Herb Moore
When it comes to making Marines, no one does it better than the basic training drill instructors at Parris Island, South Carolina and San Diego, California. But when it came down to making men, Vietnam ranked at the top of the list. An 18 year old teenager who found himself in combat, became a man before he could buy a squirrel rifle or a beer back home. Here is the story of some of those young men, Dawson and Rooker, as well as Swan, Taggart, Sweet Georgia, Gunny Huggins, Rabi and Putt-Putt, who met the world as Marines and became men as they faced horrendous ambushes, unbearable heat, furious mosquitoes and fierce combat. The all but fanatical North Vietnamese soldiers and the Viet Cong saw all Americans, especially the Marines, as an enemy who should be killed at every opportunity. Firefights blew up in unexpected places at any moment during the undeclared war. As the young Marines grew quickly into manhood they began to wonder if their best Marine Corps training would be good enough for them to survive?Even in all the madness of war, there were times of light humor among friends and comrades but always there was the threat that any minute a deathblow could erupt with no warning. Doubts and dreams were shared among the young Marines. Fear became a constant partner and stress was always a faithful companion. They learned to live with a deep in the stomach churning as they fully recognized that each minute could be their last.When a Marine Recon faced the feared enemy, Dawson and Rooker found themselves in the midst of trying to formulate and carry out a dangerous plan. What really happened may surprise you....it did them. 3
