Franklin Cox

"Franklin Cox has written about U.S. Marines in the Vietnam War in a strong, spot-on, and impressive way. For the Vietnam vet the words are a dramatic look back at what we experienced as young combat warriors. Cox hits the wave tops of the emotions, fear, challenges, hardships, and personal and professional achievements we now look back and reflect upon. Bravo Zulu, well done!"

"[Franklin Cox has] clearly captured the young Marine warrior: his thoughts, his emotions, his experiences, and the pride that binds him to his brother Marine."
"The ethos of Marines in battle has never been captured better. Franklin Cox is the new balladeer of the USMC."

The green Hueys strafed and fired rockets in passes just across the river, their Lycoming engines howling and moaning, the high explosives being felt in our bones even on our side of the river. The troops cheered. An hour and a half had passed since the battle began.

After our artillery shells pounded the target, my radio operator and I left our open space and made a beeline to the woods where the company had established itself in the defensive perimeter. The terrain was covered with generous clumps of bamboo and thick foliage that provided advantageous cover. We hopped into the command center’s trench-line in the middle of the company circle. A gunpowder smell of the battlefield explosions was encased in a vast begrimed cloud of bomb smoke that hung low over the surrounded Marines.