The Run-Up to the Punch Bowl

The Run-Up to the Punch Bowl is a fascinating memoir by John Nolan. His Naval Academy and Marine Corps Basic School training stood him in good stead as a platoon leader whose assignment took him to the "forgotten war" in Korea. When he signed up for the Marine Corps, an immediate combat assignment was pretty far from his mind, as the world was at peace following World War II. Less than a year after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, John found himself a newly married, graduate of a foreshortened Marine Corps Basic School course at Quantico, Virginia, boots on the ground in Korea. He devotes most of his memoir to the doings of the people he was serving with and little of his own accomplishments, which earned him a Silver Star, the Bronze Star with Combat "V" and the Purple Heart.. I've known John, and his wife Joan, for more years than I like to remember. He's a fascinating gentleman who has many remarkable accomplishments in his life-time. His Marine Corps service in Korea is only a small part of his life but the main emphasis of this book. By writing this memoir, for posterity's sake, I'm glad he did it. While he's not a Stephan Ambrose, he tells it like it was, down and dirty, hungry and cold, wet and scared shiftless. Being there, he's a true hero of the greatest generation. I really enjoyed reading his book, having known the man. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in first person accounts of what it was really like trying to inspire a platoon of combat Marines to greater efforts while cold, wet, hungry, and in the mud with a lot of unfriendly North Korean and Chinese infantrymen trying making you keep your head (and other parts) down. This is a story of heroism in the face of enemy fire without heroics. It is also a story of many of the other members of Nolan's Marine Corps Basic Class and a tribute to their devotion to duty, and their accomplishments both in combat and in their subsequent careers. Our nation can be proud of these men, our United States Marines who valiantly served in Korea. We can thank John Nolan sharing their stories with us.

Korea has been called 'The Forgotten War.' Probably because it was so overshadowed by World War II and then again maybe because it was the first of the wars that we didn't win. There has never been a great deal of literature about Korea, and it came as a surprise to me to see this new book on the experiences of a young Second Louie. Never having been in combat, I don't know how I would handle it. But being a young officer, in command of a rifle platoon of Marines engaged in combat would be even worse. How would you, at twenty one or so order men to do what had to be done? John Nolan had to find all this out by himself, and finally he records what he went through. Why Now? As he quotes someone in the preface, 'the changes that war has made in a man requires the passage of time and the establishment of distance from the remembered self.' Mr. Nolan spins a tale of what it was like in Korea. This is not a book of great armies in motion, this is a book of a rifle platoon. And of a young man put in charge of it. The last couple of chapters in the book reflect on the thoughts he has had in the years since and on the further careers of several of the Marines that served with him. Highly Recommended.

I am normally a popular fiction type of person, but I found this accounting of the author's experiences in Korea totally compelling. It was very readable and for someone with no military experince I found it's tone to be very real. It's pace is quick and the hardship and danger are balanced out by the comradeship and even light-hearted enjoyment of simple things, like a clean pair of dungarees and a snippet of a home town paper shared among frineds. The writing never bogs you down and each chapter can stand on it's own as a piece regarding the war and the experiences within a rifle platoon. It is a sincere and thoughtful account of a war experience, and specifically an homage to the Marine Corps and singular nature of those men who seek to serve their country in its service. The author's "Musings" hit on universal themes of bravery, patriotism and defining moments in our lives. I highly recommend this book not only for people who have ties to military service, to anyone who has a family member or friend who has served or is serving. It would also be a super book for a book club discussion!

What powerful, absorbing, gritty, and realistic book! This is a ground-level view of a tough campaign. It tells you - it immerses you in - what it was, and is, like to be in daily combat against a determined and resourceful adversary. John Nolan served with a remarkable group of enlisted men and officers. His trust in and admiration for their courage and devotion are apparent. But he also digs deeper, exploring how different men demonstrate courage in different ways. Our country is fortunate that people like them are willing to take up arms in its defense. And we're fortunate that John Nolan has told their story and his so eloquently and well.

This succinct memoir is a timeless tale of character, unfolding for the Marines involved, in the desolate mountains of Korea in 1951. It could as well have been set at Thermopylae, Gettysburg, Verdun or Iwo Jima. It is the story of young men at war, confronting the imperative of personal survival implanted deep in the DNA, and responding with defiance, courage and self- transcendence. It follows a small group of lieutenants in their first command, leading, counseling and inspiring their men. The reader watches in reverent awe as they assault fortified positions, work their way out of mine fields and cultivate the spirit that drives them through thresholds of fatigue, pain, danger and dread. There are no decisive battles in this book, no brilliant strategy being played out in this first of our inconclusive wars. The heroism recounted was largely unheralded at the time -- the rewards were not worthy of the action itself. And the author takes us beyond the war to note the lieutenants' distinguished careers in the NFL, in the law, at universities and in the Marine Corps, careers that were uniformly successful because everyone could see their strength and integrity and decency, and because everyone is drawn to men of such character. In the fleeting, superficial world in which we live, it is fitting to remind ourselves that there are ultimate verities and ennobling virtues. This work lays them out for us in a gripping narrative set forth with a modesty that becomes men whose actions are so extraordinary.