Mobile Riverine Force: America's Mobile Riverine Force Vietnam Vol. 1 and 2

Mobile Riverine Force: America's Mobile Riverine Force Vietnam Vol. 1 is a history of the Mobile Riverine Force in the US Armed Services from its beginning through today. It contains a 74 page description of Riverine Operations 1966-1969 by Major General William B Fulton. It tells the history of the Mobile Riverine Force Association. It shares stories of member's personal experience through biographies of Mobile Riverine Force Association members. It has hundreds of historic photographs.

Volume II proceeds on where Volume I left off and details the ongoing function of the Riverine Forces leading up to the final boats being transferred to the South Vietnamese Navy in December 1970. In the interim period you will see how combat hardened sailors volunteered to be Advisors to the South Vietnamese Navy under the command of Task Force 194. Despite the outcome of the war, a legacy of honor, dedication, and heroism was left by a small band of unique young sailors and soldiers. (Vol 2 review description written by the publisher - source: http://www.turnerpublishing.com/detail.aspx?ID=1237)

Sherman: Memoirs of General W.T. Sherman by William T. Sherman

Sherman: Memoirs of General W.T. Sherman by William T. Sherman is a must book for anyone serious in learning about the life and experiences of Union General William T. Sherman.

I have read numerous Civil War books, including the prominent historical volumes by the leading scholars. Reading these volumes led me to begin reading the memoirs and books of the significant people involved in the war - Grant, Longstreet, etc. Sherman's memoirs have been the most fascinating.

Sherman is an interesting writer. His descriptions of early California life were beautiful. It paints a great picture of 1840’s San Francisco and northern California. In other places the writing bogged down where it felt you were reading a military TO&E (table of organization and equipment).

Sherman was not a failure in anything that he did. On the contrary, I think he led a full and fascinating life that would be difficult to duplicate in the present times, even with our transportation abilities. Sherman was a brilliant military leader and you feel as though you are with him throughout his many marches and campaigns. He includes many letters and orders in the book that I believe substantiate his writing and give proof that he was one of a kind.

I was surprised to learn that he served as commanding general of the US Army from 1868 - 1884, longer than any other person. That would be like being US Army chief of staff today for 16 years!

Yes, the book did have some hubris and he did defend some of his actions. All in all a must read. Read by Jimmie A. Kepler in July - August 2006.

On to Berlin: Battles of an Airborne Commander 1943-1946 by General James M. Gavin

General James M. Gavin tells the story of the 82d Airborne Division during World War II. Gavin began training at the Airborne School in Fort Benning in July 1941, and graduated in August 1941. After graduating he served in an experimental unit. His first command was Commanding Officer of C Company of the newly established 503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion. Gavin's friends William Ryder — Commander of Airborne training - and William Yarborough - Communications officer of the Provisional Airborne Group - convinced General William C. Lee to let Gavin develop the tactics and basic rules of Airborne combat. Lee followed up on this recommendation, and made Gavin his Operations and Training officer (S-3). On October 16, 1941 he was promoted to Major.

One of his first priorities was determining how airborne troops could be used most effectively. His first action was writing FM 31-30: Tactics and Technique of Air-Borne Troops. He used information about Soviet and German experiences with Paratroopers and Glider troops, and also used his own experience about tactics and warfare. The manual contained information about tactics, but also about the organization of the paratroopers, what kind of operations they could execute, and what they would need to execute their task effectively.

Gavin is best suited to provide this history since he served with the Division during its entire participation in the European Campaign, starting as a Regimental Commander with the 505th to eventually commanding the division.

General Gavin gives a detailed description of all the operations the 82d participated in during World War II. He adds his analysis of why certain things went well for his unit, while other things were a struggle. He provides insight into the Allied command structure and the challenges it faced.

This is an enjoyable and informative book that provides a unique perspective of the war, much different than other general officers. Gavin personally experienced the harshness and challenges of WWII combat because of the nature of airborne operations. Gavin also he participated in numerous high-level planning sessions with other well-known leaders of the Allied Command. This participation allows him to connect the planning and the execution of how strategic decisions influenced the actual combat operations in the European Theater of Operations.

For me the most insightful and interesting part of the book was General Gavin's analysis of General Eisenhower's decision to concede Berlin to the Russians. The last chapter reflects back on the war and Berlin question with analysis of the decisions made and their impact and implications thirty years later. It is pretty interesting stuff, especially given the long-term impact that these decisions had on world events.

I strongly recommend this book. For those wanting to learn more about the 82d or airborne operations this is required reading. Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Doc: Platoon Medic by Daniel E. Evans Jr., Charles W. Sasser

Daniel E. Evans was a young man who envied his father's World War II rite of passage and sought his own. He joined the Army as a medic and volunteered for Vietnam to seek his destiny. His 9th Infantry Division duty assignment was the 9th Medical Battalion but he had come to Vietnam to see combat. With persistence, Evans got himself attached to the 4th Battalion 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division as a platoon medic for most of his tour. Now it was time to learn how the reality of combat measured up to his boyhood imagination. Evans tells a vivid tale of his first hand experience with the aftermath of life and death conflict in a far off land. Read by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Brown Water, Black Berets: Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam by Lt. Cdr. Thomas J. Cutler

Brown Water, Black Berets: Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam by Lt. Cdr. Thomas J. Cutler, USN is a very readable concise history of the US Navy involvement in Vietnam. The author weaves facts and figures with the human stories of the men and women who were fighting a different kind of war. You will see the beginnings of the Vietnam navy, the US advisor role, and active involvement with coastal and inland waterway operations. The stories of naval personnel performing routine surveillance of coastal waters or engaged in the terror of close quarter combat on the muddy waters of the Mekong Delta paint a picture of the war in Vietnam that is often overlooked. A partnership of Navy and 9th Infantry Divisions units loosened the tight grip that the Viet Cong had on the strategically important Delta.

Battle for Saigon: Tet 1968 by Keith Nolan

This book gives an excellent tactical description of the fighting in and around Saigon during Tet, 1968. While many, many other books give a larger strategic sense to the whole Offensive, this book is very specific and useful to understanding what happened in South Viet-Nam's capital. This book has another strength, too, in that its accounts of small-unit leaders in combat provide great lessons for future junior military leaders--especially for company command level and below. The one big drawback is that it has no tactical maps, just one big map of Saigon at the beginning of the book. Detailed maps would have been a great help while trying to decipher the textual descriptions of the fight. The author should take note of this for future revisions of this book. Read by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Citizen Soldiers by Stephen E. Ambrose

I read Citizen Soldiers by Stephen E. Ambrose in the late 1990's shortly after reading Band of Brothers and D-Day, both also by Ambrose. I reread this book in 2005. I listened to the audio book version in 2006. The book describes how these "citizen soldiers" came to be soldiers, and what they did once they were. There is some overlap with his other titles about World War II. The book follows the battles right after the allies left the beaches of Normandy, all the way through France into German territory.

This lengthy volume details the war in Europe. It tells how Americans were critical to that victory. It gives the story through the eyes of those who participated in the various units. I enjoy this tile and the stories the former GI's share. “Citizen Soldiers“ is the name for the draftees, national guard, and army reserve soldiers, the non-regular army soldiers, which were so necessary to field an army of the size that was needed in World War II. Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

D-Day June 6 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose

The late Stephen E. Ambrose used over 1400 interviews for his history of the D-Day invasion. This “oral history" approach brings the reader into the heart of the battle through eye-witness testimony. The tales of the front line infantryman sweeps the reader up into their personal histories. The story is told from the individual and small unit level often failing to describe larger unit actions or explaining how the individual actions fit into the total picture. Let is shared of what happened on the Canadian and British beachheads. Historical controversies are often given minimal coverage. These are simply good stories of many individual experiences.

The book is not a textbook for lessons on strategic decision making or to answer big picture questions. Ambrose touches on these larger issues in a general focus, but that is not his focus. This is a book about the American achievement in Normandy. The individual courage and independence of the American small unit leaders is big story of this book. Ambrose is right on target as he tells the story of their braveness and toughness. Read and reviewed in 1999 by Jimmie A. Kepler.

The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose

The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose is essentially a cut and paste compilation of D-DAY, Citizen Soldiers, Eisenhower, and Band of Brothers. If you have read any of Stephen Ambrose's works on World War II, then this one is not worth the time. It has so much material covered in his lengthier works.

It is better to read D-DAY, Citizen Soldiers, Eisenhower, Band of Brothers.and The Wild Blue and to skip this book altogether. Read in 2005 by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (Lewis & Clark Expedition) by Stephen E. Ambrose

The narrative style of Ambrose takes what could be a dry lecture and makes it extremely interesting. The book reads like a best selling novel. The book gives a nice background on Captain Meriwether Lewis. It shows how this background prepared Lewis for the journey and how it provided the relationship he had with Jefferson to lead to his selection for the journey. Lewis was Jefferson’s personal secretary when selected to lead the voyage that would take him up the Missouri River, to wintering with the Indians, to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and back. Lewis experienced hardships and saw wonderful sights. The sites included herds of buffalo and Indian tribes with no previous contact with white men. He and his partner, Captain William Clark, made the first maps of the trans-Mississippi West, provided data on the flora and fauna of the Louisiana Purchase territory, and most importantly established the American claim to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

The book shows how Lewis is financially underwritten by a variety of characters. This list includes Jefferson, Clark, numerous Indian chiefs, and Sacagawea, the Indian girl who accompanied the expedition, along with the French-Indian hunter Drouillard, the great naturalists of Philadelphia, the French and Spanish fur traders of St. Louis, John Quincy Adams, and many more leading political, scientific, and military figures of the turn of the century.

This is a book about a hero and national unity. This is a book also about a tragedy. When Lewis returned to Washington in the fall of 1806, he was a national hero. Lewis greatest failure was he did not get his journals and notes organized and published. The scholarly value of those would have been great. Publishing them in a timely manner would have made Lewis financially independent. Instead Lewis took to drink, drugs, engaged in land speculation, piled up debts he could not pay, made jealous political enemies, experienced severe depression (probably from the drugs), and ultimately took his own life. Read by Jimmie A. Kepler in February - March 2005.

Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose

I read Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose in August 1996. This is one of the most read and popular books in the last ten years due to the HBO mini series based on the book. The History Channel also periodically shows the mini series. The book is better than the mini series. It tells the story of Easy Company 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment that ultimately became part of the 101st Airborne Division. I enjoyed the book because of the focus on the people in the unit. It has reached cult like status. Read by Jimmie A. Kepler.

The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany by Stephen E. Ambrose

"The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany" by Stephen E. Ambrose is controversial because some scholars point out Ambrose has lifted the work of other authors without placing said work inside "quotation" marks. That is a tragic error. Is it an error of omission or commission? I do not know. I do know it is ethically wrong. The book tells the story of former US Presidential candidate and US Senator George McGovern. It tells of McGovern's upbringing, his journey to college, the outbreak of World War II, his falling in love and marriage, his joining the US Army Air Corps, his training as a pilot, and his combat deployment and action where he was based out of Italy bombing the Axis war machine. It is written in Ambrose's wonderful narrative style. It is highly readable and entertaining. Read in January 2005.