Eye Corps: Coming of Age at the DMZ

by Jack Walker

"This is the story of a young man who was drafted into the army in 1964 and who ended up in Vietnam as a marine recon company commander at the DMZ in 1967. While a war story, it is more importantly about growing up in a combat zone with the help of senior mentors and a bit of luck, while dealing with a tenacious enemy as well as politicians thousands of miles from the battlefield. It is also a portrait of America in the troubled 1960s"--

280 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2016

Reviews

[Peter Budetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Candid, evocative memoir of a young man's personal growth through carrying out responsibilities that came neither naturally nor easily--fighting an ugly war in a distant land for unclear reasons and with many obstacles imposed by his own country's leadership. Outstanding work.

[Ken Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This deeply personal memoir is a compelling read. It is a coming-of-age narrative by a sensitive Notre Dame-educated Catholic, and his frank confession. Author Jack Walker recounts his acts, omissions, moral minefields, and spiritual loss as a young Marine Corps recon officer in Vietnam. Through a detailed recounting of his wartime memories, and with photographs taken during Walker’s 1967 tour of duty, the reader confronts a tragic armed conflict through the perspective of one individual whose boots were on the ground. Although the book chronicles this one man’s specific experience, it shines a surprisingly far-reaching light on the larger war and the toll it inflicted on American’s political institutions and a generation of American youth.

The author’s first combat patrol ends in a successfully executed artillery strike - on a highly questionable target. This event – both triumphant and tragic – sets the tone for the remainder of the book. Throughout his time in Vietnam and in his transition back to “the world,” a thoughtful and patriotic but skeptical Marine officer experiences sights, sounds, emotions, and actions across every point on the moral spectrum.

The author has a crisp, laconic writing style, and he is unflinchingly honest. He recounts the facts of his journey from a boyhood in the Bronx to Vietnam and back, without indulging in any literary adornment. He is earthy, concise, unflinching, and emotionally unguarded. Both naïve and wise, he is highly self-aware but never self-absorbed. Without becoming maudlin, his war stories are immediate and troubling, and they end with an unexpectedly heartbreaking event that moved me to tears.
Like his service in Vietnam, this memoir is a feat of real courage. It is riveting and rewarding to read.

[Ken Oder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming of age during the Vietnam era proved to be difficult for those who served in the war, for those who did not, and for a nation that had lost its way. This memoir is the gripping story of a young man’s journey through the fearsome challenges of that conflicted time. It’s a tale of bravery, introspection, frustration, triumph, and grief, artfully told in a clear-eyed, quiet narrative voice with candor, intimacy, and humility. It’s a great read for all who lived through that era and all who want to know about it. I highly recommend it.