Lieutenant Dangerous: A Vietnam War Memoir (Unabridged)
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3.9 • 8 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
This “funny, biting, thoughtful, and wholly original” Vietnam War memoir captures the fear, sorrow, and absurdities of combat (Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried).
“A must-read war memoir . . . related by one of the most incisive observers of the American political scene." —Kirkus Reviews
A conversation with a group of today’s military age men and women about America’s involvement in Vietnam inspired Jeff Danziger to write about his own wartime experiences: “War is interesting,” he reveals, “if you can avoid getting killed, and don’t mind loud noises.”
Fans of his cartooning will recognize his mordant humor applied to his own wartime training and combat experiences: “I learned, and I think most veterans learn, that making people or nations do something by bombing or sending in armed troops usually fails.”
Near the end of his telling, Danziger invites his audience—in particular the young friends who inspired him to write this informative and rollicking memoir—to ponder: “What would you do? . . . Could you summon the bravery—or the internal resistance—to simply refuse to be part of the whole idiotic theater of the war? . . . Or would you be like me?”
Customer Reviews
I did not enjoy this book
My military experience was similar to the author’s, but I am not as negative as he is. I was also drafted, at 18 in late September 1967. Being drafted for me was good. It forced me grow up fast which I needed. Life is not fair and neither is the draft. I wanted to fly helicopters and I passed the aptitude exams in basic training but never heard back. My drill Sargent told me in the army have have to blow your own horn, which I did. I bothered lots of people to finally get a 4 page telegram changing my orders to report to Ft Eustis Texas for primary warrant officer rotary wing pilot training. That 9 month training program was exceptional! They spared nothing to train us be excellent pilots. Of course I got orders to Vietnam immediately after flight school. My grandfather was in the army for ww1 and so was my dad in Europe for ww2. My attitude was war is a necessary evil and communism is an unnecessary evil. The people of Vietnam were being attacked and were being forced into communism. I flew almost 1200 hours of missions all over III Core area north of Saigon. Medivac, civilian assistance missions, special forces insertions and extractions, admin missions and mostly First Infantry Division combat assaults. I was shot down once and limped back to base at Lai Khe many times with numerous bullet holes (like most helicopter pilots). We got “rocketed” almost every night (2.75” un guided rockets) fired at our base camp. The army is a huge organization with many fine officers and solders. I am proud of what we did and of the us army. The US is fortunate to have our excellent military, the best in the world!
Keith Harrigan