Boots: An Unvarnished Memoir of Vietnam

by Stephen L. Park

On July 19th, 1966, I received my invitation from Uncle Sam. In January, 1967, at the age of twenty, I left my home in Tennessee, and was on my way to Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. I knew I was destined to join the party in Vietnam. I had been married for five days before I jumped on the bus and became US government property. I was about to embark on a walking tour through the jungles and muck of southern Asia. This book is about those jungles, that muck and the realities of what had been pitched as a brave and glamorous life of a soldier in combat. There is nothing glamorous in humping the brush, a backpack containing your whole life on your back, an M-16 to keep you warm at night. Red ants, trip wires, flooded rice paddies, leeches and being soaked for a year in either sweat or monsoons aren’t what they show on the movies, and the John Waynes were to be avoided; those guys were part of the ten-percent factor. Among the casualties of war are the truth and common sense. A glamorous life? No, not at all. It was a grunt's life... and this grunt had only one goal in mind – to do his tour and get home to his bride. There were times where it seemed even that was an unachievable goal.


This is the story of November Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, 1st Division – The Big Red One – in Vietnam. This is my story.

284 pages, ebook

Published July 31, 2012

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book - hard to imagine what those young men and women went through being so young and asked to fight a war that is hard to understand. I served 23 years in the Navy, and can relate somewhat to what LT Parks went through, with my own assignment overseas during both wars with Iraq; the pride of serving and coming home. This book hit home because of the details about serving with good enlisted men and officers and also serving with ones that could not make a decision, or when they did why the decision was made. I also liked the part of the book that talked about drinking and hanging out with his fellow troops - the comraderie especially drinking is so much frowned upon now in the military; I have always maintained as long as it doesn't affect your job or your ability to perform your job - why does it matter!

Anyway if you want a good book on Vietnam from a field officers perspective give this book a shot!

[John Podlaski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading "Boots: An Unvarnished Memoir of Vietnam", a first-person narrative following a 20 year old lieutenant - fresh out of OCS - through his year long tour in Vietnam. Lt. Park spent his first six months as an infantry platoon leader in the 1st Division - Big Red One - leading his men on day patrols and night ambushes, sometimes chopping their way through seemingly impenetrable jungle to satisfy the whims of his superiors. Other missions to guard bridges and roads were less exhausting and boring, but still resulted in him adding another "X" to his calender - countdown of days remaining in Vietnam. Lt. Park made it a point to keep his men informed and usually communicated with them after each briefing about the days' mission. He struggled with his bosses, believing his superiors didn't know what they were doing due to their lack of experience - normally sharing his sentiments with those around him. How did this affect his men? As a former grunt myself, I would have questioned many of those same orders - some, even placing his men in harms way unnecessarily. The story has very little character development for those men in the Lt.'s platoon and is more about the main character and what he does. I did feel like I was right there with him exhausted, wet, hungry, thirsty and struggling mentally through the monsoon season, but I was right there with him to share in his misery! Unfortunately, I could not relate to any of the others surrounding him.

After spending six months in the bush, Lt. Park is reassigned to the rear as the company XO, a support entity. At first, he misses those men he left behind and continues to monitor their patrols. However, he is soon bored and spends many afternoons at the local officers club- drinking and playing poker. He is later transferred to a position as liaison between the U.S. and the District leaders / ARVN forces...his new job is more enjoyable, allowing him more latitude to do things his way. He and his driver once work with a couple Special Forces divers on a mission and soon find themselves in mischief that could land them all in jail. Some of it is hilarious!

My only critique on the writing is the amount of typos and missing words throughout the tome. I would strongly suggest an editor to give it a once over and make the necessary corrections.

Thank you for your service, sir! Congratulations on publishing your memoir and giving us all an unvarnished glimpse into the mind of an infantry officer during the Vietnam War. Welcome Home!

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel

[Mary Cote · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books about Vietnam. I have never read one like this. This is war from the soldier's perspective, no romance, no glory, no heroics, but rather how one soldier goes from one day to the next, one ambush to the next, one patrol to the next. It's about what he does, what he sees, and how he copes, written in frank, vivid terms.

[David Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

No bullshit book about the reality of Vietnam from the point of view of a soldier!!!!

[Bias Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended

I’ve always been curious about the Viet Nam war, having seen it’s I’ll effects afterwards on family members who served. This was one of the better books on Viet Nam, if not one of the more heralded. I put it right up there with the Karl Marlantes books. Well done and thank you for your service, Mr Park.

[Mary Cote · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books about Vietnam. I have never read one like this. This is war from the soldier's perspective, no romance, no glory, no heroics, but rather how one soldier goes from one day to the next, one ambush to the next, one patrol to the next. It's about what he does, what he sees, and how he copes, written in frank, vivid terms.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good example of the ineptness among the higher ranks

Being a Vietnam veteran that served as a RTO in the Central Highland region during the Tet offensive, brother Parks opinion of some of the "higher ranking officers" is true. Most were exceptional, but a few had not a clue as to what the ground troops had to deal with.........and yes......their orders cost lives.

[Steve Parcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really different take on the Vietnam War.

Really focusing on what the guys did during R and R. How poor leadership led to unnecessary deaths and low morale.

A little too long and a bit too much on what he did when he was discharged from active duty but a good read none the less.

[Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mediocre at best

Not sure why this man felt the desire to write a book. There were little details regarding his experiences of war. I would not read this book a second time