Nam Sense : Surviving Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division

Nam Sense is the memoir of a combat squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division. Arthur Wiknik was drafted by the army in 1969 at the age of nineteen, promoted to sergeant without ever setting foot in a combat zone , and sent to Vietnam. He was flown north to Camp Evans, a mixed-unit outpost near Phong Dien, only a few miles from Laos. Wiknik was then thrown straight into the action: he was the first man in his unit to reach the top of Hamburger Hill during one of the last offensives launched by US forces, and later discovered a weapons cache that prevented a sneak attack on his advance fire support base. Between the sporadic episodes of combat he mingled with the locals and defrauded an unwitting US supplier to provide his platoon with a year of good food. This book offers a perfect blend of candour and humour and it spares nothing and no one in its attempt to convey what really happened during this unpopular war. Nam Sense is not about heroism, mental breakdowns and haunting flashbacks: the GIs Wiknik lived and fought with during his year-long tour were there to do their duty, support their comrades and get home alive. The soldiers I knew , explains the author, demonstrated courage, principle, kindness, and friendship all the elements found in other wars Americans have proudly fought in. Review This memoir has it all. Its powerful prose sears into the reader the pathos of war-the loneliness, hopelessness, fear, anger, loathing of oneself and ones' enemy-while generating laughs, a better understanding of the Vietnam veteran, and a sense of pride in our armed forces. --AdvanceBookReviews.com Nam Sense is written in an accessible and ironic style, whether describing whores or horrors, it provides an unflinching look at a year in the life of a Grunt in Vietnam. --Military History of the West About the Author ARTHUR WIKNIK was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968, selected to be trained as an Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and went to war in Vietnam. He became a combat squad leader and spent a year-long tour fighting for survival. He lives in Connecticut, USA. Library : General Formats : EPUB ISBN : 9781935149095

Nam-Sense is the brilliantly written story of a combat squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division. Arthur Wiknik was a 19-year-old kid from New England when he was drafted by the army in 1968. After completing NCO training, he was promoted to sergeant "without ever setting foot in a combat zone," and sent to Vietnam in early 1969. On his first jungle patrol the night after his arrival, his squad killed a female Viet Cong who turned out to have been the local prostitute. It was the first dead person he had ever seen.

Wiknik's account of life and death in Vietnam includes everything from heavy combat to faking insanity to get some R&R. He was the first man in his unit to reach the top of Hamburger Hill during one of the last offensives launched by U.S. forces, and later discovered a cache of weapons that prevented an attack on his advance Fire Support Base. Between the sporadic episodes of combat he mingled with the locals, tricked unwitting American suppliers into providing his platoon with a year of good food, defied a superior and was punished with a dangerous mission, and struggled with himself and his fellow soldiers as the anti-war movement began to affect their ability to wage victorious war.

Nam-Sense offers a perfect blend of candor, sarcasm, and humor-and it spares nothing and no one in its attempt to accurately convey what really transpired during this unpopular war. Nam-Sense is not about heroism, mental breakdowns, haunting flashbacks, or wallowing in selfpity. The GIs Wiknik lived and fought with during his year-long tour did not rape, murder, or burn villages, were not strung out on drugs, and did not enjoy killing. They were there to do their duty as they weretrained, support their comrades, and get home alive.

Wiknik has written a gripping and complete record of life and death in Vietnam, and he has done so with a style and flair few others will ever achieve.

A candid memoir of being sent to Vietnam at age nineteen, witnessing the carnage of Hamburger Hill, and returning to an America in turmoil. Arthur Wiknik was a teenager from New England when he was drafted into the US Army in 1968, shipping out to Vietnam early the following year. Shortly after his arrival on the far side of the world, he was assigned to Camp Evans near the northern village of Phong Dien, only thirty miles from Laos and North Vietnam. On his first jungle patrol, his squad killed a female Viet Cong who turned out to have been the local prostitute. It was the first dead person he had ever seen. Wiknik's account of life and death in Vietnam includes everything from heavy combat to faking insanity to get some R & R. He was the first in his unit to reach the top of Hamburger Hill, and between sporadic episodes of combat, he mingled with the locals; tricked unwitting US suppliers into providing his platoon with hard-to-get food; defied a superior and was punished with a dangerous mission; and struggled with himself and his fellow soldiers as the antiwar movement began to affect them. Written with honesty and sharp wit by a soldier who was featured on a recent History Channel documentary about Vietnam, Nam Sense spares nothing and no one in its attempt to convey what really transpired for the combat soldier during this unpopular war. It is not about glory, mental breakdowns, flashbacks, or self-pity. The GIs Wiknik lived and fought with during his yearlong tour were not drug addicts or war criminals or gung-ho killers. They were there to do their duty as they were trained, support their comrades—and get home alive. Recipient of an Honorable Mention from the Military Writers Society of America.