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Once A Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam
The memoir of a young American soldier who became the most powerful man in a remote rural district of Vietnam
In the spring of 1969, First Lieutenant David Donovan arrived in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam to work as military advisor with village chiefs and local militia to win the war. But as he was the highest-ranking person in the entire district, his life there was far more complex than anyone could have imagined.
This is Donovan's gripping account of combat missions and night ambushes in the swamps and jungles of the Delta; his heartrending tale of personal involvement with the culture and families in his charge; his humane introspection on his awesome responsibility as both warrior and king; and his stark reflections on the changes he saw in himself and his country upon his return to the United States.
"Donovan's memoir . . . provides valuable documentation on a relatively obscure part of the American military effort--it describes how the war really worked on the front line of 'Vietnamization, ' the training of local militia. His reflections on his own use of power raise serious and important questions about the American expierence in Vietnam."--The New York Times Book Review
In the spring of 1969, First Lieutenant David Donovan arrived in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam to work as military advisor with village chiefs and local militia to win the war. But as he was the highest-ranking person in the entire district, his life there was far more complex than anyone could have imagined.
This is Donovan's gripping account of combat missions and night ambushes in the swamps and jungles of the Delta; his heartrending tale of personal involvement with the culture and families in his charge; his humane introspection on his awesome responsibility as both warrior and king; and his stark reflections on the changes he saw in himself and his country upon his return to the United States.
"Donovan's memoir . . . provides valuable documentation on a relatively obscure part of the American military effort--it describes how the war really worked on the front line of 'Vietnamization, ' the training of local militia. His reflections on his own use of power raise serious and important questions about the American expierence in Vietnam."--The New York Times Book Review
339 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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655 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
August 13, 2023
Anyone with any interest in the Vietnam War should read this excellent memoir. An honest and frank account of the authors experience in fighting a counter insurgency war against the Viet Cong. An essential read.
December 22, 2012
As a former adviser doing much the same as David Donovan, I found this to be an excellent read. While he and I were in different areas of Vietnam, we were there about the same time period. We of the Mobile Advisory Teams are among the forgotten; lost among the big units whom people remember. In part what the reader learns is that we left friends behind to continue fighting their war while we went home to a different world; but our minds will never forget the other world that we shared with the people with whom we lived.
October 6, 2014
Book review
Lydeth Gullam
The book I read was, Once a Warrior King bye David Donavan. This book was a memoir about his experiences in the Vietnam War. David was a Lieutenant in the army in the Vietnam War. His job was to watch over a sector or district near the Cambodian border. He wrote about how bad the heat was and humidity, he wrote how bad war could be for a signal man especially when you see a friend die. In the memoir he describes how wonderful the Vietnamese’s people are. In this memoir he describes the terror of the Vietnam War but he also describes that in the darkness of war there is some light. “It felt like I just got there and now I’m leaving. These were one of my best months of my life.” (Pg. 321). I would recommend this book to people who like historical non-fiction, with a little bit of action. In my opinion I would give this book a ten point five out of ten because of how it captured my attention and the details of the settings. I also liked the book because he made me want to keep reading and really brought me into the story.
Lydeth Gullam
The book I read was, Once a Warrior King bye David Donavan. This book was a memoir about his experiences in the Vietnam War. David was a Lieutenant in the army in the Vietnam War. His job was to watch over a sector or district near the Cambodian border. He wrote about how bad the heat was and humidity, he wrote how bad war could be for a signal man especially when you see a friend die. In the memoir he describes how wonderful the Vietnamese’s people are. In this memoir he describes the terror of the Vietnam War but he also describes that in the darkness of war there is some light. “It felt like I just got there and now I’m leaving. These were one of my best months of my life.” (Pg. 321). I would recommend this book to people who like historical non-fiction, with a little bit of action. In my opinion I would give this book a ten point five out of ten because of how it captured my attention and the details of the settings. I also liked the book because he made me want to keep reading and really brought me into the story.
June 20, 2009
One of the finest combat memoirs I've ever come across. Donovan spent his Vietnam tour in a small village lost in the Mekong Delta, commanding a handful of Americans sent to train a local militia. It's fine book about not just combat, but about isolation, about being suddenly dropped into an alien world and culture, and about finding out how to both lead, command, and persuade. Well-written, thoughtful, sombre. A long-time favourite.
February 2, 2013
Splendid book. Entertaining and minimally technical, it is strongly recommended for non-veterans who want to get a feel for "how it really was."
Donovan, as a mere First Lieutenant, was the senior U.S. military officer in a rural district near the Cambodian border. The Vietnamese District Chief cared little and higher authority was far away. By default, therefore, he became a kind of proconsul, a king. In charge of four Amercans and two platoons of Vietnamese militia, he ran his "own" war.
At first full of idealism and self-importance, he resembled Alden Pyle of the "The Quiet American". He mused that he could have any villager killed on his orders, and that he was treated like a lord. But he believed in the cause, loved the Vietnamese people, hated the Vietcong, disdained the corrupt and incompetent South Vietnamese government, and was appalled at the occasional coarseness of his fellow Americans. Like Horatio Hornblower, he was incredibly brave while filled with internal fear and doubt.
All of the grand complexities of That War are conveyed in microcosm through anecdote. There is much humor (the pubic-hair contest he was asked to judge while holed up in a bar; the Keystone Cops escape in a Jeep with the Vietcong blazing away), pathos (the burned child he could not save), frustration (the Province Chief on the take; the District Chief who cared more for his own comfort than his people's safety; the air-conditioned REMFs who inhabited a separate world in Saigon), anger (the Vietcong-planted bomb that shredded a schoolhouse full of children), and harrowing action (assaulting a Vietcong bunker complex in a motor-driven sampan).
I served in the PBRs--river gunboats--that he often mentions, in a nearby area and at roughly the same time. This is the book that I would have written, if I had Donovan's diligence, sensitivity, and craft
Donovan, as a mere First Lieutenant, was the senior U.S. military officer in a rural district near the Cambodian border. The Vietnamese District Chief cared little and higher authority was far away. By default, therefore, he became a kind of proconsul, a king. In charge of four Amercans and two platoons of Vietnamese militia, he ran his "own" war.
At first full of idealism and self-importance, he resembled Alden Pyle of the "The Quiet American". He mused that he could have any villager killed on his orders, and that he was treated like a lord. But he believed in the cause, loved the Vietnamese people, hated the Vietcong, disdained the corrupt and incompetent South Vietnamese government, and was appalled at the occasional coarseness of his fellow Americans. Like Horatio Hornblower, he was incredibly brave while filled with internal fear and doubt.
All of the grand complexities of That War are conveyed in microcosm through anecdote. There is much humor (the pubic-hair contest he was asked to judge while holed up in a bar; the Keystone Cops escape in a Jeep with the Vietcong blazing away), pathos (the burned child he could not save), frustration (the Province Chief on the take; the District Chief who cared more for his own comfort than his people's safety; the air-conditioned REMFs who inhabited a separate world in Saigon), anger (the Vietcong-planted bomb that shredded a schoolhouse full of children), and harrowing action (assaulting a Vietcong bunker complex in a motor-driven sampan).
I served in the PBRs--river gunboats--that he often mentions, in a nearby area and at roughly the same time. This is the book that I would have written, if I had Donovan's diligence, sensitivity, and craft
May 26, 2015
A Vietnam War memoir with a blunt and tragic honesty. One of the patterns that jumps out over and over every time I read one of these memoirs is the tremendous gap between the soldiers out in the forward operating bases and the General officers in the rear. This disconnect puts the soldiers on the frontlines in greater danger for meager wins. One of the causes for this discrepancy besides the lack of General and Field officers being out on the frontlines to see for themselves, is the generation gap between them and the Junior Officers. It seems that each war the Junior Officers are the first to catch on and adapt to any changes in how effective fighting should be done but they are hampered by the top brass who have their head in the clouds and are still stuck in the previous war's strategic thinking. Junior Officers have little sway and influence even though they have a more accurate picture of what is going on. The Field and General Officers ought to be much more attentive to what their Junior Officers are saying and they might get a better idea of how to move forward.
That being said this was not a book on strategy or politics, it was a book on one young man's experience with all the horrors and triumphs of a war that made little sense and left a gaping hole in his soul. A story of loss and of ultimate betrayal by the very country he swore to serve and protect.
That being said this was not a book on strategy or politics, it was a book on one young man's experience with all the horrors and triumphs of a war that made little sense and left a gaping hole in his soul. A story of loss and of ultimate betrayal by the very country he swore to serve and protect.
August 1, 2018
Very unique book, the author's experience leading a MAT team is very personal, heartwrenching, and also gives the reader a frontline account of the CORDS program in action.
November 14, 2017
This Vietnam War memoir by David Donovan (pen name for Terry Turner) is probably one of the best I have read in the genre for this war. Donovan served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1970. He completed one tour-of-duty in Vietnam as an assistant team leader for a Mobile Advisory Team (MAT) in Tram Chim village in 1969.
A Mobile Advisory Team was the smallest unit of the general advisory effort in Vietnam. Given that South Vietnam was divided into forty-two provinces and, in each of those provinces, further divided into various districts that were home to the small villages and rural towns, the advisory mission in Vietnam attempted to plant American advisors in every district. At the provincial level, a Colonel typically headed a Province Advisory Team, while a Captain or Major led the District Advisory Team. The MAT fell under the authority of the District Senior Advisor (DSA), led by a First Lieutenant or Captain. Donovan was first assigned to MAT 32 as a second lieutenant and assistant team leader, but was later promoted to the team leader and first lieutenant.
Donovan's unique role allowed him a deeper appreciation of Vietnamese culture and language (by the end of his tour he was semi-fluent in Vietnamese) and provided him with a ground-level view of the problems afflicting the overall American war effort in Vietnam. While Donovan and his men worked ceaselessly to win the 'hearts and minds' of locals, Donovan reflects that the typical 'Grunt' saw Vietnamese only as "slopes" and "gooks" and whose heavy-handed tactics often alienated the population. Donovan stresses that not all American soldiers fit this bill, but many of the GIs he encountered in rear base camps certainly offended the Vietnamese both purposefully and incidentally through their actions. Donovan and his men donned the blue beret of the Vietnamese militia (Regional/Popular Forces) units, often dressed in Vietnamese traditional garb when out of uniform, dined on local cuisine, observed local religious beliefs, and ingratiated themselves with the Hao Hoa (pronounced wa - how ) religious sect who formed a major chunk of the population in his district. At one point, Donovan describes the paradoxical and enigmatic sexual mores and taboos of the Vietnamese in Tram Chim and his efforts to avoid offending the Vietnamese's sensibilities on these matters (e.g. At one point a woman's brother-in-law pointedly asked Donovan whether he would enjoy sleeping with her and Donovan had to decide how to respond in a manner that would both avoid offending the woman's husband and offending the woman in question. To say that he would not sleep with her might constitute an affront to the woman's beauty and dignity, while to say that he would sleep with her might raise the hackles of the husband and his relatives). Donovan clearly communicates throughout the book his deep affection for the Vietnamese way of life and how at the end of his tour he experienced a profound emptiness when leaving behind the district chief, locals, and militiamen with whom he had become friends.
Donovan's memoir is also an implicit indictment of the American war effort in Vietnam. The MATs were crucial for pacification, Donovan argues, yet they were severely underfunded and ignored in the broader "search and destroy" mission envisioned under William Westmoreland and, to some extent, continued under Creighton Abrams. Donovan recalled that his men had to "barter" with the Navy's river patrols for mortar ammunition, and usually had trouble getting "simple things" like sandbags. The MATs were also apparently low priority for close air support. If the Americans and their Vietnamese militia partners were ambushed or engaged in a pitched battle with guerrilla fighters or NVA elements coming in from Cambodia, it sometimes took too long to receive any type of gunship or air support from the Navy, Army, or Air Force. The RF/PF forces were similarly under-equipped for their mission. Donovan was shocked and appalled that RF/PF forces in his district were still using "old World War II weapons" during engagements in 1969. Time and time again the militias were simply outgunned by 'Viet Cong' fighters equipped with fully automatic AK-47s against their M-1 Garand rifles and Thompson submachine guns.
The "Warrior King" in the memoir's title refers to the fact that Donovan became the team leader for his MAT in Tram Chim and, aside from the district chief, held an inordinate amount of power and influence over the lives of both the local militia forces and the civilian populations. Through Donovan, the Vietnamese could seek medical attention, air grievances with the Saigon and Provincial government, acquire their pay, and look for protection from Communist insurgents. When Donovan departed Tram Chim in late-1969, he left a position where he commanded the respect and had authority over both his American five-man force and the local populations. Within hours he was at Tan Son Nhut Air Base being dressed down by irritated Military Police for wearing his jungle fatigues instead of a Class "A" Uniform. In the final chapters, Donovan expresses the emotional trauma of leaving his team behind and the Vietnamese that he had grown to love. He was plucked from his teammates, three sergeants and a fellow officer, with whom he shared fraternal bonds, experiences, and a shared culture. He also witnessed the good work he had done for the Vietnamese in Tram Chim erased during the war's final, tragic years. He lamented that he "had not had the chance to say good-bye to my good friend Tai, the district chief who had been in office when I first arrived. The old Hoa Hao called me his American son and was one of the most gracious human beings I have ever met. He too was now an invisible part of my past." Donovan's pain was only exacerbated when he returned home and had the realization that for most Americans his sacrifices, joys, triumphs, and failures meant little or nothing and, even if those around him were appreciative of his service, they had no way of truly understanding what he had experienced.
This is an excellent memoir of war, and one that I would highly recommend to both those interested in the Vietnam War and also in the genre, generally. Donovan writes lucidly and thoughtfully about his experiences in Vietnam.
A Mobile Advisory Team was the smallest unit of the general advisory effort in Vietnam. Given that South Vietnam was divided into forty-two provinces and, in each of those provinces, further divided into various districts that were home to the small villages and rural towns, the advisory mission in Vietnam attempted to plant American advisors in every district. At the provincial level, a Colonel typically headed a Province Advisory Team, while a Captain or Major led the District Advisory Team. The MAT fell under the authority of the District Senior Advisor (DSA), led by a First Lieutenant or Captain. Donovan was first assigned to MAT 32 as a second lieutenant and assistant team leader, but was later promoted to the team leader and first lieutenant.
Donovan's unique role allowed him a deeper appreciation of Vietnamese culture and language (by the end of his tour he was semi-fluent in Vietnamese) and provided him with a ground-level view of the problems afflicting the overall American war effort in Vietnam. While Donovan and his men worked ceaselessly to win the 'hearts and minds' of locals, Donovan reflects that the typical 'Grunt' saw Vietnamese only as "slopes" and "gooks" and whose heavy-handed tactics often alienated the population. Donovan stresses that not all American soldiers fit this bill, but many of the GIs he encountered in rear base camps certainly offended the Vietnamese both purposefully and incidentally through their actions. Donovan and his men donned the blue beret of the Vietnamese militia (Regional/Popular Forces) units, often dressed in Vietnamese traditional garb when out of uniform, dined on local cuisine, observed local religious beliefs, and ingratiated themselves with the Hao Hoa (pronounced wa - how ) religious sect who formed a major chunk of the population in his district. At one point, Donovan describes the paradoxical and enigmatic sexual mores and taboos of the Vietnamese in Tram Chim and his efforts to avoid offending the Vietnamese's sensibilities on these matters (e.g. At one point a woman's brother-in-law pointedly asked Donovan whether he would enjoy sleeping with her and Donovan had to decide how to respond in a manner that would both avoid offending the woman's husband and offending the woman in question. To say that he would not sleep with her might constitute an affront to the woman's beauty and dignity, while to say that he would sleep with her might raise the hackles of the husband and his relatives). Donovan clearly communicates throughout the book his deep affection for the Vietnamese way of life and how at the end of his tour he experienced a profound emptiness when leaving behind the district chief, locals, and militiamen with whom he had become friends.
Donovan's memoir is also an implicit indictment of the American war effort in Vietnam. The MATs were crucial for pacification, Donovan argues, yet they were severely underfunded and ignored in the broader "search and destroy" mission envisioned under William Westmoreland and, to some extent, continued under Creighton Abrams. Donovan recalled that his men had to "barter" with the Navy's river patrols for mortar ammunition, and usually had trouble getting "simple things" like sandbags. The MATs were also apparently low priority for close air support. If the Americans and their Vietnamese militia partners were ambushed or engaged in a pitched battle with guerrilla fighters or NVA elements coming in from Cambodia, it sometimes took too long to receive any type of gunship or air support from the Navy, Army, or Air Force. The RF/PF forces were similarly under-equipped for their mission. Donovan was shocked and appalled that RF/PF forces in his district were still using "old World War II weapons" during engagements in 1969. Time and time again the militias were simply outgunned by 'Viet Cong' fighters equipped with fully automatic AK-47s against their M-1 Garand rifles and Thompson submachine guns.
The "Warrior King" in the memoir's title refers to the fact that Donovan became the team leader for his MAT in Tram Chim and, aside from the district chief, held an inordinate amount of power and influence over the lives of both the local militia forces and the civilian populations. Through Donovan, the Vietnamese could seek medical attention, air grievances with the Saigon and Provincial government, acquire their pay, and look for protection from Communist insurgents. When Donovan departed Tram Chim in late-1969, he left a position where he commanded the respect and had authority over both his American five-man force and the local populations. Within hours he was at Tan Son Nhut Air Base being dressed down by irritated Military Police for wearing his jungle fatigues instead of a Class "A" Uniform. In the final chapters, Donovan expresses the emotional trauma of leaving his team behind and the Vietnamese that he had grown to love. He was plucked from his teammates, three sergeants and a fellow officer, with whom he shared fraternal bonds, experiences, and a shared culture. He also witnessed the good work he had done for the Vietnamese in Tram Chim erased during the war's final, tragic years. He lamented that he "had not had the chance to say good-bye to my good friend Tai, the district chief who had been in office when I first arrived. The old Hoa Hao called me his American son and was one of the most gracious human beings I have ever met. He too was now an invisible part of my past." Donovan's pain was only exacerbated when he returned home and had the realization that for most Americans his sacrifices, joys, triumphs, and failures meant little or nothing and, even if those around him were appreciative of his service, they had no way of truly understanding what he had experienced.
This is an excellent memoir of war, and one that I would highly recommend to both those interested in the Vietnam War and also in the genre, generally. Donovan writes lucidly and thoughtfully about his experiences in Vietnam.
October 31, 2019
David Donovan had a privileged position in the Vietnam War. A lieutenant fresh out of training, he was assigned as a military adviser deep in the Mekong Delta, a backwater without roads, electricity, even soap. With just 4 other Americans and two platoons of haphazardly equipped local militia, Donovan didn't have much, but he was the Co Van, the senior American in the district, and for better or worse a Warrior King. He could call down fire from the sky, dole out miraculous American medicine, order people imprisoned or killed with a word. Donovan admits that at times he may have gone slightly mad, but some sort of fundamental decency kept him on track in his year-long tour. He couldn't win the war, but he held his sector together.
The anecdotes make this book, ranging from tense ambushes and slogging patrols to the indignities of being at the end of the American supply system and learning to make do with grilled rat and rice dipping nuoc mam. Three incidents in particular speak out: trying to maintain conservative Vietnamese sexual mores and American military standards with young ladies literally throwing themselves at the team (Donovan claims he respectfully declined), a local Catholic priest who hated Americans and plotted against them to the extent that Donovan strongly considered having the Phoenix Program assassinate the man (and declined because he didn't want to kill a man of the cloth, no matter how annoying), and when 'loose-cannon' Captain Jackson fired his M16 to intimidate some prisoners and wound up causing a fire in the base that set off 400 rounds of mortar ammunition and leveled everything (which would be hilarious, except that 4 people died).
The anecdotes make this book, ranging from tense ambushes and slogging patrols to the indignities of being at the end of the American supply system and learning to make do with grilled rat and rice dipping nuoc mam. Three incidents in particular speak out: trying to maintain conservative Vietnamese sexual mores and American military standards with young ladies literally throwing themselves at the team (Donovan claims he respectfully declined), a local Catholic priest who hated Americans and plotted against them to the extent that Donovan strongly considered having the Phoenix Program assassinate the man (and declined because he didn't want to kill a man of the cloth, no matter how annoying), and when 'loose-cannon' Captain Jackson fired his M16 to intimidate some prisoners and wound up causing a fire in the base that set off 400 rounds of mortar ammunition and leveled everything (which would be hilarious, except that 4 people died).
June 17, 2017
Most of us look back at the Vietnam War as one of the US' most cruel adventures. We think of the movie "Platoon", massive protests, the bombing, and the napalm girl. Veteran David Donovan (pseudonym), however, gives us a different viewpoint in his memoir. Entertaining throughout, he is a genuinely good guy who tries his best in the war, despite being stationed out in the middle of nowhere in South Vietnam and facing danger constantly. The stories he shares are unbelievable.
Published in 1985, this book offers a timely perspective. Without giving too much away, I like what Donovan says about the war memorial and the war itself in the final pages of the book, and I liked many of the stories about working with the South Vietnamese. A great read!
Published in 1985, this book offers a timely perspective. Without giving too much away, I like what Donovan says about the war memorial and the war itself in the final pages of the book, and I liked many of the stories about working with the South Vietnamese. A great read!
June 11, 2010
My sister lent me this book after reading it in her ROTC class in college. It's been years, and I intend to revisit it.
One of the most vivid scenes in the book for me was at the end, when the officer comes back home stateside and feels so deeply disoriented by his submersion back into "civilization", the sensation of being dethroned by normalcy.
This, I think, was the book that began my fascination with the psyche, specifically that of the soldier, and the impact of PTSD.
One of the most vivid scenes in the book for me was at the end, when the officer comes back home stateside and feels so deeply disoriented by his submersion back into "civilization", the sensation of being dethroned by normalcy.
This, I think, was the book that began my fascination with the psyche, specifically that of the soldier, and the impact of PTSD.
November 18, 2012
I read this book when I was on active duty in the late 1980's. I didn't understand the impact it had on me until I got home from my own overseas tours and the Gulf War. This book illustrates the disconnect between young soldiers in charge of million-dollar equipment and coming home and trying to fit back in the mold the culture has for young people. Very good.
February 26, 2017
Most of this book details the experiences of this particular soldier in Vietnam, living among the people and doing his best to keep the myriad problems he faced dealt with as much as possible. I was pleasantly surprised at his respect for the Vietnamese people and their culture, compared to some horrifying perspectives I've read from other vets. His is a valuable perspective, giving humanity to those who fought in Vietnam, especially considering the documented perspectives of those like the vet who taught Richard Ramirez to kill.
The most difficult part of the book for me was the last few chapters. There is clearly a deep and disturbing disconnect between the veterans of this war and those who protested against it. They seem to have not only gotten completely different information from their sources, but are so mired in their "us vs them" conflict that the willingness to look into what was going on at home when he was at war is just not there. People were horrified by the human rights abuses that he never saw while he was holding a little village together in a remote area of the jungle. But still he resented them, and they him. A lot of anger and misunderstanding could be avoided with a bit of research and maybe even talking to people about why they protested against the war. I'm glad he wrote this book, so we can have his perspective of the war and the hows and whys of its importance to him and vets who relate to his experiences.
The most difficult part of the book for me was the last few chapters. There is clearly a deep and disturbing disconnect between the veterans of this war and those who protested against it. They seem to have not only gotten completely different information from their sources, but are so mired in their "us vs them" conflict that the willingness to look into what was going on at home when he was at war is just not there. People were horrified by the human rights abuses that he never saw while he was holding a little village together in a remote area of the jungle. But still he resented them, and they him. A lot of anger and misunderstanding could be avoided with a bit of research and maybe even talking to people about why they protested against the war. I'm glad he wrote this book, so we can have his perspective of the war and the hows and whys of its importance to him and vets who relate to his experiences.
March 23, 2010
I finished this book both elelated and somewhat exhausted.
Once a Warrior King is a personalised viewpoint and account of David's Donovan tour of duty in Vietnam War in 1969. Its written in a very easy to read and straight forward style to point, you always know where are.
I found this book thoroughly entralling, engrossing and exhaustive at times. In particular for the way the ambushes and operations are setup and vividly described, as only a solider ( not historian ) could write. A solid strongpoint that I really appreciated is the way the author is openly honest in retelling and bringing forward the horrors, depravities and questionable practices of his countryman towards to Vietnamese people, towards each other and of the madness that is war itself. I did feel at times in the beginning in letting the reader into this reality he seem exempt and lift himself up professionally. Towards the end however I wasn't really bothered by this and more thankful that this honesty shows the both the positive and negative raw ends of life in a war zone in the miltary.
A brillent paragraph worth quoting is found on page 171
" It's inevitable. It's hard to resist the little perks that come with a little power. You feel you deserve them. Then, as the power grows the perks grow too, and suddenly the perks corrupt ".
Once a Warrior King is a personalised viewpoint and account of David's Donovan tour of duty in Vietnam War in 1969. Its written in a very easy to read and straight forward style to point, you always know where are.
I found this book thoroughly entralling, engrossing and exhaustive at times. In particular for the way the ambushes and operations are setup and vividly described, as only a solider ( not historian ) could write. A solid strongpoint that I really appreciated is the way the author is openly honest in retelling and bringing forward the horrors, depravities and questionable practices of his countryman towards to Vietnamese people, towards each other and of the madness that is war itself. I did feel at times in the beginning in letting the reader into this reality he seem exempt and lift himself up professionally. Towards the end however I wasn't really bothered by this and more thankful that this honesty shows the both the positive and negative raw ends of life in a war zone in the miltary.
A brillent paragraph worth quoting is found on page 171
" It's inevitable. It's hard to resist the little perks that come with a little power. You feel you deserve them. Then, as the power grows the perks grow too, and suddenly the perks corrupt ".
March 22, 2017
Once a warrior king is written by David Donovan who also is the individual from which the story is told. David Donovan is a First Lieutenant during the Vietnam War during 1969. In his time in Vietnam he becomes the leader of an entire district. However being at the top comes with responsibility as well as power. This is a first person documentation of events that transpired during his time as the warrior king.
I liked that this book isn't a tale of the typical view of the Vietnam war. This book has a greater focus on the day to day life of an American soldier in Vietnam and it allows the reader to get a feel of how American Soldiers and Vietnamese locals got along and how they became accustomed to each other's differences. I liked when Donovan describes what he and the other americans did in their free time and many of their interactions with the locals.
One thing i do dislike about the book is that it is not really discussed on what the other character went through after the war. Donovan does tell a vivid first person view of everything that happens but leaves the readers hanging on how many of the other characters have faired after their time in the story.
Overall Once a Warrior King is a great story that tells you of the backroads of war itself.
I liked that this book isn't a tale of the typical view of the Vietnam war. This book has a greater focus on the day to day life of an American soldier in Vietnam and it allows the reader to get a feel of how American Soldiers and Vietnamese locals got along and how they became accustomed to each other's differences. I liked when Donovan describes what he and the other americans did in their free time and many of their interactions with the locals.
One thing i do dislike about the book is that it is not really discussed on what the other character went through after the war. Donovan does tell a vivid first person view of everything that happens but leaves the readers hanging on how many of the other characters have faired after their time in the story.
Overall Once a Warrior King is a great story that tells you of the backroads of war itself.
October 14, 2019
Once a Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam is the captivating account of the kind of Vietnam experience that doesn't get shown in movies. Using a pseudonym, David Donovan describes everything significant that happens from the time he touches down on the tarmac in April of 1969 until he returns home. Donovan's account of his time in Vietnam is unabashedly his own. Assigned to to train local Vietnamese militia, Donovan's view of the war is a more thoughtful and insightful retelling than others. Those things typical of the Vietnam memoir genre are absent in Donovan's account: moral ambiguity, depravity, futility, are instead replaced by a mostly clear mission (or at least just partially foggy) and its execution by a young Army officer with a solid moral compass.
I would recommend this novel to any fan of the Vietnam genre of books, war stories, or non-fiction war. For me, this was a 36-hour, can't-put-it-down, read, the kind that don't come along too often.
I would recommend this novel to any fan of the Vietnam genre of books, war stories, or non-fiction war. For me, this was a 36-hour, can't-put-it-down, read, the kind that don't come along too often.
January 12, 2015
Throughout the book I was ambivalent as to it's contents. Having been an advisory teem leader, also, with MACV, I felt as though it had been cobbled together from at least two mens' experiences . . . one with a real command of the language, able to weave believable stories, and another, who sank to almost soap opera, formulaic "experience". At times I felt as though someone had taken a text book, "Everything You Need to Know as a MACV Adviser" and wrote a story for each chapter.
I understood many of the frustrations, feelings of failure, longing for home as did the writer . . . all of which struck a note of authenticity to a certain extent . . . but also winced at some of his "heroic" activities.
It wasn't until the last two chapters were read that I felt a real camaraderie with the writer and was thankful to be moved to tears . . .
I understood many of the frustrations, feelings of failure, longing for home as did the writer . . . all of which struck a note of authenticity to a certain extent . . . but also winced at some of his "heroic" activities.
It wasn't until the last two chapters were read that I felt a real camaraderie with the writer and was thankful to be moved to tears . . .
July 15, 2012
This is the most influential book I read. I read Once a Warrior King in 1989 when I was an officer cadet and have applied many of the lessons I learned in the book on operations in Cyprus, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Once a Warrior King presents a highly entertaining and thought-provoking account of leadership in the face of unexpected, complex, and unconventional problems. The story is set in Vietnam, but the lessons are timeless. Ultimately, the author demonstrates how common sense and principles can enable a leader to overcome challenges that lie outside of his experience and expertise. This should be manditory reading for all junior officers.
August 5, 2013
This is one of the better personal accounts to come out of the Vietnam War. In a remote province in Vietnam's Mekong delta, First Lieutenant David Donovan became a de facto ruler. Hence the title – Once A Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam. It is a gripping story of an unusual war and its effects on the young men who fought it.
The vivid description of being saved from being overrun one night by the awesome destructive power of an Arc Light strike will probably stay with me forever.
The vivid description of being saved from being overrun one night by the awesome destructive power of an Arc Light strike will probably stay with me forever.
December 18, 2014
Mr Donovan writes a fascinating story. This is the Vietnam War from a wholy different angle, and one that informs us on trascendental questions regarding the nature of war, counter-insurgency, cultural clashes, and human nature in general. The book is populated by wonderful, vivid characters, and the depth of the characterizations of the native vietnamese bespeaks the lengths to which the author went to get involved with them. I fully recommend this book, the best I've read this year of 2014.
December 16, 2018
This was an excellent book. I have been an advisor in Afghanistan and was astonished at the similarities between my experiences and his, even though we are separated by 40 years and worked with completely different cultures. But I was also amazed at the incredible risks these men faced. We no longer work in four man teams, always more. The book did an excellent job of helping you to understand the risks, the fear, the joys, and disappointments of advising in war.
June 22, 2011
Been many years since I last read this one, but I recall it being a very graphic and insightful firsthand accounting of a wet-behind-the-ears Lieutenant hitting the ground in a very hot combat zone. Very much a soldier's tale told in a soldier's language.
And I'll revisit this one for a reread in the near future, I expect.
And I'll revisit this one for a reread in the near future, I expect.
February 16, 2012
This book comes across as an honest memoir of a difficult time. It portrays success and failures with equal candor. The book is written in an episodic style and I think it is an important perspective on the war and how it was fought.
March 10, 2012
I began to understand the Vietnam War and what went wrong for the US military when I read this book and compared it with Chickenhawk. Air Cav was at the high tech end of the war that damn near ignored the local people, Donovan worked with the local militia and was starved of resources.
December 2, 2016
Very different sort of book. Very casual writing. A reader will feel like a part of a conversation throughout the novel. A dumped wife with a first born finds confidence within Adam and her family, and finally is able to identify herself as a woman separate from her husband. Good Read!
June 14, 2011
Brilliant book.
June 23, 2011
Awe inspiring book. Very well written with an easy reading style. Hard subject to read but well worth it. HIGHLY recommend
August 1, 2019
A bit of a self serving memoir, but otherwise quite interesting...
March 20, 2013
One of the better books about the war in Vietnam. It focuses on one officers control of a province in the Mekong Delta in the Vietnam War. His friendships with the locals, battles, action packed.
July 24, 2015
Classic
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