Leading the Way: How Vietnam Veterans Rebuilt the U.S. Military: An Oral History
by By Santoli, Al (EDT)
Category: History , World

Al Santoli's bestselling Everything We Had was a landmark book about the Vietnam War - hailed by the Chicago Sun-Times as "oral history at its best" and praised by soldiers and civilians alike as one of the most powerful, truthful accounts of that conflict. Now in Leading the Way, Santoli brings us a stunning oral history of the United States military from Vietnam through Desert Storm, and beyond. Leading the Way is a historic record of the rebuilding and reenergizing of America's armed forces, as told by the combat veterans who helped to bring it about.Fifty-six military professionals bring to life the most critical moments they have experienced in combat, from the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the air-strips of Panama and the deserts of Kuwait and Somalia. But just as riveting as their battle stories are their behind-the-scenes accounts of how confidence, discipline, and integrity were restored to the military after Vietnam by the work and example of its leaders. In Leading the Way, senior sergeants and officers tell their own stories in their own voices.General Charles ("Chuck") Horner was thrust as a young, untested Air Force captain into the Rolling Thunder mission over North Vietnam - and drew on his crucial experiences there when he served as Commanding General of the Central Command Air Forces during Desert Storm.Command Sergeant Major William Earl McCune fought in Vietnam as a draftee, then decided he didn't want to go back to the Chicago ghetto. He soldiered for the next twenty-six years, and enforced discipline for an inexperienced tank battalion in Saudi Arabia.General Alfred Gray worked to solve the drug problems and racial tensions that plagued the Marine Corps during the "wilderness years" after Vietnam. Later, with dedicated officers like Colonel Michael Wyly, Gray pioneered the revolutionary new Maneuver Warfare Doctrine that has helped to save Marines' lives.Commander Timothy Holden served on a frigate off the coast of Vietnam, then trained to become one of the elite Navy SEALs. His command of coastal special operations missions involving Navy SEALs in the Gulf War was crucial to the Allies' success.Colonel Wes Fox, a Marine private in Korea and recipient of the Medal of Honor in Vietnam, blasts the notion that technology alone won the Persian Gulf War and praises the intelligence of the soldiers and the judgment of their officers during the war.As compelling to read as it is far-reaching in its implications, Leading the Way reveals crucial truths about the heart and mind of America's military, a military which now faces new challenges in a world torn by ethnic violence and regional instability. Anyone who cares about the recent past, the present, and the future of our armed forces will find Leading the Way essential, and fascinating, reading.