Boys for Men

by Derrick Wolf

The true stories of two soldiers. Though they are separated by almost 100 years, the similarities in their experiences are striking.

When Derrick Wolf left the U.S. for Vietnam in 1970 on January 6th, the day of Epiphany, little did he realize what a prophetic day it would turn out to be for him. Boys for Men is a journal of his tour of duty. Wolf tells of the grim daily routine of a tank crew near the De-militarized Zone just south of North Vietnam. From the near constant rain during monsoon to the unbearable high temperatures and humidity of the dry season, life becomes a series of long periods of boredom and hardship interrupted abruptly by deadly situations.

Combined with Wolf’s stories are excerpts of the previously unpublished 1876 journal of Sylvester Waltz, an infantryman during the Great Sioux War. Waltz was a member of the Yellowstone Expedition, which culminated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn where General George Armstrong Custer was killed and his forces defeated.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Military Fiction, War

753 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2015

About the author

Derrick Wolf is the author of two Vietnam War era memoirs.

He lives in Hell, Michigan.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a shame, I thought the premise was interesting. Daily journal entries from a foot soldier in the western US during the time of Little Big Horn alternating with a tank driver soldier in Vietnam in 1970. Not executed well. Exceedingly boring and tiresome. The soldier in the US west was more interesting by far but still pretty uneventful. The Vietnam entries were annoying as hell. How many times can you say "boo coo", "tee tee", "number one", "number ten", "xin loi"? In Wolf's case, every other sentence at least. An unfinished 1 Star rating on this one.

[Toni Osborne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I did not finish reading this book and this is why: Pointless mundane day to day activity and beyond repetitive.

“Boys for Men” is the true story of two soldiers separated by 100 years. Taken from excerpts from the journal of Sylvester Waltz, an infantryman during the Great Sioux War (1876) and of Derrick Wolf’s tour of duty during the Vietnam (1970) conflict, their memoirs are told in alternate paragraphs as their day to day monotonous life moves on. Over and over we have paragraphs saying the same thing. I wanted to skipped the Sylvester Waltz part and simply read Wolf experiences but that didn’t last long I simply couldn’t take another chapter of all the minor details such as heating coffee and other mundane tasks that were constancy repeated. This is written as a daily journal and is very boring to read. I rarely give up on a book but I couldn’t take it, ¼ into it, enough was enough.

Not having served in the military I may not have appreciated what the book was trying to tell us but to those who came back home after their tour of duty, reading it may trigger fond memories. So don’t take my words for it… judge for yourself.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one will be tough to fairly and accurately review. I wanted to read this book because the author served in Vietnam close to the time I would have served had I chosen to be drafted rather than enlist in the Navy. I wanted to get a feel for how my life may have been different had I chosen an alternate route. In this sense, the book fulfilled my expectations.

I believe many people will have a difficult time completing this book due to the pages and pages of repetitions. I found the repetition enabled the reader to realize some sense of the monotony of military life and felt it was an excellent technique. Unfortunately, it was probably a bit overdone. With a bit more editing assistance and suggestions, this book had the potential to be excellent. There are many portions of the book which could have been condensed and other episodes which could have been explored in more detail.

In the end, I finished the book because I decided that if he could live through this experience, I could read through it.

[L.T. Vargus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the unromanticized side of war. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll crap your pants.

If I were a history teacher, books like this would be required reading for my students. The perspective you get from history text books is too far away and too abstract. Wars that lasted years are summed up in a chapter or two. Casualties are just numbers in 12 pt font.

Only by reading books like Boys for Men and Band of Brothers did I actually stop to think about what it would have been like to actually be fighting a war on the front line. Reading first-hand accounts like these gave me a sense of the kind of desperation a soldier must feel waking up every morning, not sure if they'll make it through the day.

Wolf's entries in the book alone would have made it a worthy read, but the 1800's entries from Sylvester Waltz put it over the top.

[J.L. Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was enthralled from the very beginning. Being an avid fan of all things of a historical context and items of military interest most assuredly comprising my largest area of fondness—this particular project immediately held me thoroughly enchanted in the poignant and mesmerizing spell the author wove so artfully with a verbal dance of juxtaposing—which is such a rare treat as to be both alluring and mystifying, while holding the reader as of intoxicated, mystified by the experience and luxuriating in the sensation simultaneously.

The author took an art form most commonly utilized in cinematic storytelling, subtly and ever so delicately entrancing the audience, in this case the reader and while they are under the spell so artfully cast; highlighting portions in which the artist/author has designed a scheme to captivate and charm without said observer/reader ever even being aware they have been duped. I was completely under the author’s spell, he utilized another extremely story that is completely full of promise, because as a stand-alone project I do believe it in itself would be quite fascinating to read. But, utilizing the other story to subtly suck you in and hypnotize you, then leave you completely spellbound by the back and forth comparisons of life and dialogue, illustrating tremendous differences, yet fascinating similarities…..I simply do NOT know how to express what I wish, nay, NEED to convey and/or articulate to you regarding this phenomenal piece of work… I must admit, I am stupefied.

This magnificent book has left me speechless….NEXT PLEASE?

[Yibbie]

too much foul language

[SeaShore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Memoir-- Journal written by a soldier in the Vietnam War. It flips back and forth from the journal entries written by a soldier in the battles of 1876 to the entries in 1970. This unique strategy surprised me at first but very interesting providing some first hand information on a daily basis.
Some examples follow:
The author's Jan 12 1970 Da Nang Vietnam Journal entry
A pretty good sized city with a lot of hustle and bustle. Lots of Motorcycles, bikes, scooters and some cars and trucks on the streets. He adds that in training in Oakland CA, they were given boots with a special mesh to aid in drying but now in Vietnam, they're told to remove the mesh in-sole as it is a high breeding ground for the worst jungle rot foot fungus.

Then, alongside the author's journal entry is an entry made by a soldier on MARCH 23rd, 1876
The Captain and a General met and embarrassed two cowardly scoundrels. They wanted to leave badly.... If they should go along with him to Yellowstone River, and fight Indians and behave themselves like men, he would release them from their handcuffs. They promised faithfully and they were released.
The water was very very high and muddy. Two men deserted. News that John McLellen's wife died.

Moving along to an entry made by the author in Vietnam 1970. Fast forward! The men are glued to TV watching 50s and 60s sitcoms--- This was their only window to the outside world.

On April 3rd 1876, he is on guard mount as Corporal and worried about having a horrible toothache-ouch. There is a bit of snow on Little Briar Creek; the mail came but none for him. He is on the last Guard duty so he gets to make breakfast as he is already awake.


Jan 23rd 1970 They're wet and soggy; guarding the River all day and all night.
Off Guard duty, he enjoys his c-rat instant coffee and canned peaches and a pecan roll.
He wonders about who decides on the missions.

Meanwhile, the journal entry on April 6th 1876: He is having a pleasant day. Marched 11 miles and camped on the RiverBank at camp Videttes, where he saw a band of 50 or 60 Indians. Made slapjacks that day.

On April 9. 1876
Hardtack and bacon for supper. They marched along the river. Lots of Trout.
Pleasant day and they crossed the river. Toothache severe.

Vietnam, Jan 31, 1970. they have a supply of cigarettes, He doesn't smoke so he uses it for barter. The Hot Chow is miserable. It's Payday but nowhere to spend the money. Lots of jokes and tricks played on one another. Using explosives to warm up spaghetti !!

This is a good book describing the inner feelings of these soldiers in the midst of war. The reader is drawn to the scenes imagining the realities that the soldiers experienced. You are right there with them. Switching back and forth between 1970 and 1876 (over 100 years) also encourages the reader to compare and contrast the dilemmas these soldiers faced.
It is costly in paperback.

[Will DeChirico · Rating 1 out of 5]

95% of pointless mundane day to day activity

Almost nothing happens until the final 5% of this 700+ page book. Seriously. It is beyond repetitive, entire days go by with very little difference in them, each paragraph containing the same phrases, over and over throughout the book. I became convinced that the entire story was a cruel joke and kept reading because I didn't want to miss the punchline. As expected, the author is a masterful troll and gives a rather unfulfilling ending, then advertises his next book in the last sentences. If I have trouble sleeping anytime, I'll consider picking it up.

[Paul Bacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kinda boring. I have read many books about Vietnam, so I am grateful to have read this one to get a feel for the experience of serving in an armor unit. This book was great at giving a feel for the apathy of the troops and the boredom of the daily repetition of driving around the countryside close to the DMZ to find some trouble. But as far as any battles or action, there was not much excitement to this book. That is ok, I guess because it is probably pretty accurate, but makes for a boring read....

[Todd Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reminded me of college assignments with word count requirements

It was a very interesting story, but it seems there was some arbitrary word count requirement as there are sections of text that are repeated over and over needlessly. It got to the point that I just skimmed the last 20% of the book as I couldn’t take another chapter of heating up my coffee with c4, circling at the RON, last shift guard duty, and all the other minor details that the author insisted on repeating every single time.

[Tasha Lebow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding memoir of the Vietnam war. makes you feel like you are THERE, Living It. Unique that it is tied to an authentic 1876 Indian Wars journal of another poor solider--a distant relative of the author. Provides double the insights into history and into the vicious, boring, wasteful and deadly sides of being a pawn for the US Army. An unforgettable read.... and a great historical document of how stupid humans are... and have been for centuries.

[Ted Robbins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Completely formulaic, as if written by a machine. About 20 key words duplicated in chapter after chapter.
Stopped reading at 25%.

[Greg Oaster · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book very boring. The author's overuse of slang (number 1, boo coo, tee tee, etc) made it hard to read. I had a lot of trouble staying interested in this book. I was expecting more.

[Tod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repetitive, but that's the point?

There are a couple of dozen paragraphs, and even descriptions of entire days, that the author repeats, almost verbatim, all the way through the book. If you stick with it, it has the effect of making you simultaneously bored, frustrated, and anxious about what's coming – essentially the experience the author had as a soldier in the Vietnam "police action".
That makes the book successful at conveying the experience. However, since the experience being conveyed is mostly tedious, it makes for a tedious read, especially because it is told from the POV of a typically immature 20-year-old without any deeper insight. Night time was scary, the food was bad, the smells were bad, the bugs were bad, there is a lot of body bag humor, they are ordered to do potentially dangerous and often apparently nonsensical things by higher-ups who give no information about what the objective is or what they are going to do next. Day after day after day, with (it seems) every single day described the same way. The question is, how much time are you willing to spend to get a taste of the tediousness and frustration of that experience?
For me, as someone who hasn't had any military experience and has never read or watched stories about the military and war, it gave me an increased understanding and appreciation for what enlisted men (people) in the military go through, especially those who didn't enlist of their own free will.
Truthfully, I don't know that I needed to read the same thing over and over for hours to get that understanding, but I can't say I regret the time to read it. And the repetition makes it good for bedtime reading when you want a sleep aid.
The device of interspersing the Vietnam memoir with the journal of a US soldier in the field near the Little Big Horn at the time of Custer's Last Stand is an interesting idea, but it doesn't ultimately add much other than to accentuate the assertion that tedium and being in the dark are the soldier's lot in every time period.

[M.T. Bostick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, bad stuff first. The editing of this book leaves a lot to be admired. About a quarter a the way into this book is a passage of about a page and a half that is immediately repeated for the next page and a half. This is a big time editing error. Besides the passage repeat there are missed words, words unnecessarily added, and misspellings. There is also a lot of repeated action. Though something is the same, it can be written differently. A proper editor would have helped in this case.
Now, to the good stuff. Despite all the editing drawbacks I was caught up in the personality of the writer and his story. For me it was a real eye opener to this war. Our soldiers are funny, witty, scared, and very brave. G-d Bless them. I couldn't put this book down and had to read all the way to the end. I'm glad I did or I would have left this story always wondering what happened next. And it's that wondering that kept me turning page after page. Yes, this could have been written much better, but the story and the personality telling it or so compelling I couldn't put it down.

[a.t.m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vietnam war journal

The author has a great recollection of his tour in Vietnam, which ended abruptly, when he was wounded in a firefight. He holds nothing back in his dislike for the the Army, but, his fierce loyalty to his comrades is beyond words. He is a hero in my book and like so many he endured many days in the field with out showers, food, and clean water. Welcome home, soldier.
The dual story of the infantry man is with out question, genius, in telling his story so he too could be immortalized in print, years later. RIP

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book a 4 star rating even though the author had kept repeating certain phrases throughout the whole book. That got very annoying. So I started to ignore the phrases and concentrated on the story he wrote. I did like the book when he compared a soldier from the 1870s Indian War to the Vietnam War and I assume that war is very boring with nothing to do, and then broken up with Combat that was very good to read about. I'd recommend this book only if you understand about the "slower" bits and the constant use of some annoying phrases.

[Marissa Salley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great look into day to days the war in the Nam

I loved this book. I felt connected to the characters and their stories. It's repetitive, but in a good way. You feel almost like you're there because you know the general day to day routine of things. You start to worry about the same things that they do. Will they hit a mine today? Will Fanelli get more ramen today?
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'm glad to know there is a continuing story to read.

[Shannon Pritchard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a work of fiction

This book is reportedly written by a vet, and probably was, but it is a poor memoir written as though it was written as a daily journal. In reality it is some disjointed facts fleshed out by poor fiction, but fiction written by someone who had been there. You can get a general idea what tank service in Vietnam was like.

[Alan Van Bladel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the best read

Except for the last chapter, every day was the same. I thought of removing the book from my Kindle after the first few chapters. And a few times thought of just reading the story of the cavalry soldiers life. But, then I figured that sooner rather than later, the story would change. I was wrong, it was latter.
Worst book I've ever read.

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of repatriation

Of course that's the military, you do things over and over, because that is the way it is supposed to be done and always has been. A better explanation given by a battlefield commander, verbal orders loose their meaning after third retelling.

[Dixie Denton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible

The only good part of this book is the one where the old guy speaks . It is interesting about the Indians and take etc.
The rest is about burning shut smells,and farts etc. Also repetitive even tho it was day by day it gets very boring.

[Gregory Zona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interests account of the life of a tanker in Vietnam

The book gave me new info about the role of the tank in Vietnam. However, some of the book was just repeated monotonous routine.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written from a perspective anyone who'd ever enlisted could relate

Like the detail. However the repetitive narrative can lead one to lose interest - but stay with it, it's worth the investment!

[Rev. W. Roger Stauffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

War is weird and though many days may be uneventful, yet they influence our life and our choices. Enjoyed the insights shared by Derrick.

Appreciated the cantor of Derrick and his experience in Nam. Thank you for your service to our country and welcome home!

[Winona Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight

Great insight on a topic not widely talked about,mat I crews during Vietnam. Even though the book does get sort of repetitive, it's still a great read.

[Anna Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to know more.

[karen l downs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Looking for good books on Vietnam it was great read and was a true reflection of that way the army life is

[Leo J. brunetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have that! xin loi!

Some insight into experience of war and it's senseless violence. I gave it three stars . Never found out the loaders name.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been there

Welcome home. I turned 20 there in 66. Dying from agent Orange, just haven't dropped yet. Can't hear worth damn too.