What do you think?
Rate this book
Chasing Understanding in the Jungles of Vietnam: My Year as a Black Scarf
Author Doug Beed relates his memories of the men and missions during his year (1968-69) as a combat soldier with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam. After two years of college he couldn't afford to continue so he was forced to relinquish his student deferment and enter the draft. He tried various strategies to get a non-combat job; nevertheless he ended up in the infantry and was assigned to Vietnam.
The stories in this book depict the year Doug spent in Alpha Company where he spent days on patrols finding and killing North Vietnamese soldiers along the hundreds of miles of trails heading for the Saigon. These stories range from funny to tragic, from uplifting to extremely frustrating and from touching to horrifying. This book gives the reader a sense of life in the infantry in 1968 and 1969.
The stories in this book depict the year Doug spent in Alpha Company where he spent days on patrols finding and killing North Vietnamese soldiers along the hundreds of miles of trails heading for the Saigon. These stories range from funny to tragic, from uplifting to extremely frustrating and from touching to horrifying. This book gives the reader a sense of life in the infantry in 1968 and 1969.
- GenresHistory
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2017
121 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 24, 2017
Beed has written a memoir of experiences that ten of thousands of young men in the late 60's lived through. Being drafted to fight in Vietnam, going there and doing his job, and returning to the U.S. a changed and damaged man. Experiencing hell, dealing with it, and pushing on. He tells his story through the eyes of an infantryman. And he tells it excellently, honestly, and openly. The training, the waiting, the boredom, the excitement, and the outright terror of the deployment. The incompetence of the "lifers". The return home, the anger, the drinking, the confusion, and ultimately, the conquering of the experiences. While Beed experiences an amazing amount of combat, he never once "blows his own horn", instead he relates the experiences in a plain-spoken, yet vivid manner. The result is that the reader feels they are there with Beed. The same when he returns home, never boasting of his experiences, instead keeping them to himself. Yet the way he opens up in the end of the book, you have to marvel at the man, his strength, and of the other men with similar experiences. Excellent book!
May 8, 2018
As the daughter of a Veteran of the Vietnam War, this book really touched me. I will be purchasing a copy for my Dad.
May 22, 2017
And The Point is ?
Don't do Nam, as a matter of fact, anything after as well. This book is an example of why don't read Nam and most everything that's Enduring Freedom n beyond always have to throw in Nam Zingers where we sucked and there's the right way and then there's Nam. Nowadays we're fighting pros, not rag tag rice farmers, blah - blah - blah.
Very frustrating on both ends. Lifer this, Lifer that and then 10% were ok. Make up your mind. I hated lifers throughout my time, understand a lot of the beefs but hate to clue the author in but it's as bad if not worse now. You want to stay in, lot of politics whether E or O.
Sounds like author got a lot of training n stuff, being tired n all. You think they had a point ?......and the rest was on you. It was your life or death. Always told my troops to not worry about the Attitudes, non-hackers. Just as long as they came along, more targets -- NVA n anybody else whose shooting doesn't know who's good or not.
I'm all for conscription and people who make noise ought to look at facts of units that were well led and did very well despite conscripts in the ranks.
My problem is folk who think they're too good to waste time serving their country. And thinking dying is for us west side low life's, not them who got better things to do. They deserve the right to live til 100, not paying the piper a dime. The 'all volunteer ' is really messing this country up.
Bottom line w book -- could relate to 'stuff' but author didn't build up any characters I really liked or cared for. Neat, logical breakdown of chapters but then just rambled a lot. Don't know what a Mike plt is and I guess no such thing as fire teams. Lil Mo, yeah but...
Didn't get any sense of camaraderie, pride, self respect. We went up hills w rifles that didn't work and 3 times as many NVA waiting for us. But whether fresh meat or good friends, up we went. Probably for all the wrong reasons.
Author did great job of Monday morning QB strategy, tactics.Should been an officer n show us how to do it.
Don't do Nam, as a matter of fact, anything after as well. This book is an example of why don't read Nam and most everything that's Enduring Freedom n beyond always have to throw in Nam Zingers where we sucked and there's the right way and then there's Nam. Nowadays we're fighting pros, not rag tag rice farmers, blah - blah - blah.
Very frustrating on both ends. Lifer this, Lifer that and then 10% were ok. Make up your mind. I hated lifers throughout my time, understand a lot of the beefs but hate to clue the author in but it's as bad if not worse now. You want to stay in, lot of politics whether E or O.
Sounds like author got a lot of training n stuff, being tired n all. You think they had a point ?......and the rest was on you. It was your life or death. Always told my troops to not worry about the Attitudes, non-hackers. Just as long as they came along, more targets -- NVA n anybody else whose shooting doesn't know who's good or not.
I'm all for conscription and people who make noise ought to look at facts of units that were well led and did very well despite conscripts in the ranks.
My problem is folk who think they're too good to waste time serving their country. And thinking dying is for us west side low life's, not them who got better things to do. They deserve the right to live til 100, not paying the piper a dime. The 'all volunteer ' is really messing this country up.
Bottom line w book -- could relate to 'stuff' but author didn't build up any characters I really liked or cared for. Neat, logical breakdown of chapters but then just rambled a lot. Don't know what a Mike plt is and I guess no such thing as fire teams. Lil Mo, yeah but...
Didn't get any sense of camaraderie, pride, self respect. We went up hills w rifles that didn't work and 3 times as many NVA waiting for us. But whether fresh meat or good friends, up we went. Probably for all the wrong reasons.
Author did great job of Monday morning QB strategy, tactics.Should been an officer n show us how to do it.
June 9, 2024
"When one shifts the moral basis of one's life back and forth, it takes a toll. And the adjustments that are made are often not clean or pleasant."
Douglas Beed
A rare look at the mind of a Vietnam veteran who faced his participation in one of the worst military interventions in the history of military interventions. I'm glad he saw the futility of America's willingness to send young men to die in an old man's war, led by lifer military types who wanted nothing more than a promotion; to hell with the lives of countless youths at their command.
I'm glad the author did not witness, outright, the thousands and at times tens of thousands of war crimes committed by American soldiers against Vietnamese civilians. He admits that he had several foggy recalls of those times, and I don't blame him. Witnessing hell on earth and being rewarded for it would make me want to forget as well.
Cool story. Cool of the author to discuss the horrors one brings back home with them and the state's inability and unwillingness to help the very people who died for her name and flag. Bizarre.
Crazier yet is that there would be many more skirmishes and military interventions for which Uncle Sam would obliterate its own sons and daughters in the coming decades. To date, we all know that the invasion of Iraq and subsequent invasion of Afghanistan were both unwarranted, cruel, and stupid. Just ask the many veterans who were lucky enough to make it back home with all their parts and they'll explain.
Douglas Beed
A rare look at the mind of a Vietnam veteran who faced his participation in one of the worst military interventions in the history of military interventions. I'm glad he saw the futility of America's willingness to send young men to die in an old man's war, led by lifer military types who wanted nothing more than a promotion; to hell with the lives of countless youths at their command.
I'm glad the author did not witness, outright, the thousands and at times tens of thousands of war crimes committed by American soldiers against Vietnamese civilians. He admits that he had several foggy recalls of those times, and I don't blame him. Witnessing hell on earth and being rewarded for it would make me want to forget as well.
Cool story. Cool of the author to discuss the horrors one brings back home with them and the state's inability and unwillingness to help the very people who died for her name and flag. Bizarre.
Crazier yet is that there would be many more skirmishes and military interventions for which Uncle Sam would obliterate its own sons and daughters in the coming decades. To date, we all know that the invasion of Iraq and subsequent invasion of Afghanistan were both unwarranted, cruel, and stupid. Just ask the many veterans who were lucky enough to make it back home with all their parts and they'll explain.
July 10, 2018
This was a different take on some of the books about Vietnam that I have read. The author is describing his journey after two years of college and not having the money to go back gets drafted. He then spends time through basic and then takes the reader through ways that he tried to get out of being deployed to an actual unit that would be fighting. All of this and he still ended up in the jungles fighting to survive and actually making friends and really wanting them to make it as well. You get a real sense that this book is almost therapeutic for the author. What you really get is an honest look at young men sent to a foreign country fighting to survive in the jungles and besides the enemy they have other creatures that they have never seen before. Only to go out once again because some higher up has a plan but is not going out with them. This is there story, the grunts. The fun, boredom, sad times and then dealing with coming home and having to put it all together. Overall not a bad book at all. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com
May 7, 2018
Draftee Infantry Defined
Rarely mentioned is the fact that by 1967 onward Vietnam Grunt Infantry units were made up of 50% to 70% of Draftees! This book relentlessly describes these conscripts attitude and fears of The Lifers who had total control of their fates in combat. Lifers who would brag “ there’s an endless supply of warm bodies in the green machine,” and we will use them to further our careers as necessary. They did too, butchering young draftees in needless, stupid Combat Assaults That were planned with medals in mind, for the lifers, and dead bodies be damned! If these soldiers had of been , say, sailor seals, they all would have been awarded more medals than a South American Dictator on parade...Sad to say.
Rarely mentioned is the fact that by 1967 onward Vietnam Grunt Infantry units were made up of 50% to 70% of Draftees! This book relentlessly describes these conscripts attitude and fears of The Lifers who had total control of their fates in combat. Lifers who would brag “ there’s an endless supply of warm bodies in the green machine,” and we will use them to further our careers as necessary. They did too, butchering young draftees in needless, stupid Combat Assaults That were planned with medals in mind, for the lifers, and dead bodies be damned! If these soldiers had of been , say, sailor seals, they all would have been awarded more medals than a South American Dictator on parade...Sad to say.
June 3, 2017
Trying to analyze
The book is dry without either humor or rage . It is full of a general malaise and lack of passion.
The author should stick to his PTSD treatment at the VA and when he discovers he is not the victim he portrays himself as, he will be better off.
NOT WORTH READING !!!!!
The book is dry without either humor or rage . It is full of a general malaise and lack of passion.
The author should stick to his PTSD treatment at the VA and when he discovers he is not the victim he portrays himself as, he will be better off.
NOT WORTH READING !!!!!
September 21, 2017
A pretty good, basic book of what life in Viet Nam was like for a draftee serving in the infantry. Beed does not go to deeply into the actual combat stories that many similar books do so you don’t get the feel of the real horrors of war. His self examinations are insightful and worth reading. Overall, a good read.p
July 24, 2018
An interesting read, another memoir of a life damaged by America's involvement in this misguided effort. Beed is not a great writer, but his chapters come short and quick as a he, decades after leaving the jungle, struggles to understand what his time in Vietnam meant. His harshest critique is for the 'lifers,' who he claims largely treated grunts like him as career-levitating cannon fodder.
January 30, 2018
Draftees Are Expendable
Shows what being drafted in the Army during Vietnam War was really like. Absolutely no consequences for Lifers who needlessly sacrificed young soldiers lives to further their careers. It's a national shame it was allowed to happen!
Shows what being drafted in the Army during Vietnam War was really like. Absolutely no consequences for Lifers who needlessly sacrificed young soldiers lives to further their careers. It's a national shame it was allowed to happen!
August 10, 2019
The author's disdain for "lifers" in the Army and brutal honesty about the stupidity of military decision making is spot-on accurate. Sgt Beed, I'm glad you made it home. Welcome back. -a fellow vet
May 29, 2017
Real memories of Vietnam
Written in such a way that you actually feel a sense of being apart of the tour the author is remembering. G.l.s remember always. 71_72 Tour.
Written in such a way that you actually feel a sense of being apart of the tour the author is remembering. G.l.s remember always. 71_72 Tour.
December 20, 2017
Great read.
February 9, 2019
Having lived in Vietnam for a year I was a little ashamed at how limited my knowledge was about the war. I can't really say that this book has given me a better understand of its history however I can say that it gives an excellent insight into what life was like for this vet in particular. It is well written, informative, emotional and even funny at times.
What I really liked about the memoir is that you could tell it was therapeutic for him. That the act of finally telling his story was helping him heal some how.
It has definitely left me with a desire to learn more about the war.
What I really liked about the memoir is that you could tell it was therapeutic for him. That the act of finally telling his story was helping him heal some how.
It has definitely left me with a desire to learn more about the war.
April 1, 2017
3.5 stars
May 3, 2017
Probably the best Vietnam memoir I've read
After reading this draftee's account of his Vietnam experience from draft notice to now, I felt like I had survived the experience as well. Well-written and attention-grabbing.
After reading this draftee's account of his Vietnam experience from draft notice to now, I felt like I had survived the experience as well. Well-written and attention-grabbing.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews