The Monk and the Marines
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Like the hero of All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator of this bitter, honest account lives the agony of the common soldier. Blood . . . C rations . . . disease . . . courage . . . whores . . . marijuana . . . battle . . . boredom . . . and fear. The confusions of his monk’s cell traded for the harsh truths of a country with villages known as “Dogpatch” and villagers as “dogs.” A slice of hell where nearly new boots are always available outside the surgery door. To survive, a man must first kill the terror within—or he hasn’t a prayer.
Not since Johnny Got His Gun has a book so clawed at the reader’s senses, screaming from the page—this is it . . . war . . . This is real.
Customer Reviews
Profound! A Must Read
Philip Kingry’s “The Monk and the Marines” is a harrowing, unflinchingly honest portrayal of a combat medic’s journey through the brutal realities of war. Kingry’s narrative thrusts readers into the visceral experience—one filled with blood, disease, courage, and the constant shadow of death.
This memoir is a testament to the duality of battles faced by those on the battlefield : the external fight against the enemy and the internal struggle against fear. Kingry poignantly describes the terror that grips him, “Your heart pounds so hard it fills your chest and throat, and you shake with the pounding...You feel more fear than you ever felt anything else.”
Kingry also delves into the spiritual and moral erosion caused by war. The Marines’ reverence for their dead, described as “ancestor worship,” is both a source of strength and a somber reminder of the corps’ reliance on the memories of fallen comrades. This reverence is encapsulated in the line, “The Marine Corps lives in its dead in some ways more than its living.”
“The Monk and the Marines” is a raw, gripping account that strips war of any romanticism, leaving readers with a profound understanding of its true nature. Kingry’s ability to convey the depths of fear, moral conflict, and the search for meaning in the chaos makes this a must-read for anyone seeking to grasp the real impact of war on the human soul