DEROS Vietnam: Dispatches from the Air-Conditioned Jungle
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Author's Summary
MWSA Review
Deros Vietnam (an acronym for Date Eligible for return from Over Seas) is a collection of interesting and somewhat amusing stories about those that served behind the lines and lived through them, in that war over there – “Vietnam.”
Hollywood would have you believe that every soldier was a grunt, packing gear and gun and trekking through the jungle to seek and destroy the enemy. Truth is that many thousands that wound up in Nam never got near “the front” instead they served in numerous capacities in support of war/troops. Doug Bradley was a rear echelon journalist, tasked with the constant need to paint a less than accurate picture of events as they were really unfolding, so as not to upset the folks back home.
History buffs, Nam vets, all veterans should read Bradley’s book. From the absurd to the humorous this book will bring back memories of what it was about, while expanding the understanding of that time period.
This many years after that war perspective is a timelier telling of the story of those who did not serve in the combat units. Some might say mundane everyday stories but keep in mind you were not safe even in the rear and how serving from that position exacted its own payment. This is worth a read.
Reviewed by: jim greenwald (2012)