num_pages: 172
description: In the summer of 1963, Second Lieutenant Kenneth P. Sympson, fresh out of the ROTC program at the University of California at Los Angeles, reported to Marine Corps Schools at Quantico, Virginia. Here he was trained in the essentials of being a marine officer, never imaging that he would be a part of OPERATION STARLITE, the first major U.S. action in what would become the Vietnam War. Sympson later served as the artillery liason officer of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, a unit dubbed the Magnificent Bastards. As a member of this legendary battalion, the author participated in OPERATION TEXAS, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. In a matter of hours, the artillery pieces under the direction of Sympson fired over 2,500 rounds. From the frontlines of Vietnam, this is the story of fear and dread, anticipation and boredom-of a man who served in country. It is also an exploration of how the war still affects him thirty years later.
language: English
title: Images from the Otherland: Memoir of a United States Marine Corps Artillery Officer in Vietnam
titlecomplete: Images from the Otherland: Memoir of a United States Marine Corps Artillery Officer in Vietnam
ratings_count: 6
publisher: McFarland Publishing