THE WALKING DEAD
There is more embellishment in this tall tale of a book. Like was said in one of the other reviews....to do all that was said and done in one tour as a Pfc is more fictional than truth. Don't waste your time and more important don't waste the 97 cents for a used one. I personally was in Vietnam in 1965-66 starting with Fox Company 2/9 for a little over two months and was transferred to Bravo 1/9 as a Pfc.
Again, there are Marines that served in 2/9 and 3/9 lay claim to the (WALKING DEAD). A few years ago in a buisness in Phoenix there in the office was a Walking Dead sticker. I asked the owner who he was with and he said 2/9. So you will always have the wanabees and I informed him that 2/9 has no connection with the Walking Dead. Nuff said. Get a life and if you write another book maybe it should be fiction??
Liam Jones
USMC
ACTA NON VERBA
A Good Read.
My criteria for any book is simple. The writing must be excellent. The story must be plausible. And the subject has to be absorbing. This book satisfies my requirements and gets 5 stars.
I was in the military and served in Vietnam. The information in this book is consistent with my experiences and the experiences depicted in similar books about Vietnam. I cant argue if Roberts wuz or wuznt in the Walking Dead Battalion. I dont know. I do know that me and my friends from Vietnam argue about events we experienced together. I served several weeks with one outfit in Vietnam, but was never formally assigned to that unit. Consequently, I dont get invited to their reunions. I spent exactly two weeks in still another outfit, was formally assigned to it, and can tell you almost nothing about it. Some of my friends had similar experiences. They were volunteered for temporary duty elsewhere, and there is no formal record of it. So the issue of "assignment" is irrelevant to me.
A Marine's story about Vietnam.
I liked this story about Vietnam. The author spent some time in Vietnam during the early phase of the war (1965-66). What struck me was the comradely focus of his experience. He depended upon his buddies. The Vietnam population was pro-Communist in his sector. Sasser was enraged when the civilian population watched the progress of Marines through their villages and waited for the booby traps to spring. It is no wonder that certain soldiers held grudges against the population when the time came. He was in one village where Cronkite was broadcasting as Marines fired the town. What one didn't see in this village was the weapons cache found in the tunnels and bunkers under the town.
This is one man's experience of the war in its early phases. I liked this very much even though some of the stories are not for some people. This is an interesting read.
John J. Freeman, SSgt. USMC - member of The Walking Dead
This book, although interesting reading, is replete with historical inaccuracies. The writers, both Tulsa Police Officers, "borrowed" a title belonging to another unit - that of the FIRST BATTALION, NINTH MARINES. Roberts writes of his service with the Second Battalion and Third Battalion, and even talks of those unit's nicknames, "Hell in a Helmet" (2/9) and "Shadow Warriors" (3/9). There are very few Vietnam Marines living who do not know that "The Walking Dead" was indeed 1/9.
The books title gives a false impression that he served in one of the most famous infantry battalions in the Marine Corps. His book is fiction and self-flattering.
Roberts & Sasser's accounting of the Morley Safer incident at Cam Ne don't match up with the actual incident either. Although 2/9 did operate in that area, it was Delta Company of 1/9 (not 2/9 as Roberts states) that entered the village on the day described in his book. I would know because I was there at the time.
When reserching Roberts claims of being a Marine Sniper I found a website with a photo of his "donated" uniform to an alma mater of his. The uniform had a Rifle "Sharpshooter" marksmanship badge on it along with Vietnam Service Ribbons. I never heard of a "Sharpshooter", or anyone less than a qualified Marine Rifle "Expert" qualifyer ever being selected to be a Marine Sniper either.
I don't recommend this book to ANYONE interested in an accurate war novel. This book is not about the famed "Walking Dead" as it's title implies. I am throwing away my copy.
The Walking Dead
Mr. Roberts attempts to capture the essence of the Vietnam combat experience for the noncombatant reader, which can't be done. One has to live it to really understand it. Simply ask any Vietnam Vet and they will tell you...Only those who've "been there" can understand. I find it extrememly difficult to believe that Mr. Roberts lead a recon team, served as a sniper, advised a CAC team of ARVN Rangers, and was shot down and rescued... all in one tour, and as only a PFC. I would rate the book as a work based on limited historical fact, mixed with large doses of personal fictional embellishments designed to entice the reader to purchase more of the author's works. By the way, it was 1/9 who were "The Walking Dead".
Robert J. Syler
Master Chief Petty Officer, USNR RETIRED
Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines
Combat Corpsman 1966-'67
(11 reviews)
