Not a Gentleman's War: An Inside View of Junior Officers in the Vietnam War - Softcover

Milam, Ron

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807837121 ISBN 13: 9780807837122

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 2012

Synopsis

Wars are not fought by politicians and generals--they are fought by soldiers. Written by a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, Not a Gentleman's War is about such soldiers--a gritty, against-the-grain defense of the much-maligned junior officer.

Conventional wisdom holds that the junior officer in Vietnam was a no-talent, poorly trained, unmotivated soldier typified by Lt. William Calley of My Lai infamy. Drawing on oral histories, after-action reports, diaries, letters, and other archival sources, Ron Milam debunks this view, demonstrating that most of the lieutenants who served in combat performed their duties well and effectively, serving with great skill, dedication, and commitment to the men they led. Milam's narrative provides a vivid, on-the-ground portrait of what the platoon leader faced: training his men, keeping racial tensions at bay, and preventing alcohol and drug abuse, all in a war without fronts. Yet despite these obstacles, junior officers performed admirably, as documented by field reports and evaluations of their superior officers.

More than 5,000 junior officers died in Vietnam; all of them had volunteered to lead men in battle. Based on meticulous and wide-ranging research, this book provides a much-needed serious treatment of these men--the only such study in print--shedding new light on the longest war in American history.

About this title

Book Description:

"Meticulously documented and extremely readable, Not a Gentleman's War is a balanced and unbiased evaluation of American junior officer leadership in Vietnam. Milam's descriptions allow even those with little military experience to follow his arguments, and his comprehensive approach makes a unique contribution to Vietnam War historiography."--James H. Willbanks, author of Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War

From the Inside Flap:

Debunking the view of the junior officer typified by Lt. William Calley of My Lai infamy, Milam, a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, demonstrates that most of the lieutenants who served in combat performed their duties well and effectively, serving with great skill, dedication, and commitment to the men they led. Milam's narrative provides a vivid, on-the-ground portrait of what the platoon leader faced: training his men, keeping racial tensions at bay, and preventing alcohol and drug abuse, all in a war without fronts. Yet despite these obstacles, junior officers performed admirably, as documented by field reports and evaluations of their superior officers.

About this edition

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0807837121
• ISBN 13: 9780807837122
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256