend so much treasure and blood fighting one another.The setting is the Republic of Korea, a beautiful country whose citizens fought for their freedom alongside United Nations forces, a people who have, since the war, emerged from the shadows of history to become cultural and technological leaders in the modern world.But Accordion War is first of all the story of a band of brothers and the battles they fought half way round the world in the rugged mountains of the country known as "the Land of the Morning Calm".

Fifty years before all America and the world were horror-struck by images of exploding planes and falling towers, September 11 was seared into the memories of the men in How Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Regiment, First Marine Division.There is a connection between those two days exactly a half-century apart.That connection can be found not far from Ground Zero in the village of Stewart Manor on Long Island inscribed on a memorial plaque dedicated to victims of 9/11 — and in this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Best read for infantrymen concerning Korean War
If you want to know what life is like in a rifle company I suggest you purchase this book. This is the story of the day to day grind that grunts bear over and over. Spend your money and enjoy.

A "Doc's" view of Korea
There is nobody more important when a Marine comes under fire than their "Doc." Navy corpsmen live, work, fight, and die with their Marines, and build a relationship with their Devil Dogs that is as deep as that between the Marines themselves.

Author Charles Hughes was a corpsman in Korea with "How" Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. Too young for WW2, Hughes joined the Navy and volunteered to join to Fleet Marines in order to "see some action."His wish was granted, and this exceptionally well-written book is his memoir of his time in Korea.

Professor emeritus of English at Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Ark., Hughes is a gifted writer who spent considerable time and effort recalling his experiences and thoughts from some 56 years ago. In comparison to those macho stories of many veterans, Hughes recalls his private mantra when in battle "Oh God; please don't let me die." In between his stories of combat with "His" Marines of H Company, Hughes has skillfully added his philosophy on war and killing and his life after his military service.

This is one of the rare books that begs to be read in one reading. Hughes's stories of combat and life in Korea are lively; the reader can smell both the gunpowder and the kimchi. Korea may be a war unknown to the current generation, but books like "Accordion War: Korea 1951" will give the reader an appreciation of what young men like Charles Hughes and his Marines endured. Well done, Doc.

Accordion War: Korea 1952
This is an excellent book and well written.It covered the time my husband was in Korea and brought back many memories - good and bad.Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this era.

Heart and Soul--Blood and Love
Charles Hughes saw the best and the worst of warfare in Korea as a medical corpsman in the USMC.Here are plenty of fireworks for those who like action adventure, and here are the Thoreauvian reflections of a wise and good man who writes beautifully about his experiences. From the vantage point of his seventieth decade, he recalls the worst of the wounds he treated under fire, the personalities of the Marines with whom he marched, and the beauties of the land of Korea and its people. He also relates how these men who fought and bled together in the 1950's meet to this day and share the old stories and sense of brotherhood. Good Literature.Don't miss it.

hear the buzz of a near miss, feel the concussion of nearby explosives...
Charles Hughes is able to convey the feeling of day to day life in an infantry rifle company.His characters spring to life off the page, and you can share the terror and fear that punctuate the otherwise dusty, cold,miserable day to day experiences of the Marine rifleman, and his medical lifeline, the ubiquitous Navy Corpsman...

Plenty of history accompanies the narrative.read the history and myth surrounding the beginnings of this ancient land of the Morning Calm...

A thoroughly enjoyable read. ... Read more