On Full Automatic: Surviving 13 Months in Vietnam

As a Marine Vietnam disabled Veteran, Bill Taylor's book took me back to a time I remember so very well. We were there at the same time, and I also served with the 3rd Marine Division. Taylor brought back memories that I had long forgotten. I too lost good friends, and when I went to the Wall I put my hand on their black granite names, and I remembered their faces, their honesty, their service to an uncaring America, and I loved them as they loved me. I stood there and I wept.I would recommend Bill Taylor's book, to all the Vietnam Veterans, and especially to anyone who wants to understand what combat in the Vietnam war was about. Taylor wrote the book with honestly and helped define what we did there.Thanks, Mr. Taylor for reminding me what it was like to serve my country in Vietnam, despite the politics and the pain that came along with it.Golf Company, 2nd battalion 4th Marines, 3rd Mar. Div. Robert Bliss USMC (Ret)

Cut straight to the chase! Like many who enjoy reading memoirs of combat veterans, long preludes of civilian life before service, even long preludes devoting many pages to training, is not what I’m interested in and consider a waste of time. This vet is on full automatic the whole read. The only caveat is that he needlessly apologizes on a few occasions for words, he says, is now offensive. I don’t know anyone who considers the appellation “mama-San” offensive. As for the use of “gook’ to designate the enemy, it originated in China before the war, and I don’t know a single Vietnam vet who would call any Asian-American by that name since leaving the combat zone in Vietnam. It applied only to the VC and NVA they were fighting at that time. I don’t know anybody who felt the use of Krauts or Japs used by the generation that raised me was offensive either.

This book helped me to understand the sacrifices and pain our vets endured during that senseless war. You are heroes, and didn't deserve the disrespect you received. Over 58,000 lives lost and thousands wounded all because of politicians. I commend and honor you.

I have no words only feelings for the men and their families who sacrificed and died. And to all the veterans who could not leave the war behind but made their futures hell.Thank you and God bless you all.

Excellent book not only about Nam but also about the savvy of the average grunt vs. the ineptness of certain officers and NCOS. Taylor however, must not have learned much about Marine/Navy nomenclature in boot camp or ITR. Marines never use the terms floor, hallway, stairs, doorway, bathrooms, walls, etc. Further 4:30 AM is always 0430 and 6:00PM is always 1800.

Thank you William for your service and your bravery. Semper fi marine. You made us all proud to know you.

This account portrays what it really was like with the Marines on the front line in Vietnam. In only 13 months Mr. Taylor continuously faced battles with the enemy. It must have seemed like a lifetime. The impact of this experience will never be forgotten by any of those who fought in this war. In addition, we must always remember their sacrifices to serve our country in the face of real danger. I strongly recommend read about his experiences and the impact on his life. May we never forget.

Just a really solid book about a day in the life of a combat marine in Vietnam.

I was a child in England during the Vietnam conflict, so my experience of it was largely through the TV news at the time. As the Vietnam War was one I grew up with, I have maintained an interest in it, and over the years have read many books and soaked up information about the conflict.From an infantry perspective, this is an excellent book. It absorbed me from the start and taught me a lot about what I thought I knew, but didn't really appreciate - namely the constant tension and stress that the combat troops underwent. The author has expressed it so well, that little imagination is needed to gain an appreciation of what it must have been like - and "terrifying" is the best adjective I can apply. He writes with no bravado, just description making the book a documentary, but an engaging one. From both laying and walking into an ambush, to the frustration caused by inexperienced commanders making decisions they were not competent to make, to the heat and the smells of the jungle - it is all in the book. I would thoroughly recommend anyone with an interest in either the Vietnam conflict, or the factors affecting the psychology of the combat marine to read this book. You wont be disappointed.

Wm. Taylor's memoir is an important book, an intimate history that captures the daily existence of a marine grunt serving and trying to survive in the shadow of the DMZ. His recollections of operations and places made even more vivid my own. His well expressed descriptions of the treatment in America of its veterans, the psychic impacts of their experiences and their rage is not overbearing and makes a fitting ending to a fine work.

Excellent account of the personal experiences of à US Marine during his 13 month tour in Vietnam, in 1 Corps area close to the DMZ. I have read numerous books on the War, and this was very much slanted towards the day to day experiences this individual soldier underwent. A very interesting different slant on the War.

I have read dozens of Vietnam war books and this one comes into the top dozen or so of them.The realism and graphic detail draws you in as if you were there.Extremely well written and presented.

A very insightful and honest look into what must have been hell on earth for people so young, at 19yrs old these were not yet men, 13months in that environment made them men soon enough, couldn’t actually put this down, you felt as if you where right beside these men on the battlefield, this book recounts the typical marine and attitudes of that time,The stories are vivid and The battles are told brilliantly and honestly.Thank you for your service