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MWSA Review
LZ Sitting Duck is a collection of personal stories, one per chapter. It's different from most books in that all of these stories revolve around the same incident, the Battle of LZ Argonne in the spring of 1969. In such a circumstance there's a danger that repetition will push readers away; this book does not do that. The story is raw and the descriptions are hard to read at times, but it's a straight from the heart snapshot in time of what life was like for combat Marines in Vietnam. The next time most of those who read this tell a Vietnam Veteran, "Thank you for your service," it will not be perfunctory; they will say it with feeling.
There were countless battles large and small in the Vietnam War. Most remain unknown to all but those who fought there. The Battle of LZ Argonne is one of these, albeit a larger and lengthier one than most. LZ Sitting Duck describes this battle from the perspectives of twenty-two Marines who were there, some as riflemen, some as artillerymen, some as forward observers, some as line officers, some as helicopter pilots, etc. It provides a unique, comprehensive, immersive view of a brutal battle than ended with survivors, not victors—survivors who shared the most terrifying and likely the most formative experience of their lives on a forgotten mountain top in a remote Southeast Asian jungle, men who did their duty.
LZ Sitting Duck is a valuable resource for those interested in the history of the Vietnam War, and particularly for those who have served in combat or who care about someone who did. No one can ever truly understand combat and the effects it has on those involved except those who lived it. However, LZ Sitting Duck comes very close. Each chapter is written by a different Marine from his personal perspective, using his vocabulary in his own way. When combined in the reader's mind this forms a more complete picture of the battle and those who fought it than that of any single participant. Of course, most of the visceral aspects of the battle, the sights, sounds, smells, etc., remain solely in the minds of the participants, but that is as it should be.
MWSA Review by Jamie Thompson (March 2022)
Author's Synopsis
"LZ Sitting Duck, The Fight For FSB Argonne" is a collection of personal recollections from twenty two Marines and one family member, related to a battle that took place in Vietnam, during March, 1969. FSB Argonne, Hill 1308, was located on the border with Laos and just south of the DMZ. This story is told by the Marines that fought this fight, in their own words. There are 22 stories of the same fight, all from individual perspectives and experiences. "LZ Sitting Duck" is a down in the dirt, grunt view of the Vietnam war.
This was a fierce battle for the Marines of Delta Company (+ HQ), 1st Bn, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. The "LZ Sitting Duck" moniker came from the first moments of this battle, as Marines landed on the abandoned Fire Support Base Argonne, which had become a fortified North Vietnamese Army base. When these Marines landed, they were inside the NVA fortified position, and were immediately met with intense enemy rifle, machine-gun fire coming at them from every direction. Additionally the NVA fired volley after volley of very accurate 82mm mortar fire. These Marines were “the sitting ducks” and had to fight their way out from the LZ, on open ground with little or no cover, clearing NVA bunkers one at a time.
Bing West describes this story best "What shines through from this bare-knuckled, furious battle is the core ethos. It comes through loud and clear when you read chapter after chapter in different voices. These Marines had no battlefield prep, no intelligence, no cohesive leadership. What held them together was the Marine spirit. There was nothing else. Wow! What an epic fight" As a testimonial to the ferocity of this battle, three Navy Cross citations were awarded for the actions of Marines during first 24 hours of this fight, plus numerous Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart awards where given. The navy Cross recipients were, Lt Col. Sargent (posthumous), 2nd Lt. McCormick (posthumous) and Major Pierpan, (survived) and authored the forward for this book.
Format(s) for review: Paper AND Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 309