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Loon: A Marine Story
“Kids like me didn’t go to Vietnam,” writes Jack McLean in his compulsively readable memoir. Raised in suburban New Jersey, he attended the Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, but decided to put college on hold. After graduation in the spring of 1966, faced with the mandatory military draft, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps for a two-year stint. “Vietnam at the time was a country, and not yet a war,” he writes. It didn’t remain that way for long.
A year later, after boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and stateside duty in Barstow, California, the Vietnam War was reaching its peak. McLean, like most available Marines, was retrained at Camp Pendleton, California, and sent to Vietnam as a grunt to serve in an infantry company in the northernmost reaches of South Vietnam. McLean’s story climaxes with the horrific three-day Battle for Landing Zone Loon in June, 1968. Fought on a remote hill in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam, McLean bore witness to the horror of war and was forever changed. He returned home six weeks later to a country largely ambivalent to his service.
Written with honesty and insight, Loon is a powerful coming-of-age portrait of a boy who bears witness to some of the most tumultuous events in our history, both in Vietnam and back home.
A year later, after boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and stateside duty in Barstow, California, the Vietnam War was reaching its peak. McLean, like most available Marines, was retrained at Camp Pendleton, California, and sent to Vietnam as a grunt to serve in an infantry company in the northernmost reaches of South Vietnam. McLean’s story climaxes with the horrific three-day Battle for Landing Zone Loon in June, 1968. Fought on a remote hill in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam, McLean bore witness to the horror of war and was forever changed. He returned home six weeks later to a country largely ambivalent to his service.
Written with honesty and insight, Loon is a powerful coming-of-age portrait of a boy who bears witness to some of the most tumultuous events in our history, both in Vietnam and back home.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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July 26, 2013
My daughter Anna and author Jack McLean had something in common. They each decided that there was something important s/he wanted to do before beginning college. Anna wanted to go to Cambodia and work in an orphanage. Jack wanted to join the Marines and serve in Vietnam. Each one took the time to pursue and reach their goal. Eventually, with the goal achieved, Anna went to the University of Virginia and Jack went to Harvard.
This is another story about Vietnam. It is not a novel. It is nonfiction. It is a story about something that I didn’t do when I was nineteen years old.
Sometimes a book will sit on my shelf for many months before I read it. This book was unread for only three weeks. I was drawn to it as I often am to books about this war of my generation.
Jack McLean was nineteen and ready to go to Vietnam. The slogan is “The Marine Corps Builds Men.” Jack learned in basic training on Parris Island, SC, that “the Marine Corps was about killing and following orders.” Enough said.
Young Jack was an unlikely volunteer for the Marines. Most of his family assumed that he would go to college after completing his time at an elite prep school where George W. Bush was one of his classmates. But he chose to enlist in the Marines. His time in basic training was transformative as it is for many young men and cemented his determination to serve his country. He was eager to go to Vietnam and eventually did after months of service in a safe Marine supply center in Barstow, California.
After eight months in Vietnam, his Charlie Company of “one hundred eighty boys” was sent on an offensive mission, transported by chopper into a hot zone, LZ (landing zone) Loon, where they were to provide cover for an engineering company and earth movers to prepare the site for large artillery to be brought in the next day, also by chopper.
There are some details that for me, a non-soldier, about war on the personal level as a couple of pages are taken to go through what items are taken by the soldier into battle, from hand grenades to toilet paper. There is also a section that details all the ordinance used in a battle. “We expended more than five tons of artillery and aerial munitions for every NVA soldier who surrounded Khe Sanh.”
We are warned. But not given much time to prepare.
And then it was over. Or was it?
This book remembers that some of us called them baby killers. But what was the point?
For some the war ended right there in Vietnam. For others it has never ended. Jack McLean’s body slowly rejected the tiny bits of shrapnel from LZ Loon.
If a book makes me cry, I usually give it five stars. Loon: A Marine Story qualifies.
This is another story about Vietnam. It is not a novel. It is nonfiction. It is a story about something that I didn’t do when I was nineteen years old.
Sometimes a book will sit on my shelf for many months before I read it. This book was unread for only three weeks. I was drawn to it as I often am to books about this war of my generation.
One Marine Corps color is gold –
Shows the world – we are bold.
Left-right-left.
Left-right-left.
Another Marine Corps color is red –
Rep-re-sents the blood we shed.
Left-right-left.
Left-right-left.
If I die in a combat zone,
Box me up and send me home.
Wrap my arms around my chest,
Tell the world I done my best.
Left-right-left.
Left-right-left.
Jack McLean was nineteen and ready to go to Vietnam. The slogan is “The Marine Corps Builds Men.” Jack learned in basic training on Parris Island, SC, that “the Marine Corps was about killing and following orders.” Enough said.
Young Jack was an unlikely volunteer for the Marines. Most of his family assumed that he would go to college after completing his time at an elite prep school where George W. Bush was one of his classmates. But he chose to enlist in the Marines. His time in basic training was transformative as it is for many young men and cemented his determination to serve his country. He was eager to go to Vietnam and eventually did after months of service in a safe Marine supply center in Barstow, California.
After eight months in Vietnam, his Charlie Company of “one hundred eighty boys” was sent on an offensive mission, transported by chopper into a hot zone, LZ (landing zone) Loon, where they were to provide cover for an engineering company and earth movers to prepare the site for large artillery to be brought in the next day, also by chopper.
There are some details that for me, a non-soldier, about war on the personal level as a couple of pages are taken to go through what items are taken by the soldier into battle, from hand grenades to toilet paper. There is also a section that details all the ordinance used in a battle. “We expended more than five tons of artillery and aerial munitions for every NVA soldier who surrounded Khe Sanh.”
We are warned. But not given much time to prepare.
And then it was over. Or was it?
We had served. We had defended liberty on freedom’s frontier. We would not receive the kudos of a grateful nation and purposefully get on with our lives.
But there were no crowds.
There were no parades.
Perhaps, we thought, all of that would come later.
So all waited.
Several million of us.
It never came.
This book remembers that some of us called them baby killers. But what was the point?
For some the war ended right there in Vietnam. For others it has never ended. Jack McLean’s body slowly rejected the tiny bits of shrapnel from LZ Loon.
For nearly fifteen years afterward, tiny shards from that one round eventually rose to the surface of my skin. One by sickening one, I’d pull them out with tweezers.
If a book makes me cry, I usually give it five stars. Loon: A Marine Story qualifies.
July 9, 2014
Its style is hard to get into, as this author is not a writer. Most of it seems in a voice rather detached and stilted, from decades later than the events. And that aspect and affect dropped my interest considerably by the half way point of this book. Still, it is a very easy read, although I found that I could not linger in the Loon stand.
Being of that era and prime year for nearly every male of my age that I knew to be drafted, I found some of his judgments and conclusions about who went and how they went by the drafting process completely off. In fact, I do not think it was a war fought by just the lower classes of American males at all. Now, with the volunteer army it is actually far more so a lower economic class input. Lower educational input, as well. Where I was many, many higher class or solidly middle class guys went. Did they school for awhile to think about it? Sure, they did. But did they go to Canada or have someone pay a draft board? No. They heard JFK's voice about giving back, not asking- for one thing.
But beyond all that, this author was so young and is not any longer. And the letters are great but the rest is just a gloss and jump report. He has buried much of the prime thoughts and feelings I would have liked to find more of in this book. Except about Sid- and I find that a clue to how really deep he has buried the rest.
His battle copy, assignment location and unit is excellent. His was a service much more toward the first than the last of this War. Yet his homecoming chapter read like a newspaper article, very detached. The soldiers coming home a couple of years later were treated far worse than just the neglect to acknowledgment or expressed appreciation or parade or handshake that he mentions. Traumatized men were spit on and called names in the airports in CA every single day. One of my friends became a type of greeter to become a barrier to this.
Vietnam was a mistake built on idealism rah-rah. Today's idealism going the opposite way is worse and will lead to worse. Peace comes out of showing strength, not demonstrating apology and weakness. Human nature is pragmatic and will quickly fill any voids of power- both physical and economic.
Being of that era and prime year for nearly every male of my age that I knew to be drafted, I found some of his judgments and conclusions about who went and how they went by the drafting process completely off. In fact, I do not think it was a war fought by just the lower classes of American males at all. Now, with the volunteer army it is actually far more so a lower economic class input. Lower educational input, as well. Where I was many, many higher class or solidly middle class guys went. Did they school for awhile to think about it? Sure, they did. But did they go to Canada or have someone pay a draft board? No. They heard JFK's voice about giving back, not asking- for one thing.
But beyond all that, this author was so young and is not any longer. And the letters are great but the rest is just a gloss and jump report. He has buried much of the prime thoughts and feelings I would have liked to find more of in this book. Except about Sid- and I find that a clue to how really deep he has buried the rest.
His battle copy, assignment location and unit is excellent. His was a service much more toward the first than the last of this War. Yet his homecoming chapter read like a newspaper article, very detached. The soldiers coming home a couple of years later were treated far worse than just the neglect to acknowledgment or expressed appreciation or parade or handshake that he mentions. Traumatized men were spit on and called names in the airports in CA every single day. One of my friends became a type of greeter to become a barrier to this.
Vietnam was a mistake built on idealism rah-rah. Today's idealism going the opposite way is worse and will lead to worse. Peace comes out of showing strength, not demonstrating apology and weakness. Human nature is pragmatic and will quickly fill any voids of power- both physical and economic.
June 27, 2014
A disappointing purchase and way over-priced.
One of the really positive benefits of the self-publishing revolution has been the number of memoirs being published. Obviously many not polished, but interesting and of considerable historical value. Some are very good, indeed. Others less so. This one felt like a book one expects to have been self published; I looked, and was surprised to see the Random House imprint.
Mclean, who was at Andover with George Bush, (of National Guard and cocaine fame,) struggled through Andover and when he wasn’t accepted by Harvard or Yale, or Stanford, was at a loss as to what to do. So he enlisted in the Marines. He was born just a month before me, so the dates brought back many memories. Getting out of Parris Island, he was sent to California for a few months to learn supply, much to his relief, but everyone in the Marines eventually wound up in Vietnam, and, sure enough, his orders for that quagmire came through.
Mclean was urged to write this memoir when his wife discovered the letters he had written home over the months he was in Vietnam. The very short section, barely a couple chapters, dealing with the horrific, if futile, experience on LZ Loon, was seemingly thrown in almost as an afterthought, rather than the highpoint (or low-) of his experience, his life even. Clearly the experience of writing for him personally must have been necessary and cathartic, I hope.
There is a good story in here and perhaps with a good editor, it could have been teased out. It lacked focus and at times wandered between being critical and stand-up-salute-your-flag bravado. Finding a theme was difficult. There are many other Vietnam memoirs out there that I feel are much better. And I got a little tired of hearing that Sid was dead six weeks, two days, several weeks, later. Once has devastating impact. By the fourth time, it brought a yawn.
One of the really positive benefits of the self-publishing revolution has been the number of memoirs being published. Obviously many not polished, but interesting and of considerable historical value. Some are very good, indeed. Others less so. This one felt like a book one expects to have been self published; I looked, and was surprised to see the Random House imprint.
Mclean, who was at Andover with George Bush, (of National Guard and cocaine fame,) struggled through Andover and when he wasn’t accepted by Harvard or Yale, or Stanford, was at a loss as to what to do. So he enlisted in the Marines. He was born just a month before me, so the dates brought back many memories. Getting out of Parris Island, he was sent to California for a few months to learn supply, much to his relief, but everyone in the Marines eventually wound up in Vietnam, and, sure enough, his orders for that quagmire came through.
Mclean was urged to write this memoir when his wife discovered the letters he had written home over the months he was in Vietnam. The very short section, barely a couple chapters, dealing with the horrific, if futile, experience on LZ Loon, was seemingly thrown in almost as an afterthought, rather than the highpoint (or low-) of his experience, his life even. Clearly the experience of writing for him personally must have been necessary and cathartic, I hope.
There is a good story in here and perhaps with a good editor, it could have been teased out. It lacked focus and at times wandered between being critical and stand-up-salute-your-flag bravado. Finding a theme was difficult. There are many other Vietnam memoirs out there that I feel are much better. And I got a little tired of hearing that Sid was dead six weeks, two days, several weeks, later. Once has devastating impact. By the fourth time, it brought a yawn.
July 9, 2013
Having finished Loon: A Marine Story by Jack McLean just a few hours ago, I was frankly at a loss as to how to start this review. Adjectives such as “exceptional” and “sublime” are accurate enough, and yet somehow do not convey the depth of my enjoyment and admiration for this memoir of a young man who left a life of comfort and privilege to enlist in the United States Marine Corps at a time when combat duty in Vietnam was all but certain.
Finally, I decided to rely on my own years in uniform and go with what was always the topmost ranking a Sailor could achieve in any endeavor or performance review: Outstanding. Loon is simply outstanding.
Jack McLean had a picture-perfect, upper-middle-class American childhood and adolescence. Born in the earliest wave of the post-WWII baby boom, he lived in the suburbs of New York City, learned to swim at the Y and had a paper route. McLean followed his father by attending prep school at Phillips Academy, with future President George W. Bush as a fellow student.
But McLean struggled at Phillips and five years later when graduation finally came into sight he found colleges less than interested in him. That was fair, though, as he found himself less than interested in attending college right away. There was more to that decision than simply taking time off from school.
With engaging and fluid prose, McLean brings the reader along step-for-step on his journey to becoming a Marine, from enlisting through basic training at the famed Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island and then on to Vietnam where he survived a bitter three-day fight with the North Vietnamese Army at Landing Zone (LZ) Loon. Throughout the narrative the author provides historical context for background, such as the fact he was manning the perimeter at LZ Loon the same day Bobby Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles:
Mere weeks after surviving the fight at Loon, McLean is on an airplane for home, his tour of duty complete. Just months after Loon, McLean began his freshman year at Harvard, in the process becoming the first Vietnam veteran to attend that prestigious school.
Loon isn’t a military history of a battle; the details of the three-day fight at LZ Loon are vivid but somewhat unspecific — this reader suspects out of respect for the fallen. Instead, it is the story of how one boy became a Marine, and what that meant to him and about him. McLean’s journey started differently than the other men he served with in Charlie Company, but each man passed the same tests along the path to becoming a Marine and in doing so they became brothers.
For more information on the author and his writing, visit his website.
Finally, I decided to rely on my own years in uniform and go with what was always the topmost ranking a Sailor could achieve in any endeavor or performance review: Outstanding. Loon is simply outstanding.
Jack McLean had a picture-perfect, upper-middle-class American childhood and adolescence. Born in the earliest wave of the post-WWII baby boom, he lived in the suburbs of New York City, learned to swim at the Y and had a paper route. McLean followed his father by attending prep school at Phillips Academy, with future President George W. Bush as a fellow student.
But McLean struggled at Phillips and five years later when graduation finally came into sight he found colleges less than interested in him. That was fair, though, as he found himself less than interested in attending college right away. There was more to that decision than simply taking time off from school.
There would be two issues that I would have to face should I decide not to go to college. The year was 1966. There was a draft. If you were eighteen or older, male, and of sound body and mind, it was your duty—indeed it was the law—to serve the country in the military for a minimum of two years. Second, there were my parents. I was certain that their vision for me included college—any college.
— Mclean, Jack (2009-05-07). Loon: A Marine Story (pp. 15-16). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
With engaging and fluid prose, McLean brings the reader along step-for-step on his journey to becoming a Marine, from enlisting through basic training at the famed Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island and then on to Vietnam where he survived a bitter three-day fight with the North Vietnamese Army at Landing Zone (LZ) Loon. Throughout the narrative the author provides historical context for background, such as the fact he was manning the perimeter at LZ Loon the same day Bobby Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles:
Robert F. Kennedy was forty-two years old. He died the following morning, on June 6, 1968.
Those of us in Charlie Company who survived LZ Loon would not hear the news for another week.
Many of us died that day as well.
— Mclean, Jack (2009-05-07). Loon: A Marine Story (p. 2). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Mere weeks after surviving the fight at Loon, McLean is on an airplane for home, his tour of duty complete. Just months after Loon, McLean began his freshman year at Harvard, in the process becoming the first Vietnam veteran to attend that prestigious school.
Loon isn’t a military history of a battle; the details of the three-day fight at LZ Loon are vivid but somewhat unspecific — this reader suspects out of respect for the fallen. Instead, it is the story of how one boy became a Marine, and what that meant to him and about him. McLean’s journey started differently than the other men he served with in Charlie Company, but each man passed the same tests along the path to becoming a Marine and in doing so they became brothers.
One year after my graduation from Parris Island, I was in Vietnam, fighting side by side with my marine brothers, when I was shot at with live ammo for the first time. During the ensuing battle and the others that followed, I was confused, disoriented, and scared to death—every time—but I was never alone. There was always another marine nearby. He also was confused, disoriented, scared to death—but he had me nearby. That was the way it worked in the Marine Corps. Together we’d figure something out.
— Mclean, Jack (2009-05-07). Loon: A Marine Story (p. 59). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
For more information on the author and his writing, visit his website.
February 10, 2018
I did not read this book in order to publish a critique on the author's literary style or lack thereof. I am completely baffled why anyone would bother to do that. I did read this book in order to gain a perspective on the author's experience. We are/were contemporaries. I wore a different uniform and was in a nearby country. I had high school friends, two very close, several just casually close who wore his uniform and were in the same area as the author was and during the same time frame. All of them made it back but not in the best of condition. One, at least, is now gone. One is still around. The rest are god knows where. I wanted to learn what I had missed and what they had not. The author did a fine job of relating some of that to me. Thank you very much for taking the time to tell you story.
June 12, 2018
Another book that I can totally identify with. Jack was in Vietnam a year before I was. We covered a lot of the same territory. I too was at bases along Rt 9 - Camp Carroll, VCB, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, Khe Sanh. I too had to leap out of the back of heliocopters who wouldn't set their wheels down on the earth, I too walked through elephant grass that was 8 feet or more tall. I too was mortared by the NVA and I too served in the 4th Marines. I could picture in my mind all his movements. Because of this emotional connection I gave the book 5 stars.
Jack writes about his total Marine Corps experience from boot camp to Vietnam, with the action he participated in, the friends he lost, his arrival back home and attendance at Harvard University.
Jack writes about his total Marine Corps experience from boot camp to Vietnam, with the action he participated in, the friends he lost, his arrival back home and attendance at Harvard University.
June 5, 2020
This was a great look at the Vietnam war. It is told in a personable voice that makes you root for Jack the whole way through. This book was one of the better memoirs I have ever read.
May 16, 2013
Wow! I have seen a lot of war movies and read a lot of war books...Loon ranks up there with the very best.
In 1967, Jack McLean enlisted in the Marines right out of a prestigious prep school rather than go to college. The book is about the path he took at the height of the Vietnam War which took him into combat as an infantryman.
McLean is an articulate and perceptive writer (having later attended Harvard) and spins a great memoir. He captures the essence (and dissonance) of what the war was like "at the pointy end of the spear," where so few of us have been. All of us can read about war as history-- McLean and his Marine brothers lived war. Casualties were not just nameless faces, they were his best friend Sid, or Tom, the ultra-cool guy that everybody wanted to be like, or so many members of his tight-knit group. The rest of us will never be able to comprehend that special, peculiar bond between combat veterans...He made me feel guilty about my missions flown from the relative safety of my air-conditioned cockpit, though that was not his point.
If you are not interested in gritty details of life in the foxhole, don't read this. If you are looking for military history and realism at its finest, this book is a must-read.
In 1967, Jack McLean enlisted in the Marines right out of a prestigious prep school rather than go to college. The book is about the path he took at the height of the Vietnam War which took him into combat as an infantryman.
McLean is an articulate and perceptive writer (having later attended Harvard) and spins a great memoir. He captures the essence (and dissonance) of what the war was like "at the pointy end of the spear," where so few of us have been. All of us can read about war as history-- McLean and his Marine brothers lived war. Casualties were not just nameless faces, they were his best friend Sid, or Tom, the ultra-cool guy that everybody wanted to be like, or so many members of his tight-knit group. The rest of us will never be able to comprehend that special, peculiar bond between combat veterans...He made me feel guilty about my missions flown from the relative safety of my air-conditioned cockpit, though that was not his point.
If you are not interested in gritty details of life in the foxhole, don't read this. If you are looking for military history and realism at its finest, this book is a must-read.
July 27, 2009
McLean pulls you right into the jungles of Vietnam with his memoir. It is compelling, gripping and humbling to read of the horrors of a war that was played out by our young men. No matter what you think or thought of the Vietnam War, this is a must read. The only way to sum it up is to say thank you to McLean and all of the others that answered the call to duty.
July 3, 2023
My reason for reading this book (actually listened to it in audio book) was for the purpose of healing and no longer hating Marines. My father is a deceased Marine and Vietnam vet. He was very abusive and toxic. He had too many issues to list, but he was excessively proud of being a Marine. His arrogance drove his pride over the top. He never got help for whatever happened to him. He never talked about the war, only the Marines. That, combined with his various types of abuse towards his family, led me to believe that the Marines turned my Dad into a monster. I'm still struggling with forgiving him so I can let go of this anger and have peace. That's why I listened to Loon. I wanted to learn more about Marines, in a manner that isn't glossed over, and about Vietnam War.
The author explains his choice to enlist in the Marines, his experiences of war, the devastating losses, and a bit on how strange it was to return to civilian life. This helps to understand what it was like for these boys. Most of them were killed at such a young age. And, the author is proud of his service and yet seems so human.
My Dad did not seem human to me. I might have to break down at some point and talk to Marines and see if they all seem human. I need to know how they transitioned back into a civilian. How do they handle the violence, the fear, and the death. I need to understand these things, and I'd say Loon was a good start in getting me there.
The author explains his choice to enlist in the Marines, his experiences of war, the devastating losses, and a bit on how strange it was to return to civilian life. This helps to understand what it was like for these boys. Most of them were killed at such a young age. And, the author is proud of his service and yet seems so human.
My Dad did not seem human to me. I might have to break down at some point and talk to Marines and see if they all seem human. I need to know how they transitioned back into a civilian. How do they handle the violence, the fear, and the death. I need to understand these things, and I'd say Loon was a good start in getting me there.
March 24, 2018
Agenda or just ignorant...
"Lém arrested Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tuan with his family and forced him to show them how to drive tanks.[6] When Lieutenant Colonel Tuan refused to cooperate, Lém killed Tuan, his wife and six children and his 80-year-old mother by cutting their throats. There was only one survivor, a seriously injured 10-year-old boy.[7]
Lém was captured near a mass grave with 34 civilian bodies. Lém admitted that he was proud to carry out his unit leader's order to kill these people.[8] Having personally witnessed the murder of one of his officers along with that man's wife and three small children in cold blood,[citation needed] when Lém was captured and brought to him, General Loan summarily executed him using his sidearm"
This is just one of many instances that the author gets wrong. Some of his stories, according to his contemporaries I've spoken with, are entirely fabricated. He can't even get his facts about the men who served right and simply parrots the usual myths.
"Lém arrested Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tuan with his family and forced him to show them how to drive tanks.[6] When Lieutenant Colonel Tuan refused to cooperate, Lém killed Tuan, his wife and six children and his 80-year-old mother by cutting their throats. There was only one survivor, a seriously injured 10-year-old boy.[7]
Lém was captured near a mass grave with 34 civilian bodies. Lém admitted that he was proud to carry out his unit leader's order to kill these people.[8] Having personally witnessed the murder of one of his officers along with that man's wife and three small children in cold blood,[citation needed] when Lém was captured and brought to him, General Loan summarily executed him using his sidearm"
This is just one of many instances that the author gets wrong. Some of his stories, according to his contemporaries I've spoken with, are entirely fabricated. He can't even get his facts about the men who served right and simply parrots the usual myths.
March 14, 2024
Having been around draft age during Vietnam this book hit directly home about the turbulent times and lives of the people that served- and did or didn’t return home. It puts you right in the action of the war- and into the holes they dug daily to stay alive while they were constantly attacked. Loon is very well written- I highly recommend you read. It is a detailed and traumatic account of the lives of marines who volunteered and were drafted- to serve. And I finished it- thinking once a marine always a marine.
I strongly suggest you buy and read Jack’s other book- Found. It is an amazing account of the life and times and sacrifices of being a veteran of a war most didn’t want- but an honor for those who served. And about the strength and lifelong backbone of being a marine.
I strongly suggest you buy and read Jack’s other book- Found. It is an amazing account of the life and times and sacrifices of being a veteran of a war most didn’t want- but an honor for those who served. And about the strength and lifelong backbone of being a marine.
February 10, 2018
This was a fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking book. I was born in 1954, female and pretty sheltered but I did live through this time. I have a brother who is 6 years older and I can still remember the collective family sigh of relief when the draft #s were published in the paper and we all realized his was very high and he was relatively safe. Many thanks to the men and women who went to Vietnam and served. They were treated badly when they came home. Books like this help me understand that war and that time.
January 29, 2018
Great book
This was a great book of a difficult time in USA history. A very good account of what it was like to grow up 18 years old in 1967. I would like to thank the author for his service (about 50 years) to late. God bless you and all who have served and will serve our country.
This was a great book of a difficult time in USA history. A very good account of what it was like to grow up 18 years old in 1967. I would like to thank the author for his service (about 50 years) to late. God bless you and all who have served and will serve our country.
March 7, 2018
It brought back to many memories
I come to realize that I was at Parris Island in the 3rd Bn the same time as Jack McLean. My tour in Vietnam paralleled his exactly. His description of Vietnam was exactly the way it was.
I come to realize that I was at Parris Island in the 3rd Bn the same time as Jack McLean. My tour in Vietnam paralleled his exactly. His description of Vietnam was exactly the way it was.
September 11, 2018
Greater than the sum of its parts
Mostly about the mundane involved in the Vietnam experience. It accentuates the stark difference when things went off the rails. Worth your time. I figure that’s what matters most though, right?
Mostly about the mundane involved in the Vietnam experience. It accentuates the stark difference when things went off the rails. Worth your time. I figure that’s what matters most though, right?
April 4, 2019
A vivid and important story
We still may not understand why we were in this war, but it is important to understand why so many are willing to sacrifice in service of our country.
Incredible detail in a very relatable story from Jack as a young man.
We still may not understand why we were in this war, but it is important to understand why so many are willing to sacrifice in service of our country.
Incredible detail in a very relatable story from Jack as a young man.
February 24, 2018
Great Read.
I was with 3rd battalion 9 th Marines. in Vietnam in August of 67. Great book as I can relate to the authenticity and accuracy of this book.
I was with 3rd battalion 9 th Marines. in Vietnam in August of 67. Great book as I can relate to the authenticity and accuracy of this book.
April 29, 2018
Incredible le
You will always wonder why me and not the other guy enjoyed the book temper fi, you kept me up all night
You will always wonder why me and not the other guy enjoyed the book temper fi, you kept me up all night
July 7, 2018
It was a good book. Interesting to hear about the author's experience in Vietnam.
July 23, 2018
A compelling read by a member of my generation. Vietnam was our war and Jack McLean describes the war and his part in it in precise, gripping prose.
July 27, 2020
A number of the guys I went to school with chose this option. All but one were fortunate to return. So I try to read at least one of these every year.
February 25, 2021
Very succinct. Avoids political comments (for the most part). Would have been better with a map or two.
June 17, 2021
The best Vietnam war book I’ve read! This is my fifth in a row and by far the most poignant, riveting, fascinating yet.
August 13, 2022
Outstanding. Not just a story about war but about those who are sent to fight it.
October 27, 2022
A must read!
April 22, 2024
Riveting account of young man in Vietnam 1968
March 16, 2025
This is a unique and rare perspective. As Vietnam was a war mainly fought by the poor, it is extremely interesting to view one who came from wealth and privilege serving as a grunt.
November 10, 2025
Fabulous writing to describe a first hand experience as a marine in the Vietnam war. Our servicemen and women should be proud.
March 9, 2014
"Loon" is short, considering it's compilation of Viet Nam experience, conveyed initially in letters home that the author had let marinate for 35 years before typing up as memoir. It is a uniquely American story--from the privileged Baby Boomer adolescence through elite prep school, with station wagons and "Leave it to Beaver"--right up to the moment McLean opts to enlist in the Marine Corps. There he finds moral dilemmas and the "cooperate and graduate" socialization of Basic Training, as well as the trepidation/certainty about the future that arrived with graduating from Parris Island in the mid-60s. I liked the way the author interwove the events affecting the war from around the world (most notably Khe Sanh and LBJ's announcement that he wouldn't run in '68) into the narrative to show how circumstances outside his immediate perspective were influencing his experience at LZ Loon. The reader is treated to the standard features of this commonly-shared bildungsroman--the R&R to Singapore, the almost-tangible divide between himself and the college students he grew up with, and the culture shock (akin to getting off the bus at Basic) of leaving an air-conditioned 707 for the breath-sucking heat of Saigon; and that's good, because these facets are just about universal in Viet Nam narratives and we need to be reminded of that. What differentiates McLean's treatment of the topic, however, is his listing the names and circumstances of everyone in his Company killed at Loon, as well as his effort to describe the solid leadership his commanders provided to those besieged there. My only gripe about this book is the dearth of maps, but that's also a standard complaint I have lately. On the whole, I found "Loon" to be a good account and definitely a credit to the memory of the brothers-in-arms that Mr. McLean lost. I am also very pleased that books like this one and Karl Marlantes's recent works are now available to the generation that fought in Iraq and Afghanistan; we need them.
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