My War In The Jungle

This memoir tells the story of a Marine rifle platoon commander’s time in the mountainous jungle of the northernmost province of the then Republic of Vietnam. While tasked with fighting the enemy, G.M. Davis made some great friends ... but saw too much death. The author tracks his tour of duty in the jungle, leading Marines not against the Viet Cong but against the North Vietnamese Army, a well-trained and well-supplied professional army dedicated to unifying the two Vietnams. The heat, the worry, the responsibility and the daily grind took a toll amid firefights, battles, victory, and loss. Contact with the enemy was frequent, and the chaos of even a small fight was daunting. Davis also examines the political reality of the time, arguing that the war was lost before it began, but that the nation kept fighting and losing soldiers so politicians could look strong and keep their jobs. Looking back at the war, he concludes it was a waste of lives and treasure.

"The napalmed children peered at him, uncomprehending, not understanding what happened, and asked him to fix their burns, alleviate their pain. He tried to explain- such a terrible mistake. No words came out of his mouth."  Poisoned Jungle speaks to the long psychological tentacles war has on the lives it touches, and the difficulty of breaking free of them. Realizing changes have occurred deep within, Vietnam War medic Andy Parks must reconcile his new reality to establish a life worth living-not an easy task. How will Andy Parks ever dispel the images he brought home with him? He can't live with them-or outrun them. Even in sleep he finds no rest. In a powerful human saga, Andy teeters on the chasm of survivor's guilt, desperate to find equilibrium in his life. Deep down, he wants to live but doesn't know how. Poisoned Jungle is an intimate glimpse into one veteran's struggle for meaning after experiencing the despair of war.

As a non-combatant member of the Army Air Force, young Dick Whinfield from the small town of Sheboygan, Wisconsin was among the first twenty-five Control Tower operators to be sent to the war in the Pacific. His experiences in five different control towers in fearsome combat areas were frightening, frequently boring and very educational. In his book My War he tells tales of excitement, tragedy and often of amusing antics. While he was living through a most distressing time, he tells of the great comradery he had with the crews with whom he worked. The book starts with his life just before entering the service and then takes him all the way through his exhilarating experiences in the armed service. It ends with his return to his high school sweetheart and a happy marriage.

About the Book Illusion Confusion was written as a dream, a vision. It combines author CPO Bill Sneed’s military experiences in Vietnam and all the horrors of war that went along with it, and the unique way he met the girl of his dreams, who would become his wife. Read Illusion Confusion and see how Sneed found love in the midst of the perils of warfare. About the Author CPO Bill Sneed, USN (RET) DAV is retired from the Navy (twenty years) and was also in the combat zone of Desert Storm at age fifty with the Navy's Military Sealift Command. Afterward he was a sheriff's deputy for six years and a police officer for two years, both in the Reserve. Sneed enjoys retired life by reading, especially about the Vietnam War, and writing. He and his wife, Charlotte, have three children, who have blessed them with eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Charlotte is a retired RN, and she delivered their first grandchild since her main job in nursing had been Labor & Delivery. The couple recently celebrated their 55th anniversary! Although they both have Parkinson's, Sneed and his wife pray for further years to continue enjoying their large family.

Wars are started by a person or persons and are usually a quest for power for a person or a group of people and they don't really care how many people are killed nor how many families are losing a father, mother or brothers or whole families and their relatives. Sometimes, it is necessary to start a war by a peaceful nation against countries tat are harming and have the publically displayed their intentions to extend their borders by taking land from established country's land and people. This I would consider declaring a war to be the only necessary solution to the problem----but still a war with people getting maimed and killed. In World War One---Germany was the problem----once again lust for power. I wasn't even thought of at that period of time----in fact, I hadn't even arrived on the scene at that point of time. But, think about it for a moment-----there's not one inch of land that has increased in size in those thousands of years of civilization and wars. I was a training in Camp Blanding in Florida---we could look in any direction and there was a sign posted in large letters------"Kill or Be Killed"----"Kill or Be Killed". We were just 18 or 19 year old kids--------think about it--------"Kill or Be Killed"-what an education-but necessary to imprint it inside our young brains. It gave us young kids a reason to become killers-----hesitate for a second and you're dead. Back then in training, we used to repeat over and over was that wars were necessary to "Decrease The Surplus Population"--------It is most certainly a true statement.

Jim Corbett is famous for his exploits as a hunter, but there was so much more to the man than tracking down man-eating tigers and leopards. In fact, ‘Carpet Sahib’ (as many Indians called him) was a conservationist at heart, with a deep love for jungles – its flora and fauna; and its inhabitants – the birds and the animals, and the people – who lived in the lush Kumaon hills. It is this side of Corbett that comes to the fore in Jungle Lore. Almost autobiographical in nature, Jungle Lore sees Corbett talk of his boyhood, the people he met, lessons he learnt in absorbing the jungle, his concern for the jungles and environment, and of course, there are doses of hunting expeditions too. There is even the odd story of detection and of supernatural sightings. Jungle Lore is the first book anyone should read on Jim Corbett. Simply because it is about Jim Corbett the man who went on to become a famous hunter.

This memoir tells the story of a Marine rifle platoon commander's time in the mountainous jungle of the northernmost province of the then Republic of Vietnam. While tasked with fighting the enemy, G.M. Davis made some great friends ... but saw too much death. The author tracks his tour of duty in the jungle, leading Marines not against the Viet Cong but against the North Vietnamese Army, a well-trained and well-supplied professional army dedicated to unifying the two Vietnams. The heat, the worry, the responsibility and the daily grind took a toll amid firefights, battles, victory, and loss. Contact with the enemy was frequent, and the chaos of even a small fight was daunting. Davis also examines the political reality of the time, arguing that the war was lost before it began, but that the nation kept fighting and losing soldiers so politicians could look strong and keep their jobs. Looking back at the war, he concludes it was a waste of lives and treasure.

At age 21, William (Bill) Mackenzie Lowcock enlisted in the AIF and found himself in Singapore. A few months later, just shy of his 22nd birthday, he found himself a Prisoner of War. What followed for Bill was three years of forced POW labour on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway (the Death Railway). This is his story. --//-- from the Back Cover --//-- Sixteen-year-old William (Bill) Mackenzie Lowcock enlisted in the militia and, at the breakout of World War II, served on guard duty on various key infrastructures in Sydney and its surrounds. Keen to serve Australia, at age twenty-one, Bill joined the AIF and soon found himself in Singapore, serving as a Private in the 2/19 Infantry Battalion, Administrative HQ. Known to his comrades as “Lofty” thanks to his 6’2” height, Bill’s experiences in Singapore and Malaysia tell—in a matter-of-fact way—the realities of day-to-day military life. This all changed when in 1941, Japan entered the war. Just a few months later in 1942, just shy of Bill’s twenty-second birthday, he found himself a Prisoner of War when Singapore surrendered to the Japanese. What followed for Bill was three years of forced POW labour on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway. Known as the Death Railway, of the 13,000 Australians forced to work there, almost 3,000 perished. Despite many close calls, Bill emerged as one of the lucky ones. Bill’s story charts his experiences throughout this period, retold in Bill’s characteristically understated, humble tones, a candid story of survival—but told with humour and free of pessimism or woe despite obviously horrendous conditions. This book is dedicated to the memory of Private Bill Lowcock, and to all those who have served.