Ghosts and Shadows

by Ball, Phil

• ISBN13: 9780786472772
• ISBN10: 0786472774
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-05
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

On November 8, 1967, the author arrived at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, ill-prepared for the training and abuse that awaited him in boot camp. At the time, he would have done anything to escape; only upon reflection years later did he realize that the self-confidence instilled in him by his drill instructors had probably saved his life in Vietnam.A few months after boot camp, Private Ball was shipped out to Vietnam, joining F Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, near Khe Sanh. As an infantryman, a grunt in the vernacular of the Corps, Ball, like the other youths of F Company, did a very difficult and deadly job in such places as the A Shau Valley, Leatherneck Square, the DMZ and other obscure but critical I Corps locales. His--their--fear of death mingled with homesickness. Little did they realize that the horrors of the Vietnam War--horrors that while in-country they often claimed did not even exist--would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. v
Introduction	p. 1
Enlishment	p. 5
Welcome to Vietnam	p. 11
The Bush	p. 19
First LP and Patrol	p. 32
Gunny Franks	p. 43
Foxtrot Ridge	p. 51
It Hits the Fan	p. 61
The Battle Continues	p. 83
Leatherneck Square	p. 100
Hot LZ, Friendly Fire	p. 113
Malaria, Cam Lo River Basin	p. 125
Mutter's Ridge	p. 135
Mai Loc, Tokyo, Da Nang, Mai Loc	p. 144
Ashau Valley, Sleepwalking	p. 174
The World (Epilogue)	p. 188
Marine Corps Field Interview on the Events at Foxtrot Ridge	p. 199
Awards, KIA, and Other Statistics of Foxtrot Ridge	p. 207
F 2/3 Roster - May 1968, Foxtrot Ridge	p. 209
Military History of Phil Ball	p. 211
Index	p. 213
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