War Stories/Memoirs from a JO's Perspective

[Schmedlap]

I would recommend this very well written article: http://www.esquire.com/print-this/af...r-stories-0809

[Icebreaker]

I would recommend the book "The Road Past Mandalay: A Personal Narrative" by John Masters. The author was an officer in the Ghurkas at the start of World War II, and first participated in the invasion of Iraq via Basra (nothing ever really changes) and later served with the Chindits Long Range Penetration Group in Burma.

[Ken White]

to "The Road Past Mandalay" by John Masters (not Majors) is also good.

[JMA]

to "The Road Past Mandalay" by John Masters (not Majors) is also good.

Must start with part 1:

Bugles and a Tiger: My Life in the Gurkhas - John Masters which covers his training and early days.



The Road Past Mandalay - John Masters which covers his WW2 experiences.

[aercdr]

Agree entirely. I first read Bugles and a Tiger in the late 1960s as a boy in India. I have read and re-read each many times. (As well his India based historical fiction. All great except for the tedious Ravi Lancers.) I can't recommend Masters too highly.

Also "Not a Good Day to Die." After studying Anaconda at War College, I had a chance to discuss it with some of the participants. It's a great example of how not to organize and structure a combat force and how highly motivated soldiers try to overcome imposed limitations. (Thanks Don Rumsfeld!)

[Lena]

I would recommend "Colder than Hell" by Joseph Owen. Found it to be a very interesting presentation of the Korean War.
Also, Ernst Juenger's memoir "Storm of Steel" about the author's experience in World War I is worth reading.

Lena

[MikeF]

I would recommend this very well written article: http://www.esquire.com/print-this/af...r-stories-0809

Thanks for including this one. You should consider posting it in a separate thread. I am/was never light infantry; my light time consisted of small groups operating in specific mission sets, but the article brought back a lot of memories. The story is definitely one worth reading.

v/r

Mike

[Schmedlap]

Thanks for including this one.

I suppose I should have given a hat tip for the find to Ink Spots.

[Stan]

I would recommend this very well written article: http://www.esquire.com/print-this/af...r-stories-0809

An excellent read ! Thanks for sharing it !

[Surferbeetle]

I would recommend this very well written article: http://www.esquire.com/print-this/af...r-stories-0809

...and like Stan and Mike appreciate that you shared the link, it is indeed an excellent article.

[Surferbeetle]

This one is from Pech River Valley...

[Tom Odom]

Ditto on the great piece

That made my knee (the real one) and my back hurt....

Tom

[Steve Blair]

Ditto on the great piece

That made my knee (the real one) and my back hurt....

Tom

What's interesting to me is how similar some of the "down in the weeds" operational problems are to what we faced in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam (and some of the areas in I Corps close to the Laotian border). Not saying that there are "great, unlearned lessons from Vietnam" to be applied to Afghanistan, but more commenting on how some of the basic factors of war never really change that much. In that war B 1/26 would have been down around Saigon, slogging paddies as opposed to humping through the mountains.