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Show Book Review The Dirty Side of War A Review of the book, "The Green Berets," By Robin Moore. By DENNIS SYLVESTER Robin Moore's book entitled "The Green Berets," is a shocker, but true to life. Guerrilla warfare in Viet Nam is not a pretty sight when witnessed first-hand. Robin Moore wrote "The Green Berets" from experience gained through the same unconventional training and actual combat com-bat experiences as our Army's Special Forces. The book has a high degree of authenticity and ugliness. Finding a village chief, murdered by the Viet Cong, is described in gory detail de-tail The chief and his son were found hanging by their thumbs in the village center The Viet Cong had disembowled the chief in front of the horrified villagers. But atrocities, as cited in the book, are found on both sides. A Viet Cong informer found in a Special Forces camp was tortured by a Vietnamese officer. A large pin was shoved under the Viet Cong's fingernail. When the flow of intelligence information slowed or seemed doubtful, the pin was given a sharp whack with the flat s.de of a bayonet. Moore, civilian and author, received special permission to go through the courses given at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center after he completed com-pleted the four weeks of "jump" (Airborne) (Air-borne) school at Fort Benning, Ga. At the Special Warfare Center he learned the advanced, yet chilling, techniques tech-niques of America's Special Forces, the wearers of the green beret. After completing the Army's training train-ing at Fort Benning and at the Special Warfare Center, Moore arrived in Viet Nam for a six month tour. He was fortunate for-tunate at least in writing an authentic book to be allowed in combat conditions, condi-tions, as if he were in the Special Forces. The book was planned and researched on actual incidents, according to Moore. It was first designed to be a factual account ac-count based on first-hand knowledge and observation, but later Moore decided he must present the truth in the form of fiction to protect the U.S. planners in Viet Nam and to avoid jeapordizing the careers of invaluable officers. "The Green Berets" is on the top 10 best seller list a place which it has comfortably occupied for the last 20 weeks. Officials in Washington would classify the book as one of the biggest troublemakers trouble-makers of the year, judging from the fuss it has stirred. Aparently, the book is too close to reality. Real and honest it is, but the complete com-plete authenticity cf the book, being based entirely on "facts," could be questioned. ques-tioned. Especially questionable are the parts which Moore did not witness personally. per-sonally. The incidents were, Moore atl- J mits, retold to him. i It is in these retold "war stories" j that Moore's imagination seems to race wildly. He seems enthusiastically snared ' by the dark dangers and explosive tales of guerrilla warfare. No doubt, Moore was an eager listener when the "war stories" were retold. Evidence of his lust for a fantastic story is found in the baiting of an important im-portant Viet Cong military official. The unsuspecting sexually-excited official is literally baited with the body of an attractive at-tractive Vietnamese girl, who passionately passionate-ly hates the Communists. The trap was slammed shut when the girl lured the ' Viet Cong into Saigon and the "Sneaky j Forces" moved in. The Communist was captured in the middle of his act. The last big incident in the book is a kidnapping of a North Vietnamese government gov-ernment official, prized for his knowledge of the Communists' security nets. This story reaches unbelievable proportions, on par with a James Bond thriller. The merits of the book will be debated de-bated as long as the controversial war in Viet Nam. Whatever the outcome, and whatever the reader's opinion might be, ' "The Green Berets" seems destined to become be-come a hell-raiser. |