BOOK REVIEW: MEKONG FIRST LIGHT.

 An infantry platoon leader in Vietnam tells it like it was.

This is the final book review from my library about Vietnam, at least for the time being.

The book tells the story of a dedicated and very professional officer who served two tours in Vietnam. After an undistinguished education and early life the author decided to join the army simply because he could think of nothing else to do with his life. He joined up as a private but soon qualified, to his surprise, for officer candidate school. His first years in the army soon proved to him that in fact he was highly suited to army life.

Following his commissioning he joined 9th infantry division as a platoon commander and commenced training his troops prior to deployment of the division to Vietnam.  Almost at the end of his Vietnam tour, one of his men said " Before we got to Vietnam, the troops all thought you would be the first lieutenant killed, and in the end, you were the only one left, we were all wrong. You were the best."

The author became the consummate soldier and officer as recognised by promotion to Captain and his transfer to Special Forces. He also served as an advisor with the Royal Thai Army on its deployment to Vietnam. By the end of his service the author was clearly on the path to a long and distinguished military career. However he became very disenchanted with how the war was being managed and finally decided to leave after over four years service.

The book details an interesting and motivational life story and is one of the best accounts of action in Vietnam I have ever read while pulling no punches about the vicious nature of the war and its long term impacts on those who served. An excellent book and highly recommended.