A Rumor of War: The Classic Vietnam Memoir (40th Anniversary Edition)

Caputo's digestion of the Vietnam War is a merit not only to the degraded soldiers involved, but a glorification of a pushy parent. In this case, the pushy parent is the United States government. Phil Caputo, a young, daring, idealistic man who joined the Marines in search of adventure and unexpectedly come across his own meaning. Taking you into the trenches head first, Caputo exemplifies the tragic events of the war as the soldiers, who believed they living their fathers World War II legacy only found death. The journeys through the Vietnamese jungles slowly transform Caputo and in a way harden him. Being shot at, never knowing exactly why he's out there and ultimately the death of his friend blow his preconceived notions out of the blood drenched jungle waters. The thematic which rears its ugly head from time to time is `natural human inclination versus duty.' In this case, the natural inclination was the why behind the war. Many soldiers did not know why they were fighting and were never given proper answers. However, the pressure from the US government is satiable. They want the soldiers to simply kill, and much like a baseball score, would deliver the winning numbers to the American public over the nightly news. Caputo's insight gives us a window view into how in reality; the soldiers were not at fault for the loss of the Vietnam War. In fact, the blame is placed upon the US government. With all of their secrets, special interests and bizarre motivations, they push American citizens to support the war and draft as many of them as they can. Through propaganda, patriotism takes a whole different meaning. In many ways, the fight that was waged in Vietnam was one that was doomed from the very beginning. The rooted purpose as to why the Americans landed on Vietnam was uncertain. Fighting the Viet Cong or the Viet Ming was much like trying to stop a water leak. Fighting through the jungle, the Americans faced a war unlike any other. The enemy was everywhere without a land marked base for the Americans to attack. Trying to stop this leak in one area, only meant that the leak would apply its pressure in another unexpected area. And throughout all of this, the American Citizens blamed the soldiers for everything. They blamed them for going to war, for loosing the war and even blamed those who had enough foresight to not fight in the war. Caputo's in the knee deep approach is a liberating view of the world. For so many years, the war had a lot of question marks written all over it. Many, simply believed that the war was lost because American soldiers were weak hippies. Caputo brings a different machine to the table as he gives us his through the eyes experience. His testimony gives us the fall of the romanticized idea of war, with its true horror, running around the jungle with no idea why your there, the loss of dear friends, the mechanistic view of death and numbers, endless despair and the overall frustration of fighting an enemy that in many ways was much like a ghost.Caputo describes the war much like an exercise in dehumanization, and I completely agree with him. I enjoyed the read simply because it gave me an insight I did not have before. The soldiers of this war were confused and were riding the wave of World War II. In reality, it was a sham. These soldiers were used simply as killing machines. Forced into combat with ideas of glory and honor. Ultimately, they found death and questions.

Philip Caputo's "A Rumor of War" is a masterpiece. Inside, he shows how a soldier fighting in the jungles in Vietnam is progressively transformed- and damaged. At the beginning, Caputo is a young man, living with his parents, going to university, swept up by John F. Kennedy's rhetoric about giving to one's country. Even so, Caputo wishes to prove himself, and joins the Marines against his parents' wishes. He takes us through his experience at basic training and bootcamp. By the end of these experiences, Caputo is hardened, but not damaged- and he still holds his patriotic ideals close to his heart. These ideals change dramatically during his experiences during the war. Taken overseas by the escalation of troops under President Johnson, Caputo arrives as a platoon commander, expecting the American troops to mop up the Viet Cong quickly and without much effort. Caputo was by no means alone in this early assessment, but the resilience of the Viet Cong forced all views to change.Caputo vividly describes his experience sleeping and eating during the war. Despite mosquito nets, one had to learn to sleep around swarms of mosquitos. During patrol, one would walk briefly through shallow water, and walk out of that water with leeches all over one's legs. Food was terrible. Sleep was short. But by far the most profound experience Caputo endures is the fighting itself. When Caputo sees the bodies of his men blown to little pieces, his view of the exaltation of humanity is challenged. He describes vividly how he encountered soldiers who had cut off the ears of Viet Cong as "trophies." He reacts with shock at first, but during his months in Vietnam, he finds himself becoming more and more like them. During an assault, his platoon with him included, enters into a battle frenzy as they burn down a village of 200 people- just for the hell of it. Once the frenzy is over, Caputo is disturbed, and describes how it was as if he was watching himself from outside his body, observing the carnage but unable to change it.His tour of duty comes to an end when Caputo sends two men to capture or kill two particular Viet Cong agents. When they return, they have killed two Vietnamese- but not Viet Cong. Caputo, disturbed, orders them to stick to their stories. Suddenly, the scene changes. It is some time later, and Caputo and his two men are on trial for murder- not manslaughter, but murder, as if they had murdered two boys on the strees of Los Angeles. The potential sentence is life in prison. Caputo draws an analogy between the experience of waiting for the verdict and the experience of going into battle- a tension, almost sexual in its intensity, that one desperately wishes to relieve, even as one dreads its ultimate conclusion. He wishes to receive the verdict- though he dreads the potential verdict- just as he wishes to come to a battle, even as he dreads his potential doom. Ultimately, Caputo is acquitted, and returns home at last. An epilogue describes Caputo's experience returning as a journalist in 1975 as he see Saigon fall to the North Vietnamese. Even though the U.S. had lost, it was finally over.

The narrative is front and center, if you are expecting something like a novel, you are going to be left disappointed. If you are looking for something which will satisfy your need for learning about life as a Marine on the line in Vietnam, then this book will fill your needs.The truth, which is the soul of this account, will plague our nation for the foreseeable future.Astounding read!

I have read many books on vietnam but this book is one of most deep3st accounts of what this war did to the soldiers in this terrible conflict I would personally say it's the best book I have read it explores every soldiers attitude to this conflict it shows raw human acts of courage cruelty and the wider effects it had on these brave men including how they felt about the war and I feel Philip caputos accounts of his experiences and what he had seen and admitted, his own occasional acts of cruelty due to the long term effects this war had on him and his comrades thanks for youre story everyone should read this book.anyone who think war is great its not . and this book sums up all that is wrong about killing mostly politicians warmongers who never get there hands dirty

I read many accounts of the Vietnam war.I think this is one of the best because it conveys the physical exhaustion of the grunts on the ground. It is, also, a letter to future generations and a book about war. Honest even when acknowledges feelings that more often remain untold. It's a memory from base camp (fast part) to the jungle. It's maybe as near as you can go in order to understand what it was, which is not much, of course. But somewhere near anyway. Field of fire by Webb is another must-read

This book was a very good read. You get a really good sense of what the Vietnam war was like and the good and bad of war.

Das Buch von Philip Caputo zählt mittlerweile zu den Klassikern den Vietnam-Literatur und zum Standard-Lesestoff in Schulen in den USA.Caputo erlebt 1965 den Beginn des Vietnam-Konflikts als 2nd Lieutenant und Zugführer bei den ersten US-Marines, die in Vietnam eingesetzt werden. Was mit Hurra-Patriotismus und einem grenzenlosen Überlegenheitsgefühl beginnt, endet schnell im Verlust aller Illusionen und der vom Militär anerzogenen Werte.Der anfangs begrenzte Konflikt mit wenigen Verlusten wächst sich schnell zum ausgewachsenen Dschungelkrieg mit unzähligen Toten und Verwundeten aus. Caputo erlebt dabei hautnah und am eigenen Leib die Verrohung der amerikanischen Marines und Kriegsverbrechen an der einheimischen Bevölkerung.Der Feind sitzt auch im eigenen Lager, in Form von unfähigen und nur aufs eigene Image bedachten Vorgesetzten, die den Autor schlussendlich sogar vors Kriegsgericht zerren, wo ihm die Todesstrafe für eine Fehlentscheidung droht.Caputo kehrt nach einem Jahr Vietnam in die USA zurück, schliesst sich der Anti-Vietnam-Bewegung an und wird Journalist und Kriegsberichterstatter. Der Job führt ihn nach 10 Jahren, 1975, ins belagerte Saigon zurück, wo er mit den letzten Amerikanern evakuiert wird.Dieses Buch ist schwere Lektüre, weil es die innersten Gefühle, die Zerrissenheit und die Verzweiflung des Autors wiedergibt. Hier gibt es keine Lobhudelei auf die "Ehre der Marines" und keinen übersteigerten Patriotismus, hier wird geschildert, was ein Soldat in Vietnam tatsächlich erlebt hat. Caputo nimmt schon 1975 die Interpretation vorweg, die der Vietnam-Konflikt heute in der Geschichtsforschung erfährt. Das macht das Buch bis zur letzten Seite zum authentischen Zeitzeugnis.Ein "must read" für jeden, der an wahrhaftiger und authentischer Dokumentation und Erzählung interessiert ist, 5*.

L’écrivain était un soldat, et tout cela va changer sa vie …