Things I'll Never Forget: Memories of a Marine in Viet Nam

This is a story of the brave young men and women who served in Vietnam. Stories of friendship and loss. Endurance and survival. A truly fascinating and moving story.

Excellent read, an honest and gritty account of young men at war. Dixon doesn't try to force his opinion, it is all there for the reader to experience and form their own conclusions.

There are so many accounts of how it was in the Viet Nam conflict and I have read a fair few but this is outstanding. I bought this on an offer from Amazon UK for my Kindle and its readability was fine but then it is mostly text. Unlike some this book had been thoroughly proofed too making for a very engaging smooth read. Naturally, at times it is very grim and might not suit all tastes. However, if you were a little disappointed with other accounts' believability then this one is from the heart, warts and all.Have always had respect for the USMC but this book shocked me as to how America uses its young men. It almost bears comparison with the Great War's Kitchener's volunteers but the author and many others were faced with coercion to enlist rather than volunteering. This guy could have run from his country's demands but he chose his own route accepting his fate as the Gods will decide. And oh my my what an adventure his book relates. I truly could not believe how he and his comrades were treated and though he survived to tell the tale it left scars. But he is sincere throughout for the good and the bad, mostly the latter.The more I read about personal experiences in that war, the best way IMHO, the less I find I really comprehend. Sounds the opposite of what you would expect but read this book and you will leave it dismayed, disappointed and quite a bit disgusted at how the powers-that-be went about fulfilling their perceived intentions as the war unfolded. If you dismiss managerial incompetence and political shenanigans you are left with malicious intent, the author and his fellow "grunts" may have had some inspirational thoughts of patriotism at first but way before their tenure ended all they had was disillusionment and sadness. This is much of how I felt by the time I had read the last page.It reaffirms to me that if a government has no recourse than fighting then it should promise only what its professional armed services can deliver. It is disgraceful to send the nation's innocents to combat in an alien environment with deficient equipment, incomplete training and inadequate support. Read this book and weep for those who did not return.

A very interesting and immersive account of the author's tour of duty in Vietnam. Some grammar errors but they don't detract from a quite compelling and powerful book. Well worth it.

I was born in July 1966, the same time that the author was coming face to face with the realities of being a marine in a combat zone. It seems incredible to me that at the beginning of my age of innocence these events were happening thousands of miles away in South East Asia. The personal recollections of the authors 13 month tour in Vietnam are Vivid and illustrated with language that marines would use in country, not much is held back. Its graphic, its honest..an old marines story of what he saw through teenage eyes..the hilarity, the drudgery, the tragedy of being part of a fighting unit. After reading this account I thank my lucky stars I have never been required to pick up a weapon and confront a largely unseen enemy in what history proved to be for the United states a pointless, unwinnable war.

a sad story of a soldier who fought in Vietnam and lost many friends and saw and did things just to survive and fought not for so much his country but for his fellow marines for some like me the same age as this war vet I cannot imagine the fear and horror of going to a country he probably never new existed to face a determined enemy who's only aim was to kill as many Americans as possible and see his friends and comrades die in terrible circumstances I like many who read this cannot see smell feel the full horror of this war and any war the total waste of life and the cruelty of war is beyond me we are the lucky people who for their courage and bravery allow me and all readers the freedom to read their stories thank you to all those men and women who fought for the freedom of future generations to hopefully live in peace you're bravery and sacrifice shall never be forgotten

This book is a real page turner. It tells the story of a USMC Marine during the Vietnam War and helps the reader to understand what life was really like for those ordinary Americans who served in the War. My only dislike was there are frequent grammatical errors in this book as a result of poor editing. However, this does not impede on the flow and readability of this book.

I could not put this book down, I remember when I was a youngster in the 60's and watching clips of it on the news in Britain and thinking I want to be a soldier, now nearly 50 odd years later and a veteran myself I realize that they send young boys to war because old men think about it too much.Temper Fi