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REMF Diary
This is how it was to be a REMF in Vietnam- the ice cream, the Coca Cola, the air conditioning, the clean, starched jungle fatigues, and yes, the parades and the whores, I leave nothing out; it is all in there. The typing and the saluting, too. With this, David Willson sets the tone for REMF Diary. Between these covers is a very funny, ironic novel of the Vietnam War. It is a story told by an army clerk stationed in Saigon. His perceptions of the war and of the paper war around him make for hilarious reading.
313 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1988
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July 12, 2023On July 4, 2023 I first learned David A. Willson passed away on July 6, 2021. I also learned he published a series a books. Back in 2015 we exchanged e-mails regarding a Vietnam journal he published in the past. One of the issues featured an article about Gustav Hasford. I contacted Mr. Willson about the issue and if he had any available. He was kind enough to search his home and found a copy to send me. During our correspondence he even offered to sell me a paperback copy of The Short-Timers well under market value. Little more than the cost of shipping.
We had no contact since 2015 but I tried contacting him again on July 4 after finding a university thesis about Gustav Hasford online. Unfortunately, it sent me on the path of discovering his passing but it also uncovered his published author history. During our correspondence he never brought up his own books. Wish he had but bitter sweet to discover them belatedly.
REMF Diary is a novel of Vietnam but told in diary form. The unnamed narrator writes of bureaucracy, his obsession with Madame Ky, his meals, the films screened on base and the music he listens to. Many of the entries made me chuckle. This is rare for me. Books that I find funny don't often actually make me laugh. A Confederacy of Dunces and REMF Diary are exceptions.
RIP Mr. Willson. Your book will occupy a permanent place on my bookshelf next to The Short-Timers.
We had no contact since 2015 but I tried contacting him again on July 4 after finding a university thesis about Gustav Hasford online. Unfortunately, it sent me on the path of discovering his passing but it also uncovered his published author history. During our correspondence he never brought up his own books. Wish he had but bitter sweet to discover them belatedly.
REMF Diary is a novel of Vietnam but told in diary form. The unnamed narrator writes of bureaucracy, his obsession with Madame Ky, his meals, the films screened on base and the music he listens to. Many of the entries made me chuckle. This is rare for me. Books that I find funny don't often actually make me laugh. A Confederacy of Dunces and REMF Diary are exceptions.
RIP Mr. Willson. Your book will occupy a permanent place on my bookshelf next to The Short-Timers.
April 1, 2023
Funny musings of a Vietnam REMF. I’ve watched most of the movies mentioned and shelved several of the books “to read”. War is hell.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews