Boys of '67: From Vietnam to Iraq, the Extraordinary Story of a Few Good Men

 Author's Summary

At once a gritty, intimate account of combat, an inside look at military leadership in a turbulent era at home and abroad, and a sweeping saga of the modern-day United States Marine Corps, Boys of 67 tells the story of a trio of extraordinary Marines. James Jones rose to become the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Ray E-Tool Smith saw combat in Grenada and Beirut in 1983. Marty Steele reshaped the Marines tank forces. Together, they represent a generation of Marines who met unprecedented challenges and made the Corps America s premier fighting force. 

MWSA Review

MWSA 2006 Gold Medal for Non-Fiction, Biography

A Inspiring Portrait Of Three USMC Generals. Boys Of ‘67 is a brilliant and coherent chronicle that follows the lives of three Marines who trained together in 1967 and who went on to almost mythical heights with their careers. This book is inspiring and entertaining; but above all, this is a fascinating tale of how three young Marines go through their careers and become generals.

The book takes us from their officer training to Vietnam and beyond. These men are true heroes in the very sense of that word. You cannot help but admire them as they are portrayed in the pages of Charles Jones' book. He takes this journey of their three individual lives and masterly weaves them altogether so that we can more fully understand the significance of what these men were able to do.

This book honors the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and the men and women who proudly serve. It is full of history, facts, insights, and personal observations. It is also a little controversial with its stand on how the war in Iraq was handled. It comes off as an honest and well balanced look at modern warfare and policy; however, the book is really about the men who fought those wars and who dealt with the results of those policy decisions.

Reviewed by: Bill McDonald (2006)