Army veteran almost got in a fight with Norman Mailer when the American writerasked him to describe his service in the Vietnam War.
Marvin J. Wolf
Marvin J. Wolf served 13 years on active duty with the U.S. Army, including eight years as a commissioned officer. He was one of only 60 enlisted and warrant officers to receive a direct appointment to the officer ranks while serving in Vietnam. Wolf has authored more than 20 books, including three about the Vietnam War: "They Were Soldiers," "Abandoned In Hell," and "Buddha’s Child." He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his adult daughter and a neurotic, five-pound Chihuahua.
Posted inReflections
My Men Had Served a Year in Hell. I Was Getting Them Home, Come Humid Hell or High Water.
Second Lt. Marvin Wolf overcame obstacle after obstacle to ensure 150 enlisted troops got home from a combat tour in Vietnam on a C-141 aircraft.
Posted inReflections
A German Arrest Warrant, a Car Theft Ring, and a Smuggled Soldier’s Escape
Screw you, Germany, we won the war. I couldn’t have bought a stolen car if you fools had allowed the US Forces the ability to verify ownership.
Posted inReflections
I Volunteered for This Mission. I Could Take Photographs That Might Outlive Me.
Drowning in fear and self-loathing, I reminded myself why I was here. Why I was in Vietnam. On this helicopter. Why I had volunteered for this mission.
Posted inReflections
The Day the Marines Asked the Army for Help, the Sun Rose in the West, and Hell Iced Over
Normally, the U.S. Marine Corps is the most self-sufficient of the armed services. On this day, they needed our help.
Posted inReflections
A Poncho, a Bayonet, and a 1943 C Ration Chocolate Against a Fort Lewis Snowstorm
I reconciled myself to staying put until daylight. I’d fasted every Yom Kippur since my bar mitzvah at age 13, going without food or water for more than 24 hours—so I knew that I wouldn’t starve from a day and a night without eating.
Posted inReflections
The Things We Borrowed–I Didn’t Set out to Be in Nonprofit Black Market Supply With Whiskey as Currency
Soldiers got what they needed in Vietnam, from cold Pepsis to American-made lumber to a three-quarter-ton truck, often trading with Jack Daniels.
Posted inReflections
In an Unsteady Peace, Soldiers Built Bridges With Hankies, C Rations, and Salami
Our officers told us almost every week that North Korea could resume hostilities at any moment, with or without a reason. It was our job to be ready.
Posted inReflections
If There Was No Iwo Jima Airfield, I’d Have Been on My Knees Praying
We stop in darkness; as engines whine into silence, our senior officer calls out, “Leave everything except headgear and weapons.” Something is very wrong.
Posted inReflections
Explosives, a Couple of Flamethrowers, and No Ordinary Men Against a Forbidding Jungle
The ships with our 437 helicopters would reach Qui Nhon harbor in about four weeks. They needed a place to land.
Posted inReflections
Remembering Journalist Sam Castan and His Deadly Ride with Crazy Horse
“Memories of Sam’s death haunted me for decades,” writes a former Army public affairs officer about the death of a journalist during the Vietnam War.
