1998
First Published
4.21
Average Rating
224
Number of Pages
The author arrived at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego ill-prepared for the training and abuse that awaited him in boot camp. At the time, he would have done anything to escape; only upon reflection years later did he realize that the self-confidence instilled in him by his drill instructors had probably saved his life in Vietnam. A few months after boot camp, Private Ball was shipped out to Vietnam, joining F Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, near Khe Sanh. As a grunt, in the vernacular of the Corps, Ball, like the other youths of F Company, did a difficult and deadly job in such places as the A Shau Valley, Leatherneck Square, the DMZ and other obscure but critical I Corps locales. His—their—fear of death mingled with homesickness. Little did they realize that the horrors of the Vietnam War—horrors that while in-country they often claimed did not even exist—would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Avg Rating
4.21
Number of Ratings
245
5 STARS
48%
4 STARS
30%
3 STARS
18%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Phil Ball
Author · 5 books
Phil Ball born 1957 in Vancouver, Canada is a British writer based in Spain. He has lived in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, for over twenty years. Born in Canada to English parents, Phil Ball grew up in Grimsby on the north east coast of England, having moved there as a child in 1957. As a youngster Phil Ball supported Grimsby Town, saying "I was brought up on lower league football". After finishing University, Ball took up an English teaching post in a state comprehensive school in Hull. He subsequently taught in Peru and later Oman, eventually moving to San Sebastián after the first Gulf War.
