Ever read a book a second time and get a different experience?
I read War Story by Jim Morris, and Tank Sergeant by Ralf Zumbro when I was 13 or 14.
Both books were a good read; Tank Sergeant was a damn good read.
I remembered key parts of both books. Like in tank Sergeant, during tet, the author was leading a column of M48s into I think Saigon, and one of the tanks or APCs had to fall out so some crazy Cobra pilot tried to fill the gap with his chopper tell it took so much fire he had to pull out.
When I went back and read it a few months back, I remembered most but there were parts I thought had been in and now are gone, with this I suspect something was changed in the reprinting. Maybe they edited it to shorten it. I swear there was a section on M16s and Bad ammo. The copy I have now is a newer version then the first one I read.
With War story, I can only recall a few parts. Like him being stuck doing clerk work because he could type and badgering his commander to go back into the field, and him getting his nut shot off.
Both are still in the book but are way less prominent. The book is much more…. Spiritual, then I remember, and Jim Morris is an odd and interesting fellow. I do not remember thinking that at all the first time..
15plus years I guess it is all prolly just a memory thing really.
Both are good reads about Vietnam the other about tankers and the other about Green Berets in the early days.
