Soldier

by Anthony B. Herbert

From the "The horrifying and true story of Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Herbert, a model fighting man who had enough guts to become the most decorated enlisted man of the Korean War -- and enough humanity to attack the entire U.S. Army in Vietnam."

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Military History, War, Leadership

498 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Anthony B. Herbert was a United States Army officer, who served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He is best known for his claims that he witnessed war crimes in Vietnam, which his commanding officer refused to investigate. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel and was the author of several books about his experiences, including Soldier Making of A Soldier. Herbert resigned from the U.S. Army in February 1972.

Colonel Herbert died from Cancer on June 7, 2014 at the age of 84. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in April 2015.

Colonel Herbert was a highly decorated soldier. Among his many awards, badges and certifications were the following:
Four Silver Stars
Legion of Merit
Soldiers Medal
Three Bronze Star Medals with 'V' device for VALOR
Air Medal
Four Purple Hearts
Three Army Commendation Medals with 'V' device for VALOR
Combat Infantryman's Badge (2nd award)
Master Parachutist Badge
Pathfinder Badge
British Army Parachute Wings
Ranger Tab

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

LTC Herbert was a natural leader of men and excellent soldier (most highly decorated soldier of the Korean War and The Real Deal in Viet Nam as well) who was forced out of the Army in a bitter dispute over his allegations that superiors ignored atrocities at a time when the Army brass was trying to put My Lai behind them.

He wrote this book to air his grievances against the Army for forcing him to retire while the Viet Nam War was still going strong, and, I suppose, to cash in on his reputation as a combat hero. The controversy was investigated by 60 Minutes (no friend of the Army in those days), but they ended up attacking Herbert as having gone off the deep end.

A retired Special Forces colonel who knew him personally, and whom I respect very much, described him thus: "Tony Herbert did not embody the virtues of the American officer. He was a just a killer." He thought many of Herbert's actions were driven by what was best for Tony Herbert and not whatever command he was under or the Army. He doubted Herbert's side of the story and suspected he exaggerated the incidents to smear officers he disliked. Others who served with Herbert disagreed, noting that he was a hardass commander who got combat results, and that his accounts ring true.

Regardless, his descriptions of Army life in the 50's and 60's and combat in Korea and Viet Nam are compelling, and historians of this period should read this book. It made a big impression on me as I read it in my final year of R.O.T.C. before beginning my Army career. Coincidentally, I later served as a platoon leader in the battalion (2/503 Infantry) that Herbert had commanded 15 years earlier.

[Spectre · Rating 5 out of 5]

LtCol Anthony Herbert, a distinguished Korean War hero, had an audience with President Truman and toured Europe with Eleanor Roosevelt earning him lofty status in the United States Army. He left the Army to attend college and reentered as a commissioned officer moving up the ranks reaching his final rank as the Vietnam War escalated. LtCol Herbert was quick to voice his opinions regarding military tactics, morality, and leadership which oftentimes put him at odds with his superiors particularly when he was in command of the 2nd Battalion 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam in 1968-69. He was a staunch opponent of torture and cavalier attitudes towards the indigenous populace expecting US soldiers of all ranks to conduct themselves morally in a war where those lines were oftentimes blurred. This book must have been a “bombshell” as it holds back no punches and identifies those whom Herbert believed acted illegally. He comes across as an angry officer and for good reason. This book is important especially to the generation (mine) that provided the majority of the 58,000 fatal casualties in that conflict as we still wrestle with questions as to why and how we fought there.

[Stingray · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Soldier“ by Anthony Herbert is focused on the author’s controversial service as Inspector General and batallion commander with the 173rd Airborne Brigade during the Vietnam War and tells the author’s side of the story.

Like any report on an officer’s experiences in a war, the reader is confronted with a single source, whose claims can hardly be verified. Thus exaggeration or inaccuracies may occur even if the overall events happened as told. The author’s description of events is overall authentic and the appendices he produces support his claims, which is why the controversy about his reputation appears politically motivated.

Herbert starts out to describe his live and military career before his duty as battalion commander to set his credentials as a highly decorated soldier having risen to commander through the ranks as an accomplished unit leader with an excellent record. After several successful leadership positions he is posted as the Inspector General of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and immediately collides with several important officers of the brigade and the way run things. Having earned his commission in the field and presenting himself as a firm believer in adhering to regulations and standing orders, Herbert describes how he made few friends and many enemies by officially reporting and investigating incidents instead of burying them. When Herbert is given command of a battalion his personnel decisions, insistence on sound tactical operations instead of body counts and his repeated reporting of alleged war crimes by U.S personnel put him in conflict with his superiors. When attempts to discourage him from following up on his allegations and attempts to discredit the reputation of his unit and him fail, his superiors finally relieve him from command, despite his unit’s apparently improved tactical proficiency over allegations of inflated body counts.

In the aftermath of Herbert’s relief there were a number of public statements trying to affect Herbert’s reputation or support his position and this book is clearly Herbert’s attempt to influence public perception in his favor. Although especially the day to day interaction between senior officers cannot be verified, if only a fraction of Herbert’s story was true, and none of it was actually falsified to my knowledge, many insights can be gained on how the Vietnam War was fought at battalion and brigade level. The picture Herbert presents of himself is not that of a saint, as he wants to fight the enemy as brutal and effective as possible, but he also is clearly in favor of operating tactically effective and taking prisoners to gain intelligence and not just generating high body counts. He also states not to tolerate any mistreatment of civilians or prisoners and believes consequent investigations and punishments to be necessary to keep up the discipline and effectiveness of the Army as an organization.

In summary this is a very interesting and readable account from an officer who often was at odds with his superiors but nevertheless performed exemplary, even though it should be read as the single source report it is.

[E Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was more interesting than I expected as I usually do not enjoy reading about warfare.
It starts with the author's life growing up during the depression in a coal mining town in
Pennsylvania, and that was especially interesting to me. His father and the other miners were paid in company script and his family rarely had any actual cash. Deaths and injuries were considered part of life in the mines. Herbert's father made some money guiding well to do hunters from Pittsburgh. He and his son were both expert marksmen. Herbert's grandparents ran a distillery and his grandmother served 6 months in jail for selling illegal booze.
The military was a way out of the mines and the poverty. Herbert's older brothers both served during
WWII and he was anxious to follow in their footsteps. He tried to join when he was only 17, but his
age was discovered and he was sent home. Finally he was old enough to join.
His account of his early military life seemed like a whirlwind of different assignments and locations.
He was in the paratroopers, but also mentions ranger school, and other training he received.
He was eager to fight in Korea and got his wish. His account of that tour of duty made that war
seem very chaotic and unorganized. At one point he was with a company of Turkish soldiers since the Korean War was a UN operation.
Lt Col Herbert had a lot of criticism of the direction the military was going. He says everyone was mostly concerned about covering their asses. He also disagreed with some of the new way military
operations were designed. A lot of this discussion went over my head.
In Vietnam, he did not like the way the higher officers stayed back at base camps living the life of riley while the rank and file were out in the jungle in fierce fighting. He observed what he considered war crimes by Americans as well as the Vietnamese army working with the Americans.
He and his commanding officer, Col Joseph Ross Franklin, constantly butted head. Herbert was not someone who would back down on his side of the argument just because his commanding officer told him to.
Finally he was relieved of his command and sent back to be stationed in the US at several backwater
jobs. He claims he and his family were constantly harassed.
Some people claimed that this book was full of lies and false claims. I do realize that I have seen
only one side of the story. However, after Col Franklin(one of his main detractors)retired from the army, he was found guilty of swindling up to 100 people out of about one millions dollars in a real-estate scam.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read deeper into the book, I wondered how factual it was. After some research, I am convinced it was mostly true. I did not serve in Vietnam, but the horrors and atrocities have been recounted to me by friends who did. The one part of the book that brought it home to me was the account of Operation November Demon at Ft. Leavenworth. I was there and was a participant. It was every bit as ridiculous as LTC Herbert told it.

[William Sariego · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable book by a remarkable man. I can't add a whole lot considering some excellent prior reviews. He concentrates on Vietnam rather Korea, which he had previously written about. From humble origins, Herbert would rise through the ranks, get his degree and commission between Korea and being deployed to Nam. Not being a West Point grad would lead to friction with his superior officers, as he wasn't in "the club."

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important American saga about one of the U.S. Army's most decorated soldiers. From Herminie, Pa to the Vietnam War with stops along the way fighting in Korea this narrative (494 pages including Appendix) recounts Lt. Col Herberts journey with the US Army. Herbert, like David Hackworth and Stuart Scheller, pushed back against the Big Green Machine when he reported war crimes he witnessed. And like Hackworth and Schiller he paid a high price for his honesty.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good nonfiction book about a soldier with the character to stand for what he felt was right.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Herbert tells his story in a straightforward and transparent way, and it is compelling reading. Like another soldier whose story resembles his, David Hackworth, Herbert came from a blue-collar background where the military was held in great esteem, joined the Army as a teenager, sought out and excelled at the most difficult duties as an elite soldier, rose to the rank of colonel, and ultimately retired filled with despair at the growing bureaucratization and willfully ignorant leadership by generals and civilian authorities that wrought havoc on his beloved Army and often needlessly cost the lives of the troops to whom he was so devoted. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the forces that drove the generation who were junior officers and troops in the Vietnam era in their reform of the military, and the devastation many of them feel at seeing most of the mistakes of Vietnam being repeated in Iraq.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it is written from the authors perspective. It is believable just how much the army did during Vietnam. I understand their willingness to cover their ass. Yet, in doing so it's interesting how they ended up causing themselves more issues, and losing many American peoples trust.

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book picks up at the time I left Vietnam. A very good read.

[Bernard Cenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting account of one officers' struggle with the military system after telling the truth about Vietnam war atrocities.

[Clyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling story, reminiscent of David Hackworth's About Face.