Complex stories of war-time bravery, brutality, compassion, and futility can be found in Vietnam Stories: A Fudge's Memoir. Jack Crouchet, retired U.S. Army Colonel and former military judge, brings to life a controversial picture of Americans and Vietnamese in Vietnam during the war years of 1968-1969. Crouchet's unique position as military judge made him privy to the stories and lives of American soldiers, Vietnamese people, and the U.S. non-military residents who appeared before his court. Though not a book of war stories per se, Vietnam Stories provides a unique overview of that historical time and includes the author's reflections on the politics of the Vietnam war.
A strange culture was created by the war in Vietnam. While twelve percent of military personnel were involved in actual combat, many civilians and high-ranking military persons lived in luxury in Saigon. They were furnished with airconditioned villas, apartments, and hotels; ate in exquisite French restaurants; and traveled in comfort. The Vietnam experience of youthful American combat soldiers was one of constant danger as well as confrontation with situations that many were unprepared to deal with. Well-armed and often immature, the soldiers sometimes made decisions which led to tragedy. Finally, there were the farmers of Vietnam, who wanted nothing more than to remain in their fields near the tombs of their ancestors.
"Those who have served in or have visited Vietnam will find much in their experiences to relate to in the pages of Vietnam Stories". -- Eugene F. Murrett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Description:
Complex stories of war-time bravery, brutality, compassion, and futility can be found in Vietnam Stories: A Fudge's Memoir. Jack Crouchet, retired U.S. Army Colonel and former military judge, brings to life a controversial picture of Americans and Vietnamese in Vietnam during the war years of 1968-1969. Crouchet's unique position as military judge made him privy to the stories and lives of American soldiers, Vietnamese people, and the U.S. non-military residents who appeared before his court. Though not a book of war stories per se, Vietnam Stories provides a unique overview of that historical time and includes the author's reflections on the politics of the Vietnam war.
A strange culture was created by the war in Vietnam. While twelve percent of military personnel were involved in actual combat, many civilians and high-ranking military persons lived in luxury in Saigon. They were furnished with airconditioned villas, apartments, and hotels; ate in exquisite French restaurants; and traveled in comfort. The Vietnam experience of youthful American combat soldiers was one of constant danger as well as confrontation with situations that many were unprepared to deal with. Well-armed and often immature, the soldiers sometimes made decisions which led to tragedy. Finally, there were the farmers of Vietnam, who wanted nothing more than to remain in their fields near the tombs of their ancestors.
"Those who have served in or have visited Vietnam will find much in their experiences to relate to in the pages of Vietnam Stories". -- Eugene F. Murrett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
From Kirkus Reviews
A straightforward look back at a former US Army judge's trials in the Vietnam War. Retired colonel Crouchet offers a two-faceted memoir. About half the book is devoted to a sort of traveler's catalogue of meals eaten, rooms slept in, sights seen, and personalities encountered throughout the former Republic of Vietnam from July 1968 to July 1969, the height of the American war. The other half, and by far the stronger, is devoted to details--including several long transcripts--of many courts-martial over which the author presided. Crouchet did see a side of the Vietnam War that is not often portrayed in memoirs. He stayed in his share of air-conditioned hotel rooms and officers' quarters. He ate his share of fancy French food in Saigon's chi-chi restaurants. He put away more than a few drinks with more than a few generals, young American women, and visiting celebrities. The war was raging all around him, but Crouchet's recounting of his leisure-time activities reads like a kindly grandfather's self-effacing retelling of a mildly adventurous stay in a far-off, exotic land. Another problem with the personal narration: Crouchet uses lots of detailed, reconstructed dialogue that often does not ring true. His trial recapitulations, on the other hand, are well and fully told. They include insightful analyses of the motives of the men who were charged with serious crimes. Also in the positive category are Crouchet's introspective explanations of his generally dovish views on the war and his placing in perspective the murders and rapes that make up a good part of the book with the positive behavior of the overwhelming majority of Americans who were sent to fight in Vietnam. A workmanlike effort that reveals a not-often-examined aspect of the Vietnam War. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.