Vigra tears is a delightful story of two men who visit Vietnam 30 years after the war. The author and his brother-in-law, different as night and day, share a most memorable experience in their journey and it gives you a different perspective of the war.
This book is worth reading, very witty and well written. I especially liked the chapter titles and how they related to the text of the book. It is easy reading for those that don't have a lot of time. The events that take place are interesting and informative and give you a sense of the country and people. The author makes you feel like you are right there with them. I didn't want it to end.

I was not alive during the Vietnam War and only know what I read in the history books about it. After read Virga Tears I have a better understanding of what the war was like for soldiers (Nick), the people of Vietnam and those against the war (Jim).
There is great comdey and emotion between the two men in the story who couldn't be any more opposite then they are.
Once I picked up the book I could not put it down. The colorful words painted a vivid picture in my mind.
Great use of analogies. As an educator I would highly recommend it for a high school or college history class.
I laughed and cried reading this GREAT BOOK!!!

It is amazing to think that with the abundance of movies that have been written about the Vietnam War, not one has ever even come close to telling the story told in this book. Virga Tears gave me new insight into the Vietnam War, and an understanding of what so many soldiers must have gone through, emotionally, during the war, and during the thirty years since the war ended. This is a compelling book that you won't be able to put down. I highly recommend it to all.

A few weeks ago i read Acceptable Loss for the second time after first reading it several years ago. Over the last ten years ive read well over a 100 memoirs written by guys who served in WW2 and Vietnam and in my opinion this book ranks up there as one of the better ones. Its fast paced and interesting yet its not just a book of war stories, in comparison with my other fav vietnam memoirs like Chickenhawk, Ghosts and Shadows, Baptism, Killing Zone, Father Soldier Son and Hundred Miles it too delves a few layers deeper than your average memoir in describing the physical and psychological toll combat in an unpopular war has on a young man. After finsishing the book while down the jersey shore on vacation this past summer i made it a point to see for the first time the n.j. vietnam veterans memorial during my trip north on the garden state parkway and find the name of the ranger who was killed while on patrol with Kregg towards the begining of the book. .... As for the book i highly recommend it to military buffs and many others who may be thinking about reading a first person account of the war.

Kregg Jorgenson takes you through his very personal and both physically and mentally painful account of his entire time in Vietnam. Although a decorated "hero", he shows us how he found something far more improtant than his medals or cause: his "buddies". He guides the reader through the numerous harrowing experiences that re-shaped his whole way of thinking and does not try to gloss over his own shortcomings. The one over-riding thing I can say about this book is that it is honest. There are no stats, no overall perspective, just the plain truth about what he witnessed and felt during his tour. That is the most shocking, honourable, moving and often funny thing he can write. An immensely enjoyable book, so much so I read it virtually everywhere I got a chance to sit down; gripping to the last.

I have to admit that after reading Kregg Jorgenson's book that I have begun to think differently of Vietnam. He gives a truthful account of the brutalness of war. The descriptions and the situations are very well described and I felt as I was living vicariously through his accounts. If you have an interest in the war and the not just the media account of it, read this book and you will see through the eyes of the soldier.

this account of the vietnam war from a helicopter pilot's perspective is THE BEST book i have read about that war from anyone's perspective.the author does an excellent job of describing the combat action, but more importantly, he gets you right into the cockpit with him -first in flying school, then coming into a "hot" LZ when the intensity of feelings is almost unbearable.mason is that unusual combination of compelling writer with a compelling true story to tell.The sequel to this book-"chickenhawk-back in the world" is possibly even better! what happens when he gets back is maybe as much of a dangerous mission as any during the war. in the end the writer succeeds in the ultimat mission--letting you into his head.

This book helps to understand the Vietnam experience a little better. The book is well written and moves along too fast. You will be finishing this story before you are ready!

Mr. Mason, like so many Vietnam Veterans, went through pure hell over there while the American citizen went about his life casually and seemingly unconcerned. This book shows some of the times that our brave soldiers faced for us. They did their duty and I for one am proud of them!

For good, easy, fun and thoughtful reading, I highly recommend this book. It is one of my all time favorites about Vietnam and I have read it 3 times so far. Thanks Mr. Mason and God Bless!

Being a helicopter pilot myself for the past 6 years, this book has always moved me deeply, thinking about those men, trying to maintain some sort of sanity in a crazy situation.

I have had the unfortunate luck, of evacuating wounded soldiers, from a war which is still controversial in my country, but I never faced the kind of situations that Mason discribes in the book, and I have always wandered how they did it, knowing that every morning and evry mission could spell sudden death, from the enemy, or worse, by your commander's stupidity.

I think it's a book about bravery, about how these helicopter pilots in Vietnam were willing to risk their lives every day for their fellow soldiers. I believe that flying into combat, surviving it, seeing what might happen if it wasn't your lucky day, then doing it again and again and again, takes a special kind of character. Character shown by Mason.

I have read many war books, some about Vietnam, some not. My country is (unfortunately) filled with veterans, including my entire family (my father was also a pilot and my brother was in the special forces, we've all been through combat). I think this book is special in the way it touches you intimately, making you feel, just as if you were hearing the story from the author in person.

This is not about victory or defeat, this is about something else, and to know what this thing is you must read the book and look inside to see the impact it has on you.

Nolans Operation Buffalo was a very good book, no doubt about that in my mind. But he could have done more research on events leading up to it.

Prior to Operation Buffalo, there was Operation Hastings and Prairie. I was there! It is very hard for people to appreciate the unique terrain, weather, animals and other issues along the DMZ before the build up in that area. Our Maps were from a travel agency, so incomming could be from anyone and mostly was at the time.

He refers to BLT 1/3's Charlie Company as Chickenshit Charlie on Operation Prairie. If he got that information from Wickwire, I am ashamed and outraged that a U.S. Marine Corps Officer would make that statement. I would like someone to go into the area before the defoliant Agent Orange and the tons and tons of bombs that leveled the terrain and say that again.

Definately worth buying and reading, even worth sending copies to all your friends, but I would like to set the record straight anyway.

In the summer of 1967 the USMC found itself engaged in a battle that caught them by suprise and cost them over 180 soldiers KIA and many more WIA. Vietnam was a war where many restriction were placed on American fighting forces, those restrictions were even stricter in the strange terrain of the DMZ. Like other books by Mr. Nolan (Into Laos and Into Cambodia come to mind) there is rich detail and information woven into a story by a chronological telling of event leading up to and through the battle. While there is a very good and informative sitrep of American (particularly USMC) involvement in Vietnam the strength of this book is it's "put you in the foxhole" eyes view of the fight. I had never read an account of where almost an entire American Company was overrun by large NVA forces, it is not pretty. I have read that ear collecting was something that happened in the war to dead enemy soldiers, the NVA put their own sick twist on this sort of war atrocity by collecting USMC tattoos from fallen grunts. There are graphic descriptions of the early M-16 problems which ended up causing the USA and USMC many casualties. This book contains some things that really suprised me, NVA soldiers equiped with flame-throwers looking for suvivors of the initial ambush, NVA artillery support which was accurate and protected from US airpower hitting American forces with a sustained barrage, NVA use of USMC gear such as flak vests and radios, American tanks being blown away like toys. There are many sad twists, if you are looking for a John Wayne type combat read stick to a novel, this one hurts the heart. I can't say enough about this book, if you are a student of the fighting in Southeast Asia get this book, Mr. Nolan really puts things together in this clear and painfully vivid book.

Operation Buffalo should be made into a Movie as it the best written book I have ever read about what the Marines and Corpsmen of Northern I Corps endured in Viet Nam. Time and again the men of the First Battalion Ninth Marines found themselves fighting against numerically superiour forces with very little support available at critical moments. Mention is made in the book that the First Battalion Ninth Marines was marked by the North Vietnames Army for destruction. I can't say for sure that this was true, but "The Walking Dead" nick-name was was paid for in blood. Keith N. Price Former HM3 Disability Retired Bravo Company, First Battalion Ninth Marines

You won't be able to decide whether to run to your kitchen or to the airport. This book has stunning photos, engaging essays and scrumptious recipes. At this price it's a bargain!!

I am, admittedly, a coockbook hoarder. I have them everywhere -- even in the drawers of my nightstand and tucked under the bed. I read them cover-to-cover like other people read novels.

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet is, without a doubt, the best cookbook I have ever read. It is part travel novel, part anthropology lesson, and -- in large part -- a primer for westerners in Southeast Asian cuisine.

Easy to read, straightforward in instruction, its' only flaw is that -- in rare instances -- recipes may include items not available in even a metropolitan Asian market. (I have been to all of the Asian markets in Little Chinatown in Chicago and have yet to find coriander root!) But the ingredients are largely available at most Asian markets and even some larger supermarkets, and substitutions are often recommended.

The grilled chicken with hot and sweet dipping sauce has become a family favorite. The dipping sauce was so flavorful, so simple yet so complex in flavor -- I was surprised that I had made something so delicious.

Buy the book -- you won't be sorry!

If anyone out there is looking for quality and exquisite taste in Southeast Asian cooking, this is the book for you. Excellent instructions, very flavorful recipes and beautiful photographs. This book has it all. A must have in your kitchen. The experience in cooking these recipes is outstanding. A remarkable book. Buy it and see for yourselves what this book has to offer. AMAZING!!!

"A Rumor of War" is a darkly disturbing book. It is set in what was the early, "optimistic" Vietnam in the spring of '65 when we thought we were fighting for "freedom" and before the reality of the place hit home. Vietnam hits Lieutenant Caputo very quickly, as it must have for all Marine Corps platoon leaders. It's all right there-booby traps, mines, trip wires, leeches, foot blisters, jungle rot, constant shelling, dysentery, pigs eating corpses and cold C Rations. As a Vietnam vet, I was surprised the author never mentions RATS!, but we both know they were there too. (THEY were everywhere). Lt. Caputo's transfer to a staff job is worse than the field, so he transfers back to the bush as a platoon leader.It's more of the same-patrolling and repatrolling the same trails, the same hills, the same villes. All watched over by unsupportive and bureaucratic commanders. "RW" offers yet another look at the Vietnam War, one more pessimistic than most because so many of us felt that the years of '65 and '66 were more positive than this. I might suggest reading Joseph Owen's "Colder Than Hell" to compare the Marine experience in Korea with Lt. Caputo's. Reading the late Bernard Fall's "Street Without Joy" will make us aware, again, that perhaps there was never a time to be optimistic about Vietnam. I must admit that I constantly found myself curious as to how I would have handled many situations in "RW". How would I have measured up? What would I have done? How would the men have judged me? While the story of "RW" tends to stray at times, I found no fault since the author is relating a painful part of his past. One small point: "RW" would benefit from better maps-these are so often lacking in military books. The bottom line:"A Rumor of War" belongs on the bookshelf of any serious military book reader or anyone searching for yet another angle to the frustrating Vietnam War that affected so many of us.

It is hard to imagine that such a gifted writer is also capable of being an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. In "A Rumor of War," author Philip Caputo offers us an intimate portrait of the Vietnam conflict. Caputo uses a powerful lens and provides an up close examination of what the war is like for a Marine infantry "grunt."

This book is about the Vietnam danger, the boredom, the casualties, the weather and the mood of the American soldier. Throughout the book one can feel the soldiers enormous desire to "go home" and abandon the macho madness of the Vietnam tragedy. Caputo's protagonist, the element that moved the plot is the Marine's desire to survive. The author brilliantly uses the constant threat of "death" to act as a powerful antagonist that lurks from page to page.

Best of all, this book documents the brutality of war using the language of the Marine "grunt." Hence, it provides a front row seat to the thoughts and emotions of those who were condemned to risk their lives each day while in Vietnam. This is a great book that deserves attention..especially from the leaders of the nation who audaciously talk of war while never having the courage to set foot on a battlefield.

"A Rumor of War" is a darkly disturbing book. It is set in what was the early, "optimistic" Vietnam in the spring of '65 when we thought we were fighting for "freedom" and before the reality of the place hit home. Vietnam hits Lieutenant Caputo very quickly, as it must have for all Marine Corps platoon leaders. It's all right there-booby traps, mines, trip wires, leeches, foot blisters, jungle rot, constant shelling, dysentery, pigs eating corpses and cold C Rations. As a Vietnam vet, I was surprised the author never mentions RATS!, but we both know they were there too. (THEY were everywhere). Lt. Caputo's transfer to a staff job is worse than the field, so he transfers back to the bush as a platoon leader.It's more of the same-patrolling and repatrolling the same trails, the same hills, the same villes. All watched over by unsupportive and bureaucratic commanders. "RW" offers yet another look at the Vietnam War, one more pessimistic than most because so many of us felt! that the years of '65 and '66 were more positive than this. I might suggest reading Joseph Owen's "Colder Than Hell" to compare the Marine experience in Korea with Lt. Caputo's. Reading the late Bernard Fall's "Street Without Joy" will make us aware, again, that perhaps there was never a time to be optimistic about Vietnam. I must admit that I constantly found myself curious as to how I would have handled many situations in "RW". How would I have measured up? What would I have done? How would the men have judged me? While the story of "RW" tends to stray at times, I found no fault since the author is relating a painful part of his past. One small point: "RW" would benefit from better maps-these are so often lacking in military books. The bottom line:"A Rumor of War" belongs on the bookshelf of any serious military book reader or anyone searching for yet another angle to the frustrating Vietnam War that affected so many of us.

This book was one of the best books on 75th rangers in vietnam. The deadly 6 man hunter killer teams that stalked the VC and NVA for days at a time with no words spoken is facinateing. They are the best at what they did..killing and they were the best in the business. This book is the best. Read it and you will feel difrent about what you thought you were about to read.

Marvelous book - I've read it twice. Don's a "hometown boy" and like many young men from our county,was eager to challenge the adventures of life. Unfortunately for so many of us, that first adventure was war. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a factual account of young men in combat. (Don will be a featured guest on a forthcoming edition of Veterans For Veterans, a 30 minute weekly TV show broadcast on TCI Cable channels 38 and 3 in McHenry County, IL on Wednesdays at 2100) James W. Doran, Superintendent, Veterans Assistance Commission of McHenry County, IL

This is the best of the books I have read about the LRP rangers. You feel like you actually know the them, and feel for them when one of them dies. It gives a very real look at not only what happens on the battlefield, but also what goes on at their base camp. All the drugs, sex, and police calls you can handle. Of the two I found the John L. Rotundo portion to be the most interesting, but Ericson still does a fantastic job. Whether they are hiding from MP's in the local bar or out in the field ambushing a group of half-stepping NVA, it's exciting throughout.

The only complaint I can say I have about this book is that it gets mildly confusing. They switch back in forth telling their own stories in no particular order, which, as you might think, gets annoying. But this is not enough to hamper enjoyment of this great book. Recommended to anyone who likes war stories or the LRP books.

I read I served by Don Hall in two nights. It was so riveting I could not put it down I had to read one more page until three in the morning each night. I was in Vietnam during Tet of 1968 at Plantation Army airfield in Long Bien. I served with the 195th. Assualt Helicopter Company. I supported F. Co. 51st Inf. (Airborne) LRPs until May of 1968 when my helicopter was painted Camo (first ones in the Army) and I was assigned to MACV- SOG. Our first platoon kept on supporting F. Co 51st Inf (Airborne) LRPs. Don's story of his upbringing in an orphanage where he met his wife and then his tour with one of the greatest LRP companies to serve in Vietnam is compelling reading for anyone who would like to get a feel for combat in Vietnam. I have given the book to others to read and they all agree with me you can't put it down. As a Soggie I have supported the best and Don Hall's book tells it like it is. Don has searched the Army's achives and obtained the after action reports so his story is woven with the actual facts.

A well written factual account of what it was like to be a LRP in Vietnam.

There are veterans and there are veterans, but then there are
"Professional Veterans".

Over the years, millions of books
have been written by "combat authors", expounding on their
exploits, their heroics, regardless of war; the main theme which I've
gathered from all of these books has been "This war could not
have been won if it wasn't for me being in it", or "I won
the war by myself". The books being well written, just like a
typical "Hollywood Script", leaving the reader with that
very impression. These "Hollywood Books" will suffice the
average reader, fulfilling a need for adventure. In reading "I
Served" by Don and Annette Hall, the reader isn't left with the
two above characteristics (the book is well written too), it relates
the saga of a unit, not just about a man who served in that unit,
Co. F (LRP), 51st Infantry (Airborne). While I personally didn't care
to read about another's hardship in his early years, it set the stage
for what the author endured for the sake of life, it made the man, THE
MAN. Readers are offended about exposing the fact that mercenaries
were employed by the U.S. in the war, yes the U.S. Government did
employ mercenaries, and they were ruthless
adversaries. ... Recommending the book to a histroy student is a must,
if that student wants to read the facts about one unit and the war
which one man endured. If the student wants to read real fiction, try
one of the other million books available on the subject.

War is
always hell, dying is the easy part, surviving it is harder.

I have read this book several times, and each time enjoy itmore than the time before...................................... I think that both Don and Annette Hall did an excellent job writing about how their lives were shaped by their experiences. The Halls have a unique ability to write so the reader can hear, feel and smell what's happening. The statistics at the end of the book help the reader understand how much this honored unit contributed to the war in Vietnam. Much like "In Love and War" by Admiral James and Sybil Stockdale, this book artfully uses and interweaves the background of childhood and adolescent events to set the stage for adulthood experiences. This book also lays bare some of the less romantic aspects of war -- that interspersed among the heroic and selfless deeds and acts of compassion by good soldiers and great leaders are also those which do not bring much glory or honor. And that's what makes this a great story - it is how Don Hall remembers the events which make him the man he is today - one who served. I highly recommend this book.

John Leppelman gives an unvarnished, first hand account of an Airborne soldier in 3 tours of Vietnam. The battle descriptions are very detailed and description of life there very lucid. The book is well written and moves quickly. The totality of the book's battles and struggles hits you like a sledgehammer. Definitely a read if you want to understand the Vietnam War or soldier.

I got word of John Leppleman's book from the author himself. Upon entering the sport of skydiving, I bought my first rig from John. He gave me a few details on his new book that he just wrote. Grabbing a copy of it, I found it to be fascinating from start to finish. This book told it all. From the line duty of a grunt, to a ranger, to boat support, John did it all in Vietnam. I have now read over twenty vietnam books focusing on Rangers and Lurps. I don't think I would have gotten into them as much if I had not read John's book. I am now in the process of reading it again. I think that there is enough detail and information in his book that I didn't catch it all the first time. For anyone who wants to read a thorough book on the war, this is a must.

One day I asked my dad if he could loun me a good reading book on the Vietnam war. He handed me Blood on the Risers! I learned many things by reading John's book like how the press lied and hid things from the men and wemon at home, and how the War was limited like it shouldn't have been. After all it was a War not a picnick. I wish I could meet Mr. Leppelman and speak with him. I'v read many nonfictional and fictional books but nothing compares to Blood on the Risers!

Mills' book tells it like it was! I should know, I'm Joe Crockett, his first crewchief mentioned in Chapter Four. I find Hugh Mills' to be a great pilot, and great man, and a great author. This isn't an easy story to tell, but Hugh manages to allow even the novice to the Vietnam War, a chance to ride in the cockpit of a Hughes OH-6A "Loach"! It had been 28 years since Hugh and I flew missions together and reading "Low Level Hell" took me back to a time, rich in experience. I highly reccomend this book to anyone with the slightest interest in Army Aviation and the Vietnam War!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Low Level Hell" by Hugh L. Mills. From July, 1968 to July, 1969 I was with the Big Red One assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Bn., 16th Infantry. Mills book brought back many memories - both good and bad. It was particularly meaningful for me since A-2/16 worked all over the Division's TAOR and the names of the villages and towns Mills wrote about were familiar to me. I have often remarked that the BRO's air support was exceptional and reading "Low Level Hell" reminded me of that once again. It also gave me a better understanding and appreciation of the role of the hunter / killer teams and how they were a major factor in minimizing casualties. To quote from the book "First Infantry Division in Vietnam" at page 126: "As the year 1968 was about to pass into history, the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry reviewed the year with a profound sense of pride. Much was accomplished but they were not content to rest upon past laurels. The year 1969 was met with the same loyalty, skill and determination which made the 1st Squadron, 4th United States Cavalry the most respected and feared unit of the 1st Infantry Division." - I know from reading "Low Level Hell" that Hugh Mills and the rest of Troop D (air) significantly contributed to the loyalty, skill and determination that earned the reputation that has become legendary.

I think "Low Level Hell" would make an excellent movie. There's lots of action sequences: The chemistry between Hugh Mills and Rod Willis would play well not to mention the camaraderie among Troop D (air) at Phu Loi. I hope it will be playing some day soon at a theatre near me - And, I will keep my eye out for another Mills book chronicling his and Willis' second tour with "Darkhorse" and, if we're lucky, a third one all about his days as a Cobra pilot with the 101st.

Excellent book about some of the dedicated aviators that supported us infantrymen in the Big Red One in Vietnam. As a LRRP in Co.F/52nd Inf. (LRP), 1st Inf. Division in 1968, I always felt that we had tremendous helicopter support. Our LRP company originated as a part of 1st Sq./4th Cavalry, and they regarded us and watched over us from above like brothers. We often called upon the Cobra gunships of D Troop (Air), 1st Sq./4th Cav, call sign: Darkhorse, and they never let us down. Mills book provides us with a cockpit view of their hunter-killer team missions, as opposed to the direct gun-ship support role in which we generally saw Darkhorse. But the 'guns blazing' tactics were obviously the same for the scout ship pilots as they always were for the gunship pilots/co-pilots. Very interesting reading, and the place names brought back many exciting memories of those days over 30 years ago, when we ourselves operated around Phu Loi, Lai Khe , An Loc, the Iron Triangle, Catchers Mitt, and other locations he mentions. Knowing that Darkhorse pilots like Mills always 'had our back', was a reassuring feeling. Could not possibly express enough gratitude to such pilots and crews for the way they supported us. An excellent addition to any Vietnam library.