“Gun up,' he whispered to Skosh. The word went back to invisible kids lying on the jungle floor. 'Set it in here,' Mellas whispered to Conman. 'Put Vancouver with his machine gun one-eighty from it.' 'He won't like it.' 'To hell with him. Send a fire team around to the left. We'll cover with Mole if they get into the shit. Who do you want to go?' Now it was Conman's turn to play God, at age nineteen. He shut his eyes. 'Rider.' So some are chosen to die young.” WarDeathCombatVietnamSoldiersDie Young Author:Karl Marlantes
“The fourteen-man snake moved in spasms. . . Their eyes flickered rapidly back and forth as they tried to look in all directions at once. They carried Kool-Aid packages, Tang — anything to kill the chemical taste of the water in their plastic canteens. Soon the smears of purple and orange Kool-Aid on their lips combined with the fear in their eyes to make them look like children returning from a birthday party at which the hostess had shown horror films.” WarVietnamKool Aid Author:Karl Marlantes
“Mellas was transported outside himself, beyond himself. It was as if his mind watched eveything coolly while his body raced wildly with passion and fear. He was frightened beyond any fear he had ever known. But this brilliant and intense fear, this terrible here and now, combined with the crucial significance of every movement of his body, pushed him over a barrier whose existence he had not known about until this moment. He gave himself over completely to the god of war within him.” LoveBattleSoldierVietnamSoldiersGod Of War Book:Matterhorn Source: Matterhorn
“Mellas knew that Hawke was letting him squirm. Then, without looking up, Hawke said, 'Look, Mellas, in the Navy or Air Force they give you a medal for what the Marines call just doing their job. In the Marines you only get a medal for being braver than just doing your job." Then he looked at Mellas. 'You get in fixes where medals are handed out because you were unlucky and had to fix things, or because you were stupid and had to fix things. Be carful what you're wishing for.” WarVietnamMarinesMedal Of HonorQuotes That Make Sense Book:Matterhorn Source: Matterhorn
“Matterhorn is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then we abandoned it again.” WarLostBuiltMetaphorVietnamAbandonedVietnam WarMatterhorn Author:Karl Marlantes
“And I think that it's - the military has actually made improvements, so people are considering post-traumatic stress disorder as, at the least, a possible psychological problem. You know, when I was in Vietnam, it was just considered malingering. And we're making progress.” PeopleThinkingKnowsMadeProblemProgressMilitaryStressImprovementPsychologicalPostsDisorderVietnamConsideringPost Traumatic Stress DisorderPsychological Problems Author:Karl Marlantes
“Vietnam was the first time that Americans of different races had to depend on each other. In the Second World War, they were segregated; it was in Vietnam that American integration happened in the military - and it wasn't easy.” WorldFirstsDifferentWarEasyRaceHappenedMilitaryDependsFirst TimeWar Of The WorldsVietnamIntegrationSecond World WarDifferent Races Author:Karl Marlantes
“This nation should be less worried about putting the Vietnam syndrome behind us than restarting the World War II victory syndrome that resulted in the Vietnam syndrome in the first place.” WorldShouldFirstsWarNationsBehindsVictoryWorriedWar Of The WorldsVietnamWorld War IiWorld War ISyndromes Book:What It Is Like To Go To War Source: What It Is Like To Go To War
“When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sheer psychotherapy drivel. It was first person, and there would be pages about wet socks and cold feet.” WritingFirstsPersonsSaidWarWould BeNovelFeetColdPagesDown AndSatVietnamWetSheerVietnam WarSockFirst PersonPsychotherapyGreat AmericanDrivelCold Feet Author:Karl Marlantes
