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Battlelines
Authors: LtCol David B.
Brown, USMC (Ret)
Tiffany Brown Holmes
Publisher: iUniverse
Reviewer: Bill McDonald –
President of the MWSA
Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines
– Their History
Retired USMC Lt. Col. David Brown and his
daughter, Tiffany Brown Holmes, team up to write the definitive history of
one of the best fighting units in the Vietnam War. They finally share with
the rest of the world, the real history and the stories of one of America’s
finest fighting units from the Vietnam War – Company F, 2nd Battalion,
5th Marines. Their history is told with much pride in a book called
“Battlelines.” The book gives us the unit’s history through personal
accounts of those who served from 1966 through 1971. It is all about real
heroes and brotherhood and team work; but it is also about death, wounds and
PTSD. It is about shared experiences in hell and funny stories as well.
The authors did a great job of piecing
this unit’s history together so that it flows as one story as you read the
book. There are some memories that hurt and will bring tears and some that
may bring a smile. This book is about real men facing life and death and
taking care of each other in the process. This is what the Marines are all
about and this unit is one of the finest examples of that spirit.
There were at least two men who were
awarded the Medal of Honor and the unit had a host of other men
receive various and numerous medals for heroic deeds. But this unit also got
more than its share of Purple Hearts (for wounds received while in
combat). “Fox Company” even got a Presidential Unit Citation
for the battle for Hue. This was not some garrison troop that went
out on an occasional patrol. This was a fighting force to be reckoned with
as the NVA and VC forces found out.
If you were only going to read one book
about the Marines in Vietnam then this would be that one book you should
read. It honors not only this unit but all Marines. It is well written and
well researched and was obviously a labor of love for the authors.
This book receives the MWSA’s
HIGHEST BOOK RATING - FIVE STARS!
MWSA's 2006 Gold Medal Award
for Memoirs
Marine Corps Gazette reviews
Battlelines
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2005
- 2009 MWSA