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Boocoo Dinky Dow: My short, crazy Vietnam War
Grady Myers was an artistic but aimless teenager in 1968, when, desperate for troops, the U.S. Army overlooked his extreme nearsightedness and transformed him into Hoss, an M-60 machine gunner. His illustrated memoir "Boocoo Dinky My short, crazy Vietnam War" is by turns funny and sobering. Grady recounts his military initiation at Fort Lewis, where there could be a fuzzy line between training and torture. He describes the intensity of Vietnam, where an old man carrying a bundle of sticks posed a moral dilemma and a young man would weigh the burden of his virginity against the dubious pleasures of riverbank prostitutes. Grady's explosives-happy comrades in Charlie Company sometimes posed the greatest danger. But, in a dramatic ambush, that same bunch of crazy soldiers risked their lives to save his. "Boocoo Dinky Dow" is how American GIs heard the French/Vietnamese phrase "beaucoup dien cai dau" for "very crazy." For more information, visit www.shortcrazyvietnam.com
168 pages, Paperback
First published June 17, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 15, 2019
Reading Boocoo Dinky Dow is like drinking beer and listening to war stories. It's a down-to-earth personal account of Mr. Myers time in the Army during the height of the Vietnam war. Following the listless Grady from the post high school blues this memoir tracks Mr. Myer's enlistment, basic training through AIT and deployment to Vietnam. His coming home wounded and recovery. You'll laugh, cry and shake your head in amazement at some of the craziness that went on in his life. A great piece of personal history and a wonderful story that adds to the collection of this time in our Nation's history. I want to thank Julie Titone for editing and seeing this to print after Grady Myers passing. It is a wonderful tribute to a good man whose life was permanently altered by the war.
June 22, 2015
ABR's original Boocoo Dinky Dow: My short, crazy Vietnam War audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Unfortunately this was not really a book to my liking, however, I believe it is a good autobiographical Vietnam War story. I’m just not one for the graphic nature of war stories or for that matter any genre that has such sadness and/or bloody gore, and since my son is a soldier with two tours in Iraq….well, I’m just not keen on hearing it. There is a very nice prologue from the co-author (Grady’s ex-wife). Right off the bat you are in Vietnam but soon you return stateside to hear Grady Meyers’ original interest for joining the military and that scene was hilarious. From there you follow his military life. Throughout the book there are funny stories, but there are many more sad ones, after all it is a war story and war is awful. I have to give both authors credit though, the overall tone was not really morbid, just facts entwined within an adventure story. I never really did figure out what the title meant but I think it was something a Vietnamese woman said in response to some off-color conversation the soldiers were having with her.
As far as the narrator, Jeffrey S Felon, his voice was strong and he kept the story moving at a steady pace, plus, he had great sound effects. I was impressed with his conversational style especially when multiple characters were talking, sometimes all at once. I’m not sure I would like his reading of another genre but he was well-suited for this one (and I would be happy to hear him again to test my thought). The production was very well done. The front cover picture is great and I imagine the written book with the pictures by the author would be nice to see.
It is obvious the author was deeply moved by his experience in Vietnam, and obviously had a rough life after he was injured, but at least in the story he doesn’t victimize himself. Throughout the book the reader can see how easy it would be to give up and spend the rest of your life embittered but I didn’t hear that from his words; he seems much more interested in creating if not a happier view, a less traumatic one by infusing the period with humor. After a time though, it all got to be a bit monotonous and I kept thinking it a long story, but really it’s only about 7 hours, 30 minutes.
Audiobook provided for review by the author.
Unfortunately this was not really a book to my liking, however, I believe it is a good autobiographical Vietnam War story. I’m just not one for the graphic nature of war stories or for that matter any genre that has such sadness and/or bloody gore, and since my son is a soldier with two tours in Iraq….well, I’m just not keen on hearing it. There is a very nice prologue from the co-author (Grady’s ex-wife). Right off the bat you are in Vietnam but soon you return stateside to hear Grady Meyers’ original interest for joining the military and that scene was hilarious. From there you follow his military life. Throughout the book there are funny stories, but there are many more sad ones, after all it is a war story and war is awful. I have to give both authors credit though, the overall tone was not really morbid, just facts entwined within an adventure story. I never really did figure out what the title meant but I think it was something a Vietnamese woman said in response to some off-color conversation the soldiers were having with her.
As far as the narrator, Jeffrey S Felon, his voice was strong and he kept the story moving at a steady pace, plus, he had great sound effects. I was impressed with his conversational style especially when multiple characters were talking, sometimes all at once. I’m not sure I would like his reading of another genre but he was well-suited for this one (and I would be happy to hear him again to test my thought). The production was very well done. The front cover picture is great and I imagine the written book with the pictures by the author would be nice to see.
It is obvious the author was deeply moved by his experience in Vietnam, and obviously had a rough life after he was injured, but at least in the story he doesn’t victimize himself. Throughout the book the reader can see how easy it would be to give up and spend the rest of your life embittered but I didn’t hear that from his words; he seems much more interested in creating if not a happier view, a less traumatic one by infusing the period with humor. After a time though, it all got to be a bit monotonous and I kept thinking it a long story, but really it’s only about 7 hours, 30 minutes.
Audiobook provided for review by the author.
February 15, 2013
The summer after highschool graduation in 1967, Grady Myers decides to escape from his boring hometown of Boise, Idaho, a “Western backwater where times could’ve easily passed for a decade earlier,” via Vietnam.
But the recruiters won’t have him, first because the artistic boy asks for a drafting job and the man says they need combat troops. The second recruiter, on hearing that the boy wants a combat position, rejects him because he wears glasses. Myers spends a semester in college and then, even more bored, “volunteers” for the draft. This time he’s accepted.
The rest of “Boocoo Dinky Dow” (2012), a memoir published after Myers’ death, details his transformations from boy to soldier to wounded Vietnam veteran. The book was cowritten with his ex-wife, longtime journalist Julie Titone. The collaboration did not result in a smooth, polished read. Titone clearly felt it was important to honor Myers' voice, not just his stories. I found that lack of polish offputting at first, but I quickly learned to ignore and then to enjoy it. The tone is very much that of a man holding forth over beers at the pub, telling his truth if not THE truth.
As with most modern war stories, “Boocoo” is fueled by ironies. For instance, although the soldiers constantly talk about escaping from Vietnam, the young Myers clearly finds soldiering entertaining, right up to and apparently even during the ambush which ends his military career.
Another recurrent irony is that, “An infantryman is rarely told more than he needs to know to do his job, and sometimes not even that.” Again and again, the soldiers in “Boocoo Dinky Dow” make life and death decisions in an information vacuum, in a universe in which the rules they grew up by are useless, and most useless of all is that common sense rule that says staying alive is an individual’s primary goal.
“Boocoo Dinky Dow” reminded me that wars are (and probably must be) waged by boys turned too suddenly -- and incompletely -- into men.
But the recruiters won’t have him, first because the artistic boy asks for a drafting job and the man says they need combat troops. The second recruiter, on hearing that the boy wants a combat position, rejects him because he wears glasses. Myers spends a semester in college and then, even more bored, “volunteers” for the draft. This time he’s accepted.
The rest of “Boocoo Dinky Dow” (2012), a memoir published after Myers’ death, details his transformations from boy to soldier to wounded Vietnam veteran. The book was cowritten with his ex-wife, longtime journalist Julie Titone. The collaboration did not result in a smooth, polished read. Titone clearly felt it was important to honor Myers' voice, not just his stories. I found that lack of polish offputting at first, but I quickly learned to ignore and then to enjoy it. The tone is very much that of a man holding forth over beers at the pub, telling his truth if not THE truth.
As with most modern war stories, “Boocoo” is fueled by ironies. For instance, although the soldiers constantly talk about escaping from Vietnam, the young Myers clearly finds soldiering entertaining, right up to and apparently even during the ambush which ends his military career.
Another recurrent irony is that, “An infantryman is rarely told more than he needs to know to do his job, and sometimes not even that.” Again and again, the soldiers in “Boocoo Dinky Dow” make life and death decisions in an information vacuum, in a universe in which the rules they grew up by are useless, and most useless of all is that common sense rule that says staying alive is an individual’s primary goal.
“Boocoo Dinky Dow” reminded me that wars are (and probably must be) waged by boys turned too suddenly -- and incompletely -- into men.
October 6, 2020
I enjoyed this author's writing style.
I entered the Army in 1971 and would have been drafted in 1968 if I hadn't gone to college.
I say this because I was his age and my experience in the Army was somewhat similar to the author's except for one important difference. I spent my whole active duty time, 1 year and 10 months, in Fort Bragg N.C. with the 82nd Airborne.
I waited decades to finally read a book by someone who was sent to Nam and I am glad I picked this book.
If you want a book about the worst of the Vietnam experience, this is not the book. If you want to get the flavor of being in the Army from someone with a good memory, a positive attitude and who did become a casualty of the war then this is the book.
The author did not get into politics. Instead he shared many meaningful and interesting experiences which included those he met along the way who did not survive their war experience.
I could tell he made a lot of lemonade in his life out of all the lemons life sent his way.
I entered the Army in 1971 and would have been drafted in 1968 if I hadn't gone to college.
I say this because I was his age and my experience in the Army was somewhat similar to the author's except for one important difference. I spent my whole active duty time, 1 year and 10 months, in Fort Bragg N.C. with the 82nd Airborne.
I waited decades to finally read a book by someone who was sent to Nam and I am glad I picked this book.
If you want a book about the worst of the Vietnam experience, this is not the book. If you want to get the flavor of being in the Army from someone with a good memory, a positive attitude and who did become a casualty of the war then this is the book.
The author did not get into politics. Instead he shared many meaningful and interesting experiences which included those he met along the way who did not survive their war experience.
I could tell he made a lot of lemonade in his life out of all the lemons life sent his way.
January 30, 2013
Well-written, expressive, and descriptive in a way that you can tell that Grady Myers was an artist, even without the wonderful illustrations he provided. I found myself laughing aloud at points, and wiping a tear away at others. His memories give you a unique view of the conflict in Vietnam; a first-hand account of the humor and horror he and other young men faced. This will be one of those books I read more than once.
Boocoo Dinky Dow
Boocoo Dinky Dow
February 20, 2013
An honest account of the Vietnam experience for one man.
September 9, 2019
Good told in a good way.
This was a well written way that even included humor at appropriate times. I would over to have seen Meyer s sketches he lost in the field during battle.
This was a well written way that even included humor at appropriate times. I would over to have seen Meyer s sketches he lost in the field during battle.
April 17, 2020
Glory days long gone bye crazy times
Easy. Read and right on point. Took me back
To a conflicting views on what was going
On during this time.
Easy. Read and right on point. Took me back
To a conflicting views on what was going
On during this time.
January 13, 2024
My son, Luke was thinking of doing a dramatic interpretation reading from this book and asked me to read it and I’m glad I did! Very good book written by a Vietnam vet injured in action. The author describes his experiences in boot camp, his tour of duty in Vietnam, his recovery in a military hospital in Colorado, and his ultimate discharge in this fast paced (168 pages) book seasoned with wit and humor. It was certainly not all humorous as the author also described the dark side of war and the dangers and stress he experienced as a Vietnam soldier. God bless our military men and women.
October 25, 2025
This is my dad’s story and it gave me a first time view into his war world. He kept it from me mostly because he didn’t want his daughter knowing the sins of his past. However, I always knew my daddy came back from the war but not all of him did.
Wonderfully told by my mama and the art is by daddy. He was incredibly intelligent, gifted in both art & humor and it shines through with my mamas assistance.
Wonderfully told by my mama and the art is by daddy. He was incredibly intelligent, gifted in both art & humor and it shines through with my mamas assistance.
August 10, 2025
great book
With some amusement the book was interesting. I, not having spent any combat time or time in a hospital, could see where he and his pals worked their way through their military stay.
Me, USAF, 1.5 years Vietnam.
With some amusement the book was interesting. I, not having spent any combat time or time in a hospital, could see where he and his pals worked their way through their military stay.
Me, USAF, 1.5 years Vietnam.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews