Receive my first KC Vietnam Marines (1 Viewer)

[Go for Broke]

I'm reading "Matterhorn", a book about a company of marines in Vietnam. A real page turner. Can't put it down. And the fighting didn't start yet! Highly recommend.

 

[Horus]

I'm reading "Matterhorn", a book about a company of marines in Vietnam. A real page turner. Can't put it down. And the fighting didn't start yet! Highly recommend.

Sounded so good as did the reviews that I've ordered a copy. Who knows which will come first, the book or last months order of K&C Marines ! {sm3}

Steve

 

[Go for Broke]

Steve, I hope the book doesn't disappoint you. I'm 122 pages in of a 400+ page book and no major fighting yet. I like the book so much, I read it during my lunch hour. The author, Karl Malantes, wrote "What its like to go to war", which I plan to read next. I remember one of our Forum members commenting that the Vietnam toy soldiers didn't have pus on them (from jungle rot). Well the book I reading has them, plus leeches, exhaustion, fear, rain, mud.....

 

[King & Country]

Steve, I hope the book doesn't disappoint you. I'm 122 pages in of a 400+ page book and no major fighting yet. I like the book so much, I read it during my lunch hour. The author, Karl Malantes, wrote "What its like to go to war", which I plan to read next. I remember one of our Forum members commenting that the Vietnam toy soldiers didn't have pus on them (from jungle rot). Well the book I reading has them, plus leeches, exhaustion, fear, rain, mud.....

Out of curiosity, where exactly would the 'Pus' be situated..?

As for leeches I can certainly do without those little buggers!!! Back in the '80's as a member of the Royal Hong Kong Regiment I was attached to a Gurkha Battalion undergoing jungle training in Brunei...After a day of 'schlepping' through swamps and triple canopy jungle it was a relief to make camp, strip off and with the help of liberal doses of anti leech powder and other means prize off these horrible, blood-clotted, little creatures...At least until the next day when you once more went 'walk-about' in the stinking and fetid Brunei jungle and swamps.

I unhappily remember that leeches seem to have a particular fondness for the more private parts of the male anatomy.

Regarding 'exhaustion, fear, rain and mud'...Our Vietnam Marines have that in spades!
All the best and Semper Fi,
Andy.

 

[jazzeum]

Matterhorn is one of the great books from the Vietnam War. However, I’d also recommend The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Truly fantastic.

 

[jazzeum]

Also see Your Favorite Books on Vietnam.

This contains a listing of some of the best books on Vietnam.

 

[jazzeum]

Also take a look at Reading Vietnam

This article from the New York Times’ Vietnam 67 blog contains an incredible list of some of the best books on Vietnam.

Back in September of last year I went through the article and these were the books named.

365 Days - Ronald J Glasser
Decent Interval – Frank Snepp
A Bright Shining Lie - Neil Sheehan
Patriots - Christian Appy
Collateral Damage - Alice Boatwright
Chickenhawk – Robert Mason
Rumor of War - Philip Caputo
The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien
Dispatches - Michael Herr
Born on the Fourth of July - Ron Kovic
One Very Hot Day - David Halberstam
Matterhorn - Karl Marlantes
Fields of Fire – James Webb
Phase Line Green - Nicholas War
Run Between the Raindrops – Dale Dye
Hue 1968 – Mark Bowden
Into Laos – Keith Nolan
Sand in the Wind – Robert Roth
KoKo – Peter Straub
Kill Anything That Moves – Nick Turse
Embers of War – Frederick Logevall
The Best and the Brightest – David Halberstam
The Quiet American – Graham Greene
Dereliction of Duty – H.R. McMaster
Going After Cacciato – Tim O’Brien
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places – Le Le Hayslip
The Living and the Dead – Henderson
Perfect Spy – Larry Berman
Fire in the Lake – Frances Fitzgerald
The Short Timers – Gustav Hasford
The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
In the Lake of the Woods – Tim O’Brien
War for the Hell of It – Ed Cobleigh
Street Without Joy – Bernard Fell
Anatomy of a War – Gabriel Kolko
Patches of Fire – Albert French
Suicide Charlie – Norman Russell
The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen
About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior – David Hackworth
America’s Longest War – George Herring
Vietnam: A History – Stanley Karnow
Phoenix and the Birds of Prey – Mark Moylar
Doctor at Dien Bien Phu – Paul Grauwin
Small Wars, Favorite Places – Michael Burleigh
Giap: The General who Defeated America in Vietnam – James Warren
We Gotta Get out of this Place – Bill Bradley and Craig Hansen
After Sorrow – Lady Borton
The Cat from Hue – John Laurence
A Viet Cong Memoir – Truong Nhur Tang
They Marched into Sunlight – David Maraniss
We Were Soldiers Once – Hal Moore
Our Vietnam – A.J. Langguth
On Strategy -Harry Summers
These Good Men – Michael Norman
Bury Us Upside Down – Rick Newman
Triple Sticks – Bernard Fipp
The Killing Zone – Frederick Downs
Tim Page’s Nam – Tim Page
Hell in a Very Small Place – Bernard Fell
Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War – Michael Maclear
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam – Bernard Edelman, Editor
Red Thunder Tropic Lightning – Eric Bergerud
Dog Soldiers – Robert Stone
American Requiem – James Carroll
March of Folly – Barbara Tuchman
Battle of Long Tan – David Cameron
What it is Like to go to War – Karl Marlantes
Achilles in Viet Nam – Jonathan Shay
Odysseus in America – Jonathan Shay
The Eaves of Heaven – Andrew Pham
Sorrow of War – Bao Ninh
Battle of Dak To – Edward Murphy
Summons of the Trumpet Richard Palmer
In the Pharoah’s Army – Tobias Woolf
In Country – Bobbie Ann Mason
Black Tickets – Jayne Ann Phillips
Paco’s Story – Larry Heinemann
Brennan’s War – Matthew Brennan
Nam – Mark Baker, Editor
Long Time Passing – Myra McPherson, Editor
SOG – John Plaster
Reporting Vietnam – Library of America
Collateral Damage – Alice Boatwright
Vietnam Reader – Marcus Raskin
The 13th Valley – John Del Vecchio
Your Hero and Mine, Scott – Carrie Christofferson Handy
The Ravens – Christopher Robbins
Everything We Had – Al Santoli
Letters to Charlies and One to Jane – Fred Snyder
Who Shot the Water Buffalo – Ken Babbs
Once Upon a Distant War – William Prochnau
Walking it Off – Doug Peacock
Tree of Smoke – Denis Johnson
A Dangerous Friend – Ward Just
Thud Ridge – Jacksel Broughton
Shadow War: The Secret War in Laos – Kenneth Conboy
Meditations in Green – Stephen Wright
Green Knight, Red Mourning – Richard Ogden
The Fortunate Son: The Healing of a Vietnam Vet – Lewis Puller

 

[jazzeum]

The ones that seemed to be most popular were

Dispatches
Rumor of War
A Bright Shining Lie
The Things They Carried and all other novels by Tim O'Brien
Fields of Fire
Matterhorn
Embers of War
The Best and the Brightest
The Quiet American
Fire in the Lake
Street Without Joy and other books by Bernard Fell

My personal favorite is The Best and the Brightest.

 

[jazzeum]

Sorry for the various posts. There is also a relatively new book that should be on these lists, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam, by Max Boot.

Our participation in Vietnam can’t be understood without considering Lansdale.

 

[Go for Broke]

Andy, from what I read, the soldier would get cut by razor grass and bamboo or other nicks from barbwire, insect bites and blisters on their hands, arms and/or face. These little wounds would get infected, resulting in pus.
On another note, love your new Vietnam marines. Everyone would probably disagree, but I like your original Vietnam soldiers best. Classic poses, especially the radio operator, LT and the guy running, ducking and holding his helmet. Lots of gear too.

 

[King & Country]

Andy, from what I read, the soldier would get cut by razor grass and bamboo or other nicks from barbwire, insect bites and blisters on their hands, arms and/or face. These little wounds would get infected, resulting in pus.
On another note, love your new Vietnam marines. Everyone would probably disagree, but I like your original Vietnam soldiers best. Classic poses, especially the radio operator, LT and the guy running, ducking and holding his helmet. Lots of gear too.


Many thanks for the feedback 'GFB'...Much as I like our first foray into Vietnam, I personally much prefer the vitality and realism of these latest 'Grunts'...However I respect your opinion and you can also look forward to some new Marines ducking and diving and holding onto their tinpots!

All the best and Semper Fi!
Andy.

 

[Horus]

A whopper of a list there Brad ! Only read Rumour of War and Dispatches and those many years ago.

Once I've read Matterhorn when it comes I'll try a few others on the list.
Cheers

Steve

Whoops. Yep read the Forever war. Great Book, though I always took it at face value as Sci Fi !

 

[jazzeum]

A whopper of a list there Brad ! Only read Rumour of War and Dispatches and those many years ago.

Once I've read Matterhorn when it comes I'll try a few others on the list.
Cheers

Steve

Whoops. Yep read the Forever war. Great Book, though I always took it at face value as Sci Fi !

Steve, it was a labor of love putting the list together. I took the list from the series that the New York Times ran in 2017 up through April of this year, called Vietnam 67. I posted about each article on the Forum in the Historical section with a link to each. It was a fascinating series, particularly the first person accounts.

If you're interested, here's a link to the Forum thread, Vietnam 67

The Vietnam War, as told from the Vietnamese side, doesn't get enough attention. I'd recommend the novel The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. It won the Pulitzer Prize.

Forgot to mention that Max Hastings has a book coming out about the War later this year.

 

[Horus]

Steve, it was a labor of love putting the list together. I took the list from the series that the New York Times ran in 2017 up through April of this year, called Vietnam 67. I posted about each article on the Forum in the Historical section with a link to each. It was a fascinating series, particularly the first person accounts.

If you're interested, here's a link to the Forum thread, Vietnam 67

The Vietnam War, as told from the Vietnamese side, doesn't get enough attention. I'd recommend the novel The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. It won the Pulitzer Prize.

Forgot to mention that Max Hastings has a book coming out about the War later this year.

Thanks Brad. I'll follow your recommendations up.

Steve

 

[gk5717]

The origional Vietnam figures, no disrespect Andy, were terrible compared to the new ones. I had the old ones and sold them and don,t regret it. Question for Andy. Any walls, buildings you gonna make to go with these? If not I want to look into buying TSSD,s Hue buildings.
Gary

 

[BHogan]

The origional Vietnam figures, no disrespect Andy, were terrible compared to the new ones. I had the old ones and sold them and don,t regret it. Question for Andy. Any walls, buildings you gonna make to go with these? If not I want to look into buying TSSD,s Hue buildings.
Gary

I don't really think that's a fair comparison. Those figures were released a long time ago, and, generally, the quality of toy soldiers has come a long way since then.

Brendan

 

[jazzeum]

I have to agree with Gary. I started collecting in 2004 and even by those standards they weren’t very good.

 

[King & Country]

The origional Vietnam figures, no disrespect Andy, were terrible compared to the new ones. I had the old ones and sold them and don,t regret it. Question for Andy. Any walls, buildings you gonna make to go with these? If not I want to look into buying TSSD,s Hue buildings.
Gary

No disrespect to you either Gary...Those older K&C 'Vietnam' figures were pretty good for their time and I can't remember many other 'VN' offerings around then either...

However, we can both agree to agree that the newest ones are considerably better and much more animated!

As to 'Walls & Buildings' to go with them...We are in the process of making the set of 3x Wall Sections as previewed in our promotional photos, leaflets and Ads.

Buildings-wise, I have already shown how well-suited some structures from our 'Streets of Old Hong Kong' range, such as the 'Taipan's House' are for street-fighting scenes...Others of our 'Chinese Shop Houses' can also be utilised with a change of Shop-Signage from 'Chinese' to 'Vietnamese' wording and characters...Vietnam, like most of South East Asia, had and still has large and relatively prosperous Chinese minorities living and working in and around most towns and cities.

As to producing exclusively 'Vietnamese-style Buildings'...Quite possibly down the line but at this moment our emphasis is on figures [ American, Australian and Vietnamese] and of course fighting vehicles.

Best wishes and happy collecting!
Andy.

 

[cantinetozzo]

Vietnam Anzac *___*

 

[King & Country]

Vietnam Anzac *___*

Hi my friend,
I've got that Osprey book too...the illustrations by Kevin Lyles are superb!
Andy.