Eye of the Tiger: Memoir of a United States Marine, Third Force Recon Company, Vietnam

I could not put this book down. It was so well written. The author has an amazing way with words.

I just can't forget this book.Eye of the Tiger: Memoir of a United States Marine, Third Force Recon Company, Vietnam by John Edmund Delezen may be the first Vietnam War memoir I’ve read. At the time of the war I was young and stupid, immigrating to the United States from Canada in 1970. I took on the attitudes of the young men around me, all of them desperate to escape the fate of being sent to Vietnam.Eddie Delezen somehow became my Facebook friend and we had the occasional exchange that interested me. I never expected his memoir to stir me in the way that it has done. Half way through reading Operation Buffalo I had to set the book down and catch my breath. The work is so well written, I was really there in that stinking jungle crawling on my belly.Marine Recon, I learn is “sent into … to locate hidden, illusive enemy units…We hone our lethal craft as we learn to live and survive under the thick canopy…always aware, always searching, and always moving with deadly stealth.” And survival among not only the enemy but the cobras and vipers and the occasional tiger. It is the confrontation with the eyes of the tiger that provides the capstone of this book.There are worse things: heat, hunger, and thirst. “I am unable to quench the constant thirst with the warm, plastic flavored canteen water…The sweat soaks through our clothes and into our packs and ammo pouches. Across the napalm-scarred plantations, the searing sun is relentless: there is no shade, no escape.” And hunger after eight days and a helicopter extraction: “We attack the food like starved wolves: our eyes, filled with fear, adrenaline and hunger, blaze like embers.”Perhaps Delezen writes for military historians, or those who have had experiences like his. I liked that. I had to look up what a Claymore was and elephant grass. Possibly the only sections of the book I did not read with complete absorption were the introductions into Vietnamese history.This book has stuck with me from the weeks it’s taken since I finished the book to writing this review: the art of the writing, the lushness of Vietnam, and the transfiguration of an American boy into a soldier fighting for his own survival.

"Eye of the Tiger" is a beautifully written, almost poetic profile of a U.S. Marine in Vietnam. Eddie Delezen was in a USMC Recon Unit from March of '67 to December of '68. These guys were so deep in the bush that they actually infiltrated North Vietnamese Army infiltration routes! This reviewer has read several descriptions of the Vietnamese landscape and even seen a thin portion of it himself. But this observer has never read such keen verbal portraits of Vietnam-so stark, severe, striking and dangerous all at once. Much of the action takes place along (or over) the borders of the DMZ or that place of ultimate mystery, Laos. "Neutral" Laos.The combat stories verge on the surreal, since recon patrols avoided contact with the enemy -in stark contrast to main force units, which sought it. The men also had to avoid contact with the poisonous snakes, vipers and leeches of the boonies. Most of us guys with safe jobs just worried about the rats! ET also features critical basic infantry practice as packing properly for patrol, walking front AND rear point, selecting a nighttime site, setting up the claymores as well as locking in artillery points and radio contacts. Some of that is not new, but Mr. Delezen does a first rate job of tying it all into his basic story. The author also weaves in fascinating descriptions of murky Vietnamese history and its' mysterious geography. It is poignantly obvious that the author came back to the World with a respect for Vietnam, a departure from the attitude of so many vets who never wanted to see the place again. And yes, there is a tiger! While on a listening post one day, the author realized he was not alone. A furry striped friend was watching him! Delezen doesn't fire so as not to expose himself to a possible nearby enemy! That's patrol discipline! This review cannot conclude without acknowledgment to those chopper pilots and door gunners. How many lives did those guys save in the course of the War? How many men did they extract under withering fire? Reading ET will reinforce that thought and give us respect for them anew. A final word: Shoppers SHOULD NOT be deterred from the hardcover price tag for this paperback. ET is worth every penny. The production values are very high. The typesetting is professionally eye pleasing and this reviewer has not enjoyed sharper photos anywhere! McFarland Publishers should be proud of their first rate work, the guys in the recon units proud of their service to their country and author should be proud of his intense report of Marines in stealthy combat.

I believe that this is one of the most engaging war memoirs I have read, and I have read quite a few. The author weaves together a set of themes - him and his friends, the jungle, the wildlife of the jungle, the history of Vietnam, the people of Vietnam, and his enemies - in an unforgettable way. It was one of those books which was a shame to finish.I made an error in drafting this review, giving the book one star, which I apparently cannot change. Please be clear. This is a five star book. If six were available I would try to give it seven.