What do you think?
Rate this book
Those Gallant Men: On Trial in Vietnam
Written by John S. Berry, the military trial attorney for a key defendant in the Green Beret case, this is one of the few books available on the strategy and dynamics of that litigation and the political machinations between the US Army, the CIA, and the Green Berets during the Vietnam War.
173 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1984
25 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 1, 2019
The book is written by John Stevens Berry, the famous military defense lawyer who defended many soldiers in Vietnam including the famous case of the Green Beret Leland Brumley who was accused of murdering a Vietnamese double agent. He goes into that case in detail, and it is the heart of the book. The double agent was accused of leaking landings so that Viet Cong soldiers were waiting with ambushes. He was therefore "terminated with prejudice."
Basically a defense lawyer muddies the waters. For example, the prosecution will try to keep discovery simple while the defense will broaden it as far as the court will allow him to do so. And Berry certainly broadened this case.
He also writes about many of his minor cases of stealing, deserting, rape, murder, and fragging. He claims that fragging--the killing of an officer with a fragmentation grenade--is much exaggerated and does not happen often.
He seemed to get virtually everyone off. It was very hard to prosecute a soldier anyway.
Basically a defense lawyer muddies the waters. For example, the prosecution will try to keep discovery simple while the defense will broaden it as far as the court will allow him to do so. And Berry certainly broadened this case.
He also writes about many of his minor cases of stealing, deserting, rape, murder, and fragging. He claims that fragging--the killing of an officer with a fragmentation grenade--is much exaggerated and does not happen often.
He seemed to get virtually everyone off. It was very hard to prosecute a soldier anyway.
September 25, 2009
Well written, fascinating.
It would be disearnest of me to not mention upfront that the author is, in fact, my father. That said, this book was terrific. He wrote it 25 years ago and I just got around to reading it. I was afraid it would simply be a detailed account of a trial my father had practiced in during his time in Vietnam.
But I was wrong. Very wrong. The stories and anecdotes are fantastic and if I didn't know the honesty of my own father, I would think some of the outrageous incidents were fiction.
He documents the ambiguities of law during Vietnam using very interesting courtroom transcripts and actual testimony.
A terrific read for anyone interested in law and a great book for anybody.
It would be disearnest of me to not mention upfront that the author is, in fact, my father. That said, this book was terrific. He wrote it 25 years ago and I just got around to reading it. I was afraid it would simply be a detailed account of a trial my father had practiced in during his time in Vietnam.
But I was wrong. Very wrong. The stories and anecdotes are fantastic and if I didn't know the honesty of my own father, I would think some of the outrageous incidents were fiction.
He documents the ambiguities of law during Vietnam using very interesting courtroom transcripts and actual testimony.
A terrific read for anyone interested in law and a great book for anybody.
April 8, 2016
Certainly a side of the Second Indochina War that you don't usually see. The basic elements of the story: the military justice system, the Vietnamese/American G.I. underworld, and the Green Beret case—these alone would make the book worthy of a read for anyone interested in the war, but "Those Gallant Men" is so much more than that.
Berry is a fascinating narrator: sensitive, witty, somewhat conservative, but with a big streak of irreverence through his middle. The writing is urbane and poetic, occasionally bitter and minimal—above all, literate. He brings his world to life evocatively.
He really makes you feel for his clients too. Just a deeply human author/character that had me rooting for him even though rooting for the American characters in books on Vietnam is something I rarely experience.
And in the Ugly American dept Monsieur Berry doesn't fail to deliver. His humanism is utterly undermined by his racism, for all his pathos about the tragedy of Vietnam FOR AMERICANS, there's not one extra tear shed for the widespread destruction of a country and the countless Vietnamese victims, beyond the minimal required to show his humanity.
In fact Washington Post satirist Art Buchwald (kind of a mid-century Onion writer) illustrates "Those Gallant Men"'s theme (the absurdity of applying the mores of juris prudence in a warzone) more precisely than all of Berry's existential pontificating:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...
Berry is a fascinating narrator: sensitive, witty, somewhat conservative, but with a big streak of irreverence through his middle. The writing is urbane and poetic, occasionally bitter and minimal—above all, literate. He brings his world to life evocatively.
He really makes you feel for his clients too. Just a deeply human author/character that had me rooting for him even though rooting for the American characters in books on Vietnam is something I rarely experience.
And in the Ugly American dept Monsieur Berry doesn't fail to deliver. His humanism is utterly undermined by his racism, for all his pathos about the tragedy of Vietnam FOR AMERICANS, there's not one extra tear shed for the widespread destruction of a country and the countless Vietnamese victims, beyond the minimal required to show his humanity.
In fact Washington Post satirist Art Buchwald (kind of a mid-century Onion writer) illustrates "Those Gallant Men"'s theme (the absurdity of applying the mores of juris prudence in a warzone) more precisely than all of Berry's existential pontificating:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews