Synopses & Reviews
A riveting memoir of one marine rifleman's journey from Parris Island through the hell of Vietnam and the Tet Offensive with the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines.
In 1967, a young E. Michael Helms boarded a bus to the legendary grounds of Parris Island, where mere boys were forged into hardened Marines—and sent to the jungles of Vietnam. It was the first stop on a journey that would forever change him—and by its end, he would be awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Citation, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.
From the brutality and endurance-straining ordeals of boot camp to the endless horror of combat, Helms paints a vivid, unflinchingly realistic depiction of the lives of Marines in training and under fire. As powerful and compelling a battlefield memoir as any ever written, Helms's “grunt's-eye” view of the Vietnam War, the men who fought it, and the mindless chaos that surrounded it, is truly a modern military classic.
Review
The Veterans News A stunning account of war....Like Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, The Proud Bastards is timeless.
Review
The Veterans NewsA stunning account of war....Like Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, The Proud Bastards is timeless.
Review
Keith William Nolan author of Battle for Hue The best grunt-level, tell-it-like-it-was work I've read....A classic.
Synopsis
In the tradition of Full Metal Jacket and Platoon comes the riveting memoir of one marine's harrowing journey from boot camp at Parris Island through the hell of Vietnam. Helms's military classic acutely describes the day-to-day life of one combat infantryman in Vietnam at the height of the war--the anxiety of a combat patrol; the tension of a night LP (listening post); the knee-knocking, "here it comes again!" dread; the gut-wrenching pain of seeing a buddy's name on a casualty list; the throat-constricting sadness of a simple field memorial service; and the insanity of the bizarre that becomes the norm.
About the Author
E. Michael Helms turned down a chance to play college baseball and joined the United States Marine Corps after high school graduation. As a rifleman with the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines (The Magnificent Bastards), he was involved in some of the heaviest fighting of the Vietnam War, including the Tet Offensive of 1968. For his service, Helms was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Citation, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, and was honorably discharged in 1969.