Semper Fi: Vietnam: From Da Nang to the DMZ: Marine Corps Campaigns, 1965-1972

Being a former Marine myself that served in the post Vietnam era I wanted to know more about the war that I missed. Not that missing a war is a bad thing, but the vast majority of my Drill Instructors, NCOs, Staff NCOs, and Company Commanders and above were all Vietnam Vets, and they were definately a breed apart from peacetime Marines like me. After reading "Semper Fi Veitnam", I am more proud than I was before in being able to know and serve with those men and women. It is a great overview of the war and the philosophy the Marine Corps had in fighting it, and it highlighted many of the battles the Marines fought and won. I recommend it for anyone with even a passing interset in the Vietnam War (even if you are not a Marine).

This is a great book that captures all of the heartbreak, glory and tragedy as the Marines battle in Vietnam. This book begins at an important point history, US Marines entered Vietnam not as "advisors" but as elite warriors to directly fight the communists. Just about every major Marine operation is covered in this book. The Marines are Americas premier shock troops and they fought boldly and skillfully for ten long years. They were forced to use tactics they didn't want to use. The Army wanted a war of attrition, while the Marines wanted to provide security to the villages and win the peoples "hearts & minds. The Marines first went on the offensive with Operation Starlite. 614 VC died while the Marines lost 45. Based on numbers like this the war heated up and the war of attrition began. Ultimately the 1st & 3rd Marine Divisions were commited to this "police action." Many of the battles they fought over the next bloody years were among the most brutal in history including the battle of Mutter's Ridge, The Hill Fights, Operation Buffalo, Con Thien, The siege of Khe Sanh, retaking Hue City, Dai Do, the Que Sons and the endless DMZ campaign. Many of the battles were fought on the same blood soaked ground over and over again. Despite being saddled by rules by politicians that wouldn't let them win, the Marines raked up an unsurpassed record of victory. Marines were in Vietnam right until the bitter end as they evacuated Saigon. The Marines suffered more casualties in Vietnam than they did in WWII. This book perfectly captures their long war and struggle. This is a great read and an essential book for any collection.

Marine Infantry and their navy Corpsmen who served in Vietnam, will find their unit in this book, as well as those who served before and after their tours. More importantly grunts and Docs will know and understand better what they were doing and how that fit into the Marine Corps overall involvement in the war. Mr Murphy has talant beyond that of a history book author. The courage and selfless bravery of the men in this books pages speaks volumnes for a generation described differently elswhere.

After I read this book, I developed a better RESPECT for the Vietnam Veterns. As Vetern myself I had no idea what those guys went through. SEMPER FI Guys.

It seems quite evident that the sources for Murphy's book are unit histories, command chronologies and similar documents. These leave a bit to be desired as they're written by people who toe the party line (so to speak....meaning that the unit commander usually has a say as to what goes in and what gets omitted). As a one volume reference book on where and when the Marines had major engagements however, it is excellent. He is to be commended for including grid coordinates and maps, a great help if you're following along on a tactical map.