Acceptable Loss: An Infantry Soldier's Perspective

This is one of the best personal accounts of the vietnam war.Kregg Jorgenson is one of my heros, but also one of Americas, he is decorated with the silver star, the bronze star and 3 purpleheartsKregg Jorgenson (KJ) tell his story how he lived it.KJ started his service in Vietnam with the 1 cavalry division, while at the repo center he decided to join the Ranger company of the 1 cav; Hotel company.After a short training period he started going out on patrols and soon got into his first firefight.A short while later his partol got into a more serious firefight that saw the ATL and his best friend killed in action and anotherteam member woundet, KJ and his teamleader performed admirable, getting the whole team extrated under fire while fighting off the NVA.Even though that KJ felt that he had failed his teammates and his best friend, the division decidet that the Teamleader and KJ deserved the Silver star.Having lost confidence in himself as a ranger, KJ decidet to quit the Rangers, he tranfered to A troop ( aka Apache) of the 1/9.First he tried out the scouts, but his stomach could not handle the rollercoaster rides, he decides to join the infantry platoon of apache troop, the Blues.Here he served as a squadleader, and he did not mind walking point, some said that he enjoyed it.His service in apache troop got him inte several firefight, that saw him woundet two more times and earning a bronze star for valor.He also had the disputed honor of being shoot on camera while in a shootout with a NVA pointman, KJ killed the NVA pointman but was hit in both legs during in the process.so KJ had the "honor" of being called "the sarge who like to walk point", making him a national hero in an efternoon.Acceptable loss is one of my favorite books, it is well written, many of the episodes in the books has been well documented in other books, KJ writes with a sarcasm and self ironi that offen makes you laugh, he makes his comrades in the blues platoon come alive and you get the feeling that you almost know them in person.A very good books by any standart, go buy it, you will not regretit.Bo Hermansen

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.

This is one of those books that you don't want to put down. The writer has a way of bringing you into the book so you can almost feel the same emotions that he felt. Very informative and highly entertaining, definantly a must read for any reader that enjoys this exciting, history drivin, real person portrayols of life in Vietnam.

Kregg Jorgenson should be recognized as one of the finest authors on the Vietnam war. Acceptable Loss is his first effort and set the tone for every subsequent work. If you want to know why "America's finest" served during this unpopular war, and why they gave their best, read Acceptable Loss and then pick up the rest of Jorgenson's works. You'll come away feeling patriotic and proud to be an American. Thanks, Kregg.

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.