3 comments about Sergeant Presley: Our Untold Story of Elvis' Missing Years.

1. This is an interesting book with rare photos. It's written by two Elvis insiders and I think any Elvis fan would find it worthwhile. Even though I'm a big Elvis fan, I'm glad that Rex and Elisabeth escaped from Elvis' world and gave their lives to the Lord. BTW, the epilogue is the best section of the entire book.



2. I've learned so much this year about Elvis' Army career, first in AROUND ELVIS and now in SGT PRESLEY. Elvis was assigned to the most dangerous duty station in all the world from 1958 to 1960 on the front lines of the Cold war on the Russian Front, where World War III. He was the scout of the 3rd Armor Division, General Patton's unit, and he drove the sergeant that drove Patton, and went ahead of the brigade. 3 months after Elvis was discharged the U2 Spy Plane was shot down and his unit was on it's highest alert since World War II. When the Berlin Wall went up, his old unit was there ready for battle. The point is that even though he was a peacetime soldier he wasn't out playing weekend warrior. His unit was out in the field more than half the time he was over there. And those fields are covered in freezing snow. The same snow that stopped Napoleon and Hitler dead in their tracks. Elvis was a patriot and he was respected by his superiors and peers for his hard work and his good job. He took R.O.T.C in school like all sophomores in the great fighting state of Tennesse do and wore his uniform everywhere. Despite what Joe Esposito has to to say, Elvis earned those stripes. He proudly had his Army montage in the Gold Room at Graceland amid his awards. After he died the only thing found in the money compartment of his wallet was a newspaper clipping of the statement made by TN. Senator Estes Kefauver about him to the 86th Congress of The United Staes after his discharge. After exalting him for not using the power of his fame to shirk his duty, Kefauver exclaimed, "Yours was a job well done soldier!" He carried that with him for 17 years.



3. Great read by one the best biographers in the business. I'd even let Terrill write my life story!

   Keep up the good work Marshall. I can't wait for the Pete Maravich book!

2 comments about MARSHALL NEY: The Bravest of the Brave.

1. Just curious for those who have read this book...Does it go into the possibility that his execution was faked and he escaped to America. In the small town of Cleveland, NC at Third Creek Presbyterian Church there is a tomb that many claim to be the burial site of Marshal Michel Ney...The Bravest of the Brave.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well written and historically accurate book. Michel Ney is a much maligned and often misunderstood historical figure. This book does much to clarify both his personal as well as his military life in verbage all can understand. He was trully the soldier's soldier and the "Bravest of the Brave".

2 comments about Gray Cavalier: The Life and Wars of General William H. F. "Rooney" Lee.

1. This is a well-written biography of a reliable and capable cavalry officer. Rooney Lee was often over-shadowed by the flashier officers of the Army of Northern Virginia cavalry, including his cousin Fitzhugh Lee. However, as becomes evident from the facts of Rooney's career, he was probably a more consistent performer than Fitzhugh and was probably comparable in skill and courage under fire to Wade Hampton. His personal life is one of stoic handling of numerous tragedies. The book is pleasantly written and makes use of contemporary sources and letters, although few of those written by Rooney actually survive. Rooney Lee did not take advantage of his father's position and made his mark on the Confederacy by his ability and personality.



2. This is an excellent biography, carefully researched and documented, of a man of great character. This interesting book thoroughly explores the life of the favorite son of the South's most famous general, admired by all-- both North and South. Must reading by those interested in Southern History and American Cavalry.

No comments about And Still Flying...: The Life and Times of Elizabeth "Betty" Wall.

2 comments about Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences of the Late War (Southern Classics Series).

1. This is a must read for anyone who desires a true understanding of the war and aftermath before our historical perspectives are forever changed with the new history being written by liberal professors. It clearly accounts for the crimes of the reconstruction which is a topic that is definitely being rewritten by those that desire to protray the US as some type of force for good.



2. Genl Richard Taylor offers his insights of the "late unpleasantness". Unlike too many other popular civil war personalities who wrote first-hand accounts, Taylor usually avoids the name-calling and back-stabbing others seem to readily participate in. His immediate supervisor, Genl Edmund Kirby Smith,however, doesn't fare too well by Taylor's standards. Taylor holds Smith responsible for failing to allow him the necessary reinforcements needed to route Banks in the Red River Campaign (North Louisiana). Taylor indeed offers a unique perspective, as the son of Zachary Taylor, as well as having served in the Eastern and Western Theaters. A well-bred, highly educated man, Taylor's writing is filled with allusions to Classic Literature and military folk-lore, which is often muddlesome. Also annoying is the lack of ANY maps -a real problem when discussion of the various bayous, rivers and small towns fill page after page. Definately recommended for those of Confederate ilk - especially his remarks on post-war happenings.

No comments about Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood.

5 comments about Project Omega: Eye of the Beast (Memories Series).

1. Most of the SOG-based books have come from veterans who served at CCC in Kontum; some have come from CCN vets, but I believe this is the only book to come from a man who served at CCS. Ernie writes from his memory as if this all happened only days before and I trust his memory because running recon is not something that seems easily forgotten. While it is safe to assume that some of the dialogue may not be 100% accurate, the ideas are certainly there and his recollection of missions is crisp.
   
   I can't figure why "Sham" has openly refused to accept Ernie's work. I respect his opinion, but I disagree on all points. Ernie didn't set out to write about SOG's extensive history, but instead focused on what he experienced because it's what he knows. No two pair of eyes saw the Vietnam War in the same way. If you want SOG history, buy John Plaster's "SOG" - you'll not be disapointed. I feel Acre deserves the right to make himself "party" to the loss of SFC David "Babysan" Davidson because he knew Babysan and ran missions with him - what else would qualify him to do so?



2. I originally read this engrossing book when it was first published in 1999, and which is written by my friend, Ernie Acre. A member of MACV/SOG's Command & Control South secret project in Ban Me Thuot, Ernie was a member of Recon Company and operated in the Salem House AO of Cambodia during some of the hottest missions of the war. He served in a unit that had the distinction of carrying on its roster some recon legends, such as Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver and David "Babysan" Davidson, men who would not return home from these highly hazardous missions. This book is as much a memorial to them, written as a cathartic confession from a friend and colleague, as it is a collection of war stories.
   
   The book is written to be read by men familiar with life in a combat zone and contains not a single politically-corrected phrase within its pages . . . which means that it is a tough, gritty book with soul. Ernie pours his emotions into its pages and leaves nothing behind. As an example, in his initiation to the realities of Vietnam rear area diversions, he soon discovers with his fresh-from-Ft. Bragg friends, the matter-of-fact, 500 piaster joys of the local steam and cream joint. No PC police were employed in the editing of this book!
   
   Ernie dives into the initial shocks of his assignment to the Studies and Observations Group with the briefing which carried with it the reality of "if you get captured or killed over the fence, Uncle Sammy knows nothing." He is soon off to his in-country initial training mission during which he quickly learns to appreciate the lessons being taught by his experienced One Zero, a short-timer still in the field with only a couple of weeks left before his return to the World. His eye-opening initial foray over the fence on a trailwatch mission results in some close calls, especially when North Vietnamese Army regulars spot one of the team's Claymores, point to it, shrug their shoulders and decide to do nothing. With sweat running down his forehead and his heart beating so loudly it seems to echo through the jungle, Ernie watches as his One Zero, with the detonating clacker in his hand, seems ready to blow the mine, but manages to hold back from doing so. Good thing, too, since over 250 NVA manage to meander down that trail while the team watches from barely ten meters distance. This book might never have been written.
   
   Ernie manages to imbue the pages of his story with deeply personal conflicts between what he has seen happening in America and what he now sees as a mission more for each other than for a greater good. He sees friends disappear into oblivion and feels the pain of loss of comrades that only combat soldiers will ever know. He is artful in his descriptions of the men he serves with and funny in the escapades that they share . . . oh, yes, the book is not all war stories. In fact, some of the stories that arise during his periods of stand-down are downright hilarious for their outrageousness.
   
   The conflicts within Ernie build with each passing day, each mission, each loss of teammates, to the point where he finally realizes that he can never be the same college student that joined the Army, that dreamed of his `55 Chevy, who eventually sees a person in the mirror that appears to be him, but is no longer him. His reality has changed and has changed him forever. Perhaps this is nowhere more clear than when he reaches that point in his tour when he has to decide to either extend or to return to the World. The feelings of conflict within him are strong as he realizes that the bonds that have been created in combat are unlike those of any other relationship.
   
   The book is a well-written diary of a young man's life-altering experiences, some of which he shares with many who served in Vietnam combat, and some which will forever be personal to Ernie Acre. The reader is fortunate to be allowed to share in these most private of thoughts and emotions of a good soldier who did his duty.



3. This book is just brilliantly written and the story is amazing.
   Those men back then did some job as a part of the most secret unit in the US Army, SOG. When I was reading this book, I easily slipped in my mind in the jungle and I heard the voices and sounds, I can say the txt took me with. Get this book if you can, it sure is a must to read !!!!



4. Ernie your comrades in arms have reviewed this book well, and understood what you have tried to convey. With the exception of "Sham" who may be the first and only person, I know of that may have served at CCS, who was afraid to leave his name certainly not from the recon group I bet.

   Note with pride that some very exceptional recon man, warriors who served in SOG, have given you their opinions on this book, and when it comes down to it, that's the ones that really count.

   I recently read it again and my reaction is the same, well done.

   Pete Buscetto

   Bus
   CCS Recon




5. I have just finished reading Ernie's book and found it fascinating. I flew "Green Hornet" slick, right gun and inserted and extracted teams in 67-68 from FOB II (CCC) and Ban Me Thuot (CCS). Jerry Shriver led one of the teams I supported, and I had many exciting and terrifying times extracting him and his team. While I was there before Ernie, his descriptions of his experiences run parallel to the experiences of teams I supported. Through the words in his book, I could again feel the experiences I had while supporting men like Ernie. I have always had the utmost respect for the SOG teams and the unbelievable missions they undertook. In this war, these teams were the ultimate definition of the word "Warriors". There is a saying between the men who have been there, which is-"would you go to the woods with this man". I would go to the woods with Ernie!

1 comments about And the Wind Blew Cold: The Story of an American Pow in North Korea.

1. Excellent to read if you want to know about the daily lives of the POWs in Camp #5 in the Korean War.

4 comments about Boots and Saddles: Or Life in Dakota With General Custer.

1. This is the first of three books George Armstrong Custer's widow Elizabeth Bacon Custer (EBC hereafter) wrote about her life with the General. It begins with Custer and the 7th being assigned to North Dakota, and ends with the expedition which led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. EBC is a good writer within the limitations of the "style" of 1880s-1890s nonfiction. One has to allow for the fact that for her, G. A. Custer was the tallest, strongest, smartest, wittiest, bravest and most omnicompetent man alive. [It's worth pointing out that she often also describes all the troopers riding with Custer as "physically perfect, absolutely splendid specimens of manhood in its prime."] Also following the style of the period, EBC almost entirely omits the names of those she writes about. But otherwise her word-portrait of the life of an officer's wife in the utter desolation of the frontier forts during the Plains Indian Wars is effective, vivid and often moving.
   
   There are so many good stories here I don't want to spoil any by hinting at them. The most famous is EBC's account of "Old Nash," a Mexican laundress who earned several small fortunes with her expert sewing and tailoring, was much sought-after as a marriage partner despite her dark complexion and broad shoulders, and who turned out to be the best midwife around... despite....
   
   A few of the many things that impressed me with EBC's powers of observations--- When the great chiefs and warriors of the plains came to visit Custer, she noted that they (contrary to modern stereotype) were physically almost completely undeveloped, with geek-like pipestem arms... and she understood the reason: that males among the Plains indians did essentially no physical labor whatsoever. Another fine passage involves the relationship between Custer and his favorite indian scout, the famous Bloody Knife. According to EBC Bloody Knife was relentlessly sarcastic concerning the skills and abilities of white men, and Custer in particular. When on a hunting expedition with Custer, Bloody Knife would keep up a running narrative of belitting remarks concerning Custer's unfamiliarity with and incompetence with firearms. As soon as Custer got off a good shot, Bloody Knife would fall silent and express his admiration with a brief smile, which Custer obviously treasured far more than many sentences of insincere and overdone flattery. It reminds me a bit of a comment supposedly made by Wyatt Earp about his great friend Doc Holliday: "He can always make me laugh!"
   
   There is no gossip about Custer's notoriously poor relations with many of the other officers and men of the 7th Cavalry. EBC defends this by saying that Custer deliberately did not tell her of feuds and enemies, because he wanted her as hostess to treat all members of the 7th with equal courtesy. However, this excuse is contradicted within the book by extracts from letters written to her by Custer, which refer to feuds and enemies in ways that would have made no sense if EBC were not fully informed,
   
   Recommended for anyone curious about the life of Cavalry officers, troopers and their families on the "rim of empire" in the 1870s.



2. There are so few well written and personally lived books about the people of the northern great plains, but this is one of them. Mrs. Custer gives intimate details of life in the cavalry and the Dakotas of a time now gone.
   She tells of blizzards, heat, insects, dangers and people in a most readable way that draws the reader in. This is a special book that speaks to the plainsman's heart.



3. Althought the opinions of Custer and life with the calvary are viewed through (very) rosy glasses, Mrs. G.A. Custer is a witty and prolific writer. She also gives little-known insight into everyday happenings in life on the prairie and how women survived the journey. Particularly interesting are the dynamics of relationships between women when living literally in the middle of nowhere, surviving the harshest of climates, with few friends, the same friends, for extended times. Also interesting is the relationship between people of color and the white soldiers. Custer is an enigma, and readers should read this book but also others ("Son of the Morning Star" is the best thus far) to get a glimpse at the man. Libby Custer falls into poetic verse at times, but this can be refreshing - there are not many writings of women in these times available.



4. This is really a question insteadof a review. I have a copy of Boots and Saddles written by Elizabeth B. Custer. The copyright is 1885, by Harper & Brothers. The first page has a note wrote on it "To my friend Richard Dec 25th 1890 then a signature of the giver M L Malis ? Would you know anything about this particular book?

5 comments about The Atomic Times: My H-Bomb Year at the Pacific Proving Ground.

1. When I began reading this book I thought it was going to just another amusing tale of GI life in the 50s. And there is plenty of humor and things to chuckle about, but the longer Harris and his cronies are stationed on the atoll the they call "the Rock," the more serious things become. "The Atomic Times" seems at times a well-wrought mixture of "Lord of the Flies" and "Catch-22." Young men isolated without women is always a bad idea, and I think many GIs throughout the Cold War years knew their own versions of "the Rock." I was stationed at TWO places both known as "the Rock" back in the early 60s: Sinop, Turkey; and Rothwesten, Germany. Even then, it was still an army without women, which can unleash some strange happenings after a while. "The Atomic Times" adds H-bomb tests, radiation exposure and toxic fallout to the mix, which bakes a much darker brownie than usual. One can't help but wonder if the real reason all those GIs were stationed on Eniwetok wasn't simply to provide human guinea pigs to study the effects of fallout and exposure to the blasts. Why the hell didn't those in authority keep the men INside during the tests? Why march them out onto the beach each time? Harris talks of some of the men who were indeed made deathly ill - and even one who died - from the blasts. Add Harris's unhappy and abusive childhood to the mix and this becomes at times a very UNfunny story. But he tells his story with heart and uncommon skill. This guy can write, and his book is well worth your time! - Tim Bazzett, author of "Soldier Boy: At Play in the ASA"



2. This book appears to be written by someone who has watched too many MASH episodes. With a good deal of Catch 22 thrown in. Claims to be fact but appears to be fiction.



3. This is an excellent book that in non-technical language gives the reader some insight into the relationships that existed on this sparse island, Eniwetok, among the members of joint task force 7 during operation red-wing. Since this reader has never served in the armed forces and had an absentee father from the age of nine, I never was able to experience life in the armed forces. This book clearly explains what living would have been like, what having friends would have meant both in a positive and negative sense, and some of the everyday challenges and obstacles that were faced by the military men in the Marshall Islands. In addition to these very valuable insights, the book provides a humor and optimistic point of view that makes light of some of the very difficult circumstances encountered. Besides having strong political implications for the future as to what can happen to all of us, as well as the system under which the armed forces continues to operate, the book gives us a insight into human behavior under these circumstances that is clearly profound. The book was read in two sittings and has not only been talked about in some of my psychology classes, as I try to convey real-life situations of psychological dilemmas, but has also been recommended to colleagues, peers, and friends. It is a must-read book that will have you internally racing!



4. I stayed up all night reading this book . It was a great job of putting characters with different personalities together with a story of our countrys Atomic research. It is hard to believe what our military master minds did to the day to day enlisted man. The whole testing of the bombs was unbelievable. It was unbelievable what the men on the island had to do.



5. Riveting! I read it in one sitting. The memoir of a man with a troubled childhood who finds himself while stationed at the Atomic proving grounds on Eniwetok Island during the mid-fifties. It is a story of men at their best and worst during a hairraising period in the development and testing of the US atomic bomb This book is funny, sad and scary at the same time. It is as timely today as it was in the period that the author describes. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in people and politics and who appreciates good writing.