The Band Never Played for Us; The Vietnam War as seen by a Marine Rifleman in 1967
Mason, IL: Ronald G. Goddard and Lulu Publishing Services, 2017. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. xv, [1], 407, [1] pages. Maps. Photographs. Post card and business card promotional material laid in. Minor DJ wear noted. Ronald G. Goddard grew up seeing Hollywood movies that showed American troops boarding ships and going off to World War II with bands playing and well-wishers swarming docks to give soldiers rousing sendoffs. But when his troop transport ship left San Diego Harbor for Vietnam in March 1967, there were no patriotic farewells. It would be a chilling wake-up call for Goddard and his fellow marines of Golf Company, 2nd Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. He shares an accurate account of their experiences in this autobiography. From being issued an M16 rifle that jammed to being baptized in a blaze of fire on the front lines, he reveals what he learned about fighting the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Regular Army troops in the rice paddies and jungles from DaNang to the DMZ. At nineteen years old, Goddard was a corporal leading squad sized patrols. Henry Zeybel a Vietnam War veteran, reviewed/described this book and particularly praised the chapter "September. 21, 1967, Battle at Phu Oc." Zeybel observed "Based on his experiences as a squad leader in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment from March to October 1967, Goddard concludes: “The problem every American infantry leader had in Vietnam, from a battalion commander to a fire team leader, was that we didn’t know the terrain as well as the enemy, and we never knew what we were getting into until we were in it.” Wounded three times, Goddard saw more than enough action to validate his opinion. He understood that Marines were both “the hunter and the hunted,” and recognized the “fine line between aggressively pursuing the enemy and getting yourself sucked into an ambush.” The core of his book describes and analyzes on-the-ground warfare in Vietnam based on Goddard’s experiences and day-by-day accounts of his squad’s activities. Even a reader familiar with Vietnam War infantry operations should find interest in Goddard’s efforts to devise tactics to protect his men and to outwit the NVA. He brings to life what he learned firsthand.
Another review, anonymous, identified as a historian, researcher, advisor to museums, reviewer, and military history collector reviewed this book as follows: "Every now and then a personal story emerges from a war that grabs the attention of the reader, then a community, and eventually perhaps a Nation. The Red Badge of Courage was one such work, as was All Quiet on the Western Front. A book does not have to be 'fiction' to capture the imagination and convey the reality of the individual and collective experience of war. The Band Never Played for Us has the potential to become one such book--and merits such serious attention and readership because it is based on real life experience by one of America's best--one of the Few, the Proud, the Marines. Sergeant Goddard takes the reader deep into jungle warfare, from training camp to hell through to demobilization. Like some of the Civil War memoirs, his story is one of both Camp and Battlefield. Unlike the Civil War soldiers, North and South, or those who returned from the two World Wars, there were no public parades and appropriate recognition for those returning. (It was for the generation of soldiers from Desert Storm and Desert Shield to embrace the Vietnam War veterans into their recognition events.) There is a sense of individual accomplishment and collective loss throughout this compelling work--a reflection perhaps of the American experience in the Vietnam War." Condition: As new / as new.
Keywords: Vietnam War, Viet Cong, North Vietnamese Regular Army, NVA, Phu Oc, Rifleman, Ground Combat, Jungle Warfare, Military Training, Camp Pendleton, Camp Evans, Hill 55, Operation Kingfisher, Con Thien, Dong Ha, Hill 22, Operation Shawnee, Thua Tien, Bi T
ISBN: 9781483463117
[Book #80396]
Price: $41.99