Book Review of
Images of War
United States Marine Corps in Vietnam
Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives
Author: Michael Green
Pen & Sword Books
ISBN: 978-1-52675-123-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $22.95
ISBN: 978-1-52675-123-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $22.95
With the American-supported South Vietnamese government verging on collapse in early 1965, President Lyndon Johnson decided to commit additional military forces in the form of a U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) brigade of approximately 3,000 men on March 8,1965. They were not the first Marines in South Vietnam.
A single Marine officer arrived as an advisor to the South Vietnam military in 1954. By 1964, there were about 800 Marines in South Vietnam.
At its height in 1968, the USMC had 86,000 men in South Vietnam. Almost 50,000 Marines would eventually rotate in and out of South Vietnam during their typical one-year tour of duty. By the time the Marines departed the country, they had suffered 13,700 killed in action and 88,630 wounded.
The last Marines in the country were the embassy guards flown out of Saigon by helicopters on 30 April 1975 as the North Vietnamese Army overran the city.
THE AUTHOR:
Well-known military historian Michael Green uses a wealth of interesting pictures to tell the dramatic and gallant story of the Marine’s contribution to what became an unwinnable war; the battles, the equipment, from rifles to helicopters and jets, and the strategy adopted by the Corps.
Michael Green is the author of numerous books in the Images of War series including “Armoured Warfare in the Vietnam War”, “United States Marine Corps in the Second World War”, “Combat Aircraft of the U.S. Air Force”, “U.S. Military Helicopters and U.S. Airborne Divisions, 1942-2018”.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books is located in S. Yorkshire, UK.
This book is soft-bound of 207 pages in 7 ½” x 9 ¾” page format.
It contains 213 black and white wartime photos, 16 color photo, 8 maps and 2 data lists.
There are photos of President Lyndon B. Johnson, General Lewis W. Walt, General William C. Westmoreland, Lt. General Victor H. Krulak, President Richard Nixon and Lt. General Herman Nickerson Jr.
There are 133 black and white photos of U.S. Marines shown alone or with their weapons.
There is a photo of Marines building a wood deck, a Marine medic giving a Vietnamese civilian’s baby a shot, a Marine sand-bagged fort, a Marine and his pet dog, a Marine digging up Vietcong weapons, a Marine with a mine detector and 2 photos of wounded marines-one with a female nurse.
For Marine Corps weapons there are black and white wartime photos of:
M8A3 medium tanks on a U.S. Navy landing craft, 2 photos of a light anti-aircraft missile launcher (LAAM), a bulldozer, truck, grass compactor, M60 machine gun, 37mm anti-aircraft gun, Marine mortar crew, Marine bazooka team, 2 photos of a 106mm recoiless rifle, a M9A1-7 flame-thrower, a jeep, 3 photos of a M50A-1 “Ontos”, 6-barreled tank, 2 photos of a 105mm M101A-1 howitzer, a M30 mortar, a M48A-3 tank, a M110 howitzer, 4 photos of a landing vehicle (LVTPS), 2 photos of a M48A-3 medium tank, a heavy recovery-vehicle M51, a photo of a M76 “Otter” cargo tractor, a photo of a M107 175mm self-propelled gun, 2 photos of a 105mm towed recoiless rifle, a photo of a M42A-1 40mm self-propelled gun, a M41 light tank, a 3.5 in. rocket launcher, a M67A-1 flame-thrower tank, 2 photos of a M48A-3 tank, a XM733 vehicle, a M109 155mm self-propelled howitzer, a M107 175mm self-propelled howitzer, a M110 8in self-propelled howitzer, 4 photos of a M109 155mm howitzer and a M1141-1 155mm towed howitzer.
For North Vietnam there are black and white photos of:
A Soviet-built short-to-medium range single-barreled 57mm anti-aircraft gun, a Soviet-built SA-2 guideline anti-aircraft missile system, a Soviet-built DShKM 1938/46 machine gun, a Soviet-built optically-guided ZPU-23-2 23mm twin-barreled anti-aircraft gun, a Soviet-built M1939 (61-K) 37mm anti-aircraft gun, a Soviet supplied RKG-3 anti-tank grenades, a Vietcong crude hand-made grenade, Vietcong troops in a row boat, a Soviet supplied PPS-42, a purchased German MP40, a Soviet supplied K50-M machine gun, a Soviet-built Tokarev Model TT-13 pistol, a Soviet-built LPO-50 flame-thrower, 6 photos of Vietcong infantrymen, a Vietcong 122mm rocket launcher, a 122mm rocket round, a Soviet- built Model 1938 120mm mortar, a Soviet-built 152mm M1955 howitzer, a Soviet-built 130mm M1954 howitzer, a Soviet-built 12.7mm machine gun and a Soviet-built 9K32 “Strela-2” surface to air anti-aircraft missile launcher.
For black and white photos of U.S. aircraft there is:
11 photos of the UH-34 helicopter, 3 photos of a A-6 “Intruder”, 5 photos of a A4 “Skyhawk”, 4 photos of a F-8 “Crusader”, 6 photos of a F-4 “Phantom II”, 2 photos of a TF-9J “Cougar”, a photo of a EF-108 “Skynight”, a photo of a RF-8A “Crusader”, a photo of a A-4 “Skyhawk”, a photo of a OH-43D “Huskie” helicopter, a photo of a UH-13 helicopter, a photo of a KC-130, a photo of a CH-34 helicopter, a photo of a O-1C observation aircraft, a photo of a OV-10A observation aircraft, a photo of a AH-1G “Cobra” helicopter.
There is also a black and white photo of a harbor, an airfield, battlefield, damaged bridge.
In the colored photograph section there is:
Four photos of a Marine F4-B “Phantom”, a amphibious M116 15ton tractor, a M114A-1 howitzer, a A4 “Skyhawk”, a UH-3D helicopter, a LVTP-5A1 landing vehicle, a M48A-3 medium tank, a M53 self-propelled 155mm gun, a OV-10 “Bronco” aircraft.
This is one great picture album about the Vietnamese War. It will be of great interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All Pen & Sword book titles can be seen on Casemate’s web site at:
A single Marine officer arrived as an advisor to the South Vietnam military in 1954. By 1964, there were about 800 Marines in South Vietnam.
At its height in 1968, the USMC had 86,000 men in South Vietnam. Almost 50,000 Marines would eventually rotate in and out of South Vietnam during their typical one-year tour of duty. By the time the Marines departed the country, they had suffered 13,700 killed in action and 88,630 wounded.
The last Marines in the country were the embassy guards flown out of Saigon by helicopters on 30 April 1975 as the North Vietnamese Army overran the city.
THE AUTHOR:
Well-known military historian Michael Green uses a wealth of interesting pictures to tell the dramatic and gallant story of the Marine’s contribution to what became an unwinnable war; the battles, the equipment, from rifles to helicopters and jets, and the strategy adopted by the Corps.
Michael Green is the author of numerous books in the Images of War series including “Armoured Warfare in the Vietnam War”, “United States Marine Corps in the Second World War”, “Combat Aircraft of the U.S. Air Force”, “U.S. Military Helicopters and U.S. Airborne Divisions, 1942-2018”.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books is located in S. Yorkshire, UK.
This book is soft-bound of 207 pages in 7 ½” x 9 ¾” page format.
It contains 213 black and white wartime photos, 16 color photo, 8 maps and 2 data lists.
There are photos of President Lyndon B. Johnson, General Lewis W. Walt, General William C. Westmoreland, Lt. General Victor H. Krulak, President Richard Nixon and Lt. General Herman Nickerson Jr.
There are 133 black and white photos of U.S. Marines shown alone or with their weapons.
There is a photo of Marines building a wood deck, a Marine medic giving a Vietnamese civilian’s baby a shot, a Marine sand-bagged fort, a Marine and his pet dog, a Marine digging up Vietcong weapons, a Marine with a mine detector and 2 photos of wounded marines-one with a female nurse.
For Marine Corps weapons there are black and white wartime photos of:
M8A3 medium tanks on a U.S. Navy landing craft, 2 photos of a light anti-aircraft missile launcher (LAAM), a bulldozer, truck, grass compactor, M60 machine gun, 37mm anti-aircraft gun, Marine mortar crew, Marine bazooka team, 2 photos of a 106mm recoiless rifle, a M9A1-7 flame-thrower, a jeep, 3 photos of a M50A-1 “Ontos”, 6-barreled tank, 2 photos of a 105mm M101A-1 howitzer, a M30 mortar, a M48A-3 tank, a M110 howitzer, 4 photos of a landing vehicle (LVTPS), 2 photos of a M48A-3 medium tank, a heavy recovery-vehicle M51, a photo of a M76 “Otter” cargo tractor, a photo of a M107 175mm self-propelled gun, 2 photos of a 105mm towed recoiless rifle, a photo of a M42A-1 40mm self-propelled gun, a M41 light tank, a 3.5 in. rocket launcher, a M67A-1 flame-thrower tank, 2 photos of a M48A-3 tank, a XM733 vehicle, a M109 155mm self-propelled howitzer, a M107 175mm self-propelled howitzer, a M110 8in self-propelled howitzer, 4 photos of a M109 155mm howitzer and a M1141-1 155mm towed howitzer.
For North Vietnam there are black and white photos of:
A Soviet-built short-to-medium range single-barreled 57mm anti-aircraft gun, a Soviet-built SA-2 guideline anti-aircraft missile system, a Soviet-built DShKM 1938/46 machine gun, a Soviet-built optically-guided ZPU-23-2 23mm twin-barreled anti-aircraft gun, a Soviet-built M1939 (61-K) 37mm anti-aircraft gun, a Soviet supplied RKG-3 anti-tank grenades, a Vietcong crude hand-made grenade, Vietcong troops in a row boat, a Soviet supplied PPS-42, a purchased German MP40, a Soviet supplied K50-M machine gun, a Soviet-built Tokarev Model TT-13 pistol, a Soviet-built LPO-50 flame-thrower, 6 photos of Vietcong infantrymen, a Vietcong 122mm rocket launcher, a 122mm rocket round, a Soviet- built Model 1938 120mm mortar, a Soviet-built 152mm M1955 howitzer, a Soviet-built 130mm M1954 howitzer, a Soviet-built 12.7mm machine gun and a Soviet-built 9K32 “Strela-2” surface to air anti-aircraft missile launcher.
For black and white photos of U.S. aircraft there is:
11 photos of the UH-34 helicopter, 3 photos of a A-6 “Intruder”, 5 photos of a A4 “Skyhawk”, 4 photos of a F-8 “Crusader”, 6 photos of a F-4 “Phantom II”, 2 photos of a TF-9J “Cougar”, a photo of a EF-108 “Skynight”, a photo of a RF-8A “Crusader”, a photo of a A-4 “Skyhawk”, a photo of a OH-43D “Huskie” helicopter, a photo of a UH-13 helicopter, a photo of a KC-130, a photo of a CH-34 helicopter, a photo of a O-1C observation aircraft, a photo of a OV-10A observation aircraft, a photo of a AH-1G “Cobra” helicopter.
There is also a black and white photo of a harbor, an airfield, battlefield, damaged bridge.
In the colored photograph section there is:
Four photos of a Marine F4-B “Phantom”, a amphibious M116 15ton tractor, a M114A-1 howitzer, a A4 “Skyhawk”, a UH-3D helicopter, a LVTP-5A1 landing vehicle, a M48A-3 medium tank, a M53 self-propelled 155mm gun, a OV-10 “Bronco” aircraft.
This is one great picture album about the Vietnamese War. It will be of great interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All Pen & Sword book titles can be seen on Casemate’s web site at:
Highly recommended.