China is traditionally Vietnam’s enemy. [Vietnam] had been…

“It was terribly risky, maybe even hopeless. But one or two properly armed, well-trained soldiers could hold off an undisciplined mob indefinitely. Shughart and…

— Mark Bowden

“Nearly everyone had a father or uncles who had fought in World War II or Korea, or both, and many had grandfathers who had…

— Mark Bowden

“the domestic enemy’s inner sanctum, the National Press Club.”

— Mark Bowden

“To me the way they were used, particularly the way their idealism and loyalty were exploited by leaders who themselves had lost faith in…

— Mark Bowden

“Opposition to the war was becoming fashionable. Popular figures—intellectuals, athletes, musicians—stepped up to announce their opposition”

— Mark Bowden

“There were none of the card games marines usually played in downtimes. They were too tired to concentrate, and poker was serious business.”

— Mark Bowden

“The smallest pleasure, like a mouthful of canned fruit or the chance to bathe in an ice-cold river, was a luxury, something to be…

— Mark Bowden

“The fifty-three-year-old former Eagle Scout from South Carolina didn’t drink, smoke, or swear; the most colorful expletive in his vocabulary was “dad gum.”7 He…

— Mark Bowden

“Hanoi’s leaders were virtuoso songbirds of propaganda. They lived in a bubble. There were no voices of dissent in their society to check or…

— Mark Bowden

“the Tet surprise was regarded by Westy as proof of Hanoi’s weakness. Nowhere in his understanding of the war was there room for the…

— Mark Bowden

“Westin celebrated the New Year by shooting off some hand flares. Orders were “no fireworks,” but you couldn’t expect several hundred thousand men in…

— Mark Bowden

“In April 1967, Johnson had dispatched General Creighton Abrams to Vietnam as Westy’s deputy. Abrams, a famous tank commander in World War II, had…

— Mark Bowden

“Steele gave the unapologetic impression that he could break you with his bare hands if it weren’t for his strict devotion to Jesus and…

— Mark Bowden

“Thomas Paine’s The Crisis—“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the…

— Mark Bowden

“Beware of men with theories that explain everything. Trust those who approach the world with humility and cautious insight. The”

— Mark Bowden