The Shake 'n Bake Sergeant

Review Written by Bernie Weisz, Vietnam War historian, July 30, 2010 Pembroke Pines, Florida contact: [email protected] Title of review: "Triple Canopy Jungle, Red Dust Everywhere, Leeches, Scorpions, Tigers and the Best Jungle Fighters on Earth Shooting at You!" William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union General during the U.S. Civil War of 1861 to 1865 was quoted as saying: "There's many a boy here today that looks on war as all glory, but boys, it is all hell." In Jerry Horton's book "The Shake 'N Bake Sergeant", you will hear 140 years later a similar message, but a different war in a different situation and different continent. Mr. Horton is quoted as saying: "War is hard work, lousy food, no rest and occasional moments of utter terror." There were 3 main statistics Americans used for their own forces. The first one was "WIA" or "wounded in action." This meant a soldier had incurred an injury due to an external agent or cause. The term encompassed all kinds of wounds and other injuries incurred in action, whether there was a piercing of the body, as in a penetration or perforated wound, or none, as in the contused wound. These included fractures, burns, blast concussions, all effects of biological and chemical warfare agents such as Agent Orange, and the effects of an exposure to ionizing radiation or any other destructive weapon or agent. The second was "Missing in Action/Prisoner of War" or "MIA/POW". This was used when an American soldier was lost and their whereabouts were unknown, but their death was not confirmed. When a soldier was designated as a P.O. W., he was presumed taken by or had surrendered to enemy North Vietnamese/Viet Cong forces. The third was "Killed In Action" or KIA. This was when an American military member was killed outright by enemy action or who died as a result of his/her wounds or other injuries before reaching a medical treatment facility. In "The Shake @ Bake Sergeant," Jerry Horton was a WIA, and came very close to the other 2 categories! The Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955 and officially concluded on April 30, 1975 when Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) fell. This war followed the First Indochina War fought by the French and was funded by the Americans. It was fought between the Communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, the Soviet Union and Red China. Opposing them were the "supposedly democratic" government of South Vietnam, supported

שנה

2007

שפה

English

הוצאה

Trafford Publishing

מהדורות

1

עמודים

324

ISBN

9781425144517

מקור הנתונים: Wikidata