Suicide Charlie: A Vietnam War Story

by Norman L. Russell

Norman Russell, a small-town sportswriter before his draft into the 25th Division, recounts his infantry's devastating assignment to Mole City and remembers his own father's suicide after the battles of World War II. Original.

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

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 30, 1993

Reviews

[Brett C]

This is a great and powerful memoir about soldiers during Vietnam. Russell was part of an operation that involved putting U.S. Army forces and forward operating bases along the Cambodian and Laotian borders in an attempt to disrupt the North Vietnamese coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail. His accounts and realism during his time are pretty intenseat times.

I would recommend this book along with 'Comanche Six: Company Commander Vietnam' by James L. Estep for anyone who likes first-person wartime memoirs. Thanks!

[April Russell]

Highly recommend this book, and not just because my father-in-law wrote it.

[Jimmy]

Much enjoyed. The characters seemed like the real soldiers I met in Vietnam and since then as veterans. Other more famous non-fiction books seem to be unable to realize that.

[Danny Knobler]

I’m old enough to remember the Vietnam war but too young to have fought in it. I’ve read plenty, and I’ve been to Vietnam several times as a tourist. But only since moving to Thailand full-time have I been able to have in-depth conversations with a few guys who fought there. One of them loaned me this book, telling me it was an accurate picture of life in his company (he was in the same company as the author). He also told me it could be a tough read at times.

It can be hard reading, not because the writing is bad but because the subject can still be painful 50 years on. It’s graphic at times, but only because there is no other way to describe what these guys witnessed and took part in.

No matter what your view of that war is, this book will give you a better understanding of what Vietnam was like for the guys on the ground.

[Hailey]

I picked this book up at a thrift store in Boise, Idaho. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure about whether or not I liked it, but towards the end I began to feel and understand how heavy of a feeling this was. It is correct that this reads like a novel, but it is important to be reminded that this is a true story. When thinking of it like that and thinking that the soldiers were my age, the perspectives change dramatically.

[B Deg]

I just added this to my long list of Vietnam books I've read. an easy 5 stars. the book is based on the authors experiences as a child with his dad who was a veteran and continues through his personal experiences in Vietnam and after. i don't want to give anything away but even a thorough reader on the subject will learn a few new things about the war and its toll from this book. i read this in practically 1 sitting. a very well written book. wish this author had more.

[Phillip]

It took me a bit to get into it, but I think this book can be an important read for veterans who may struggle to understand their own service.

Norman details the trauma, pain, and confusion of a combat veteran, both while in country and after returning, in a way that may inspire others to "break the silence" on their own experiences and allow themselves to heal.

[Claire Jones]

A fascinating read. A very real story of life on the front line in Vietnam. I very much liked Norma’s writing style, even taught me a few new words! It was interesting to see how the war changed him and his thoughts. Going from an FNG to a long timer in a matter of months. Interesting to see how he dealt with what he experienced over there. Highly recommend this.

[Levi]

Excellent Vietnam memoir, very different tone and content than a lot of the other material out there. Writer does an excellent job of examining why and how he ended up in Vietnam and presents what feels like a very honest look at how it affected him, his family, and the people around him. Not focused on detail after detail of every firefight he encountered, the book instead looks at what it was (and is) to be a soldier in a country nobody cares about in a war that can't be won. Recommended, even for people who don't read war memoirs.

[Jan]

This is a very good little book - with powerful content. It is much more than a "grunt's gut-wrenching memoir", which it is, but it provides a wider perspective of war and the human condition that spans generations and politics. And the best descriptions of the dark, such that the reader can almost feel it.

[Brian]

A good read.Well written.

[Jaye]

In truth I have not finished this book, but I no longer have it in my possession, and despair of picking it up again.