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A rumor of war by philip caputo vietnam war

             Caputo had one of the most unique perspectives on the war possible. He was a young Marine lieutenant when the Marines first came ashore in force in Vietnam in March of 1965. Ten years later he was one of the reporters that reported on the final fall of Saigon to Communist North Vietnamese forces. Caputo is one of the first Marines ashore in Vietnam and is part of the initial process of escalation that led to our massive commitment to that country. He first guards an airbase, and then makes limited patrols into the surrounding countryside to route out snipers. Eventually he is part of the first massive search and destroys operations of the war. Caputo's book chronicles the sixteen months of the war, or at least what he saw of it. From leading a platoon guarding the airport in Danag, to endless patrols in search of a phantom enemy. Eventually he is transferred to a staff position and as one of his duties posts every day the number of American's lost and VC killed on the regimental HQ's blackboard. To say this has a negative affect on his morale is to put it mildly. Caputo is then transferred back to an infantry company to serve once again as a platoon leader. He serves in this capacity until stress and lack of judgment lead him to order his men on an anti-insurgent mission that results in the death of an innocent pro-American informer. While Caputo is cleared of all charges he is sent home soon after.
             The average marine considers to search and destroy as their primary objective. The marines in Vietnam and any war in general are trained and taught that killing is there primary objective. You could say that the marines are almost brainwashed. I imagined .
             2.
             War to be incredibly disturbing but I never imagined it to be as inhumane as Caputo described in his autobiography. I did not think the actual murder was as significant as the way the soldiers were reacting to it. By the end of their service time, I guess all soldiers get used to the killing and blood shed, but I found it hard to read when they were making fun and joking about people they had killed.


Essays Related to A rumor of war by philip caputo vietnam war

1. A Rumor of War

... in Italy, the Soviet Union and the Middle East. "A Rumor of War" is divided into three sections. The first part Caputo named "The Splendid Little War," and in this part he explains why he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, describes his training, and tells about his arrival in Vietnam. In the U.S. Marine Corps, Lieutenant Philip Caputo was a part of the ninth Expeditionary Brigade, which was the first group ... to training in North Carolina, then received an honorable discharge from serving in the United States Marine Corps. Philip Caputo uses himself as a source for his book "A Rumor of Wa...

  • Word Count: 806
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. A Rumor Of War

A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo was an interesting story about one man's reflection upon and story of the Vietnam War. I found this book very interesting. I chose it because I knew little of the Vietnam War, and thought it would be educational yet interesting for me to read. I also choose it because it was actually written by someone who was in the war. Philip Caputo starts his story from his indecision of what to do with his life after ... high school. Once he decided to join the marine corps he tells of his college career, marine corps ... training, service in the war, and ... ...

  • Word Count: 736
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Rumor Of War

Philip Caputo was a young man caught up in one of the most troubled times in our nation's history. He was born in Chicago and seemed to have a good life. He wanted to get out and see the world ... and trying to be somebody. He did not what lied ahead of him in the Vietnam Conflict, but he would soon find out. In his autobiography, Rumor of War we begin to learn the horror and tragedies of the war and what impact the war had on his life. When he was first sent to the war he thought that he was doing the right thing. He ... saw the war as a chance to prove himself. His background had taught ....

  • Word Count: 880
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Caputo

... that haunted the souls of those who participated as well as the bitterness of a nation conflicted by wounded pride and relief. A 1980 movie, A Rumor of War, based on Philip J. Caputo's book by the same title, reflects much of the pain and ambivalence the nation came to know too well. Like most Americans in the 1950s, Caputo grew up knowing little of Asia and virtually nothing of Vietnam. After the battle of Dien Bien Phu in ... 1954, the possibility of the spread of communism in Vietnam captured the attention of the ... ...

  • Word Count: 961
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

5. rumor of war

On March 8, 1965, Philip Caputo was sent to Danang with a battalion of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and was the first U.S. combat unit sent to Indochina. At that time Americans had enormous pride and confidence in going to war. Young men who had never fought in a war possessed idealism full of illusions by following John F. Kennedy's statement, "ask what you can do for your country" (qtd. in Caputo xiv). The proud young military men believed that the Viet Cong could be swiftly conquered only to come to awareness these guerrillas were a deadly, persistent enemy who were willing to susta...

  • Word Count: 2036
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Rumor of War

On March 8, 1965, Philip Caputo was sent to Danang with a battalion of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and was the first U.S. combat unit sent to Indochina. At that time Americans had enormous pride and confidence in going to war. Young men who had never fought in a war possessed an idealism full of illusions by following John F. Kennedy's statement, "ask what you can do for your country" (qtd. in Caputo xiv). The proud young military men believed that the Viet Cong could be swiftly conquered only to come to awareness these guerrillas were a deadly, persistent enemy who were willing to su...

  • Word Count: 2231
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Fredrick Douglas

... to get an administrative job. He began to see war as something breaking families apart. Caputo no longer saw war as a thrill. He no longer liked war. While Caputo served his administrative jobs he learned of the deaths of his close friends. One of his men was shot in the back while another was shot by a sniper. Sullivan, the man killed by the sniper, had an expecting wife. He took ... this news hard. As people kept dying Caputo began to think of himself as "Officer of the Dead." These soldiers that ... looked like so much to read, but as I started to read I got really interested in lea...

  • Word Count: 1407
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

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