Review: Courage on the Mountain
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2014
I have to admit that George's book cover might trigger flashbacks to Vietnam Veterans who served with the 25th Division - not so much the electric strawberry patch, but Nui Ba Den, the mountain which can be seen from anywhere within their area of operations.  I, too, was with the 25th Division as an infantryman with the 1/27th Wolfhounds, the closest I ever got to the Black Virgin Mountain is probably fifteen or so miles.  We heard rumors about the mountain - your descriptions and history filled in the blanks for me.I had a rough time with the beginning of this story because of the use of so many "twenty-dollar words"  (as the author refers to them) in the story.  I was distracted, not because I didn't know the meaning of the word...well, a couple did stump me...but it felt like I was reading a college term paper instead of a novel.  Thankfully, as I continued, their usage diminished and the telling of the story changed somewhat - appearing as if a new author had taken over.The first two-thirds of this memoir covers the period of time between the authors' graduation from college through part of his Vietnam tour. The author takes readers through the rigors of basic and AIT training, the flight overseas, and finally landing in Vietnam - he shares identical observations about the heat, smells and sights that all first-time soldiers make after landing in Vietnam.  The author and his friend, Fred (completed training together) are both assigned to the 2/33rd Infantry Battalion, 25th Division as regular grunts, but in different companies.Readers are right there with the author during his exhausting patrols, night ambushes, insects, firefights on and around the mountain, and a trip to Cambodia in May, 1970.  He covers all the aspects of war: fear, death, guilt, sorrow, race, bravery, cowardice, savvy officers and NCO's and those especially not suited to lead men into battle; every unit had them!  As a Vietnam Veteran, I found many of George's experiences in his memoir to mimic my tour - while reading, I could envision myself right there with him. Spot on, my brother!  I do, however, want to mention that the author uses some words incorrectly.  For instance, when setting up a perimeter in the field, he often describes a unit setting up in a circumference of some kind.  At one point, a whole company forms up in a circumference of 75 yards. I feel the correct term should be "diameter" as circumference is the total length of the perimeter itself - a normal house would not fit into a circumference of 75 yards. There are others, but this one in particular twisted my gut every time I saw it.When I arrived in country in August of 1970, I did hear about the murder of the Donut Dolly at Cu Chi Base camp and thought it was another one of those lifer tales like black syph, prostitutes with implanted razor blades in their vagina, et al to keep troops in line - your memoirs now confirm it really did happen and I also learned why.  In my day, to get an R&R; to Australia, soldiers had to extend their tours - nobody with under twelve months in country qualified.  Feedback from those returning from Australia hyped it up so much over time that everybody wanted to go there during 1970/1971.The last thirty percent of George's memoirs address mental illness, citing examples from patients he worked with while stationed at the 935th Psychiatric Detachment.  After all, the author's college degree is in this field and qualified him to complete his Vietnam tour in this occupation after an opening is created.The last few chapters of this memoir follow the author as he tries to acclimate himself back into civilian life.  Once again, George hits the nail right on the head as his examples hit home with many of those survivors of war - even today from the middle east and Afghanistan!  Mr. Reischling has researched PTSD and shows us why Vietnam Veterans, especially, are the way they are today.  It's a cause and effect description that I for one can fully relate with.  Thank you for your story!As a final note, I would have rated this memoir 5-stars, but poor formatting, typos and the improper use of punctuation throughout is worth two stars.  I strongly encourage you to hire a professional editor to clean up your tome - and don't wait too long.  It will make a big difference and attract more readers / sales.  Good luck!John Podlaski, authorCherries - A Vietnam War Novel