James r mcdonough biography book

It is also a significant commentary on the conduct of the war in Vietnam at all levels and war in general. It reveals a man who wanted to be moral in a war that was filled with immoral acts.

James r mcdonough biography book: The book offers valuable lessons

This book shows us the messiness of such a war. Societies clash, politicians deal, diplomats debate, young men struggle to the death. Platoon Leader is a 25 year old book about a war that finally ended in becoming the longest American war in history. At the same time he had to be uncompromising to protect the lives of all. McDonough, thank you. Must read for all the officers who are preparing themselves for war and veterans also to remember their old times.

It then traced his entire tour up to the final battle in which he lost the village he was told to defend at all costs. While noting that he does not claim to have had a unique or exceptional experience, clearly he saw a significant amount of action. Be introspective, learn from your mistakes, consider what impact you are having on others, and try to do better.

It starts out the story by talking about his leaving Vietnam and then him at home later in his life and flashing back to his experiences leading up to West Point, and then his deployment. I'm reading this book for my husband who is an officer in the Army getting ready to deploy to Iraq. Killing women and children? Almost every page has some stunning to me words about humans at war.

McDonough gives a first hand account of his personal experience being a platoon commander in the Vietnam War. Since then, the book, with its handsome feather decoration of bookmarks, has been my favorite example of showing my classes how timeless literature is and how recurring the challenges for leaders are. I look forward to assigning this book to our Cadets and the discussions that will follow.

While many of the basic themes and lessons are indeed timelessly relevant, some of the specifics are unique to the American military experience in Vietnam. In the autobiography, McDonough relates his experience as the leader of a platoon in combat in Vietnam from August to January State Department. As the lieutenant in command of a rifle platoon, he witnessed some of those immoral acts and participated in others.

Larry Bassett. For six months he was in a very active war zone in an outpost abutting the village of Truong Lam, Vietnam.

Platoon Leader : A Memoir of Command in Combat - Google Books

And this is for a book that kicks the anti-war person when he's down. Join the discussion. I thought it was real and an indictment of war, but I was also glad someone had the courage to write down the thoughts and words and deeds so everyone could experience war. The book takes place in and around a fort near a Vietnamese village in Binh Dinh province.

He does not hold back from sharing his mistakes, and tells stories of real experiences in a compelling way. He must allow no cutting of corners. For its nature as a memoir, McDonough doesn't sanitize his own faults too much although one may always question if every situation that presents him in such a great light was truly genuine : he speaks of moments of folly where he needlessly sent men to their death; of moments of weakness where he almost commits barbaric acts.