Phase Line Green: The Battle for Hue, 1968 Kindle Edition

Great book about Hue battle and the experiences of a terrific leader doing his best. Very descriptive and emotional. One of the better Vietnam books I’ve read and I would highly recommend it.

I was a 19-year old E-4 who was a section leader with Bravo Co. at the beginning of Hue City and a platoon leader by the time I was med evaced out. I knew Paul R. Cheatwood from the day I arrived in Viet nam and was with him through Hue.CHEATWOOD WAS WITH BRAVO COMPANY not Alpha! Our Corpsman wrote Cheatwood up for the Medal of Honor and I signed the recommendation.I was with Cheatwood when he committed his act of tremendous courage (see my write-up of Fire in the Streets). We had walked into an NVA ambush with one killed and several wounded. An enemy machine gun position hidden in a blown out house had us pinned down. I was hiding behind a dead pig and a concrete wall about 18-inches high. Every time I raised my head I could hear bullets thudding into the pig's body and chipping away at my wall. I thank God for fat pigs.I heard Cheatwood, who was completely exposed (there weren't enough dead pigs to go around), shout, "I see 'em!" He picked up an M-16 and emptied the clip. He threw it down, picked up another and, walking straight at the enemy, emptied another clip with slow, disciplined fire. He threw two hand grenades through the hole in the wall then leaned in with his .45 and concluded the issue.I remember one rifleman who had been hit four times in the head. You could actually feel two of the bullets under his scalp. He was awake and alert but I was afraid that he was going into shock so I said, "Two things: One, you are the luckiest son of a bitch alive, and Two, you're going to have the coolest scars ever."BRAVO Co. took the house on the corner where the corpsman and I got the wounded to safety and set up a perimeter. Cheatwood walked around gathering up everyone's spare hand grenades. Then he disappeared for about twenty minutes. He didn't confer with me or with anyone else. He just took it upon himself to act as he did.The next thing I know, regarding Cheatwood, he walked up to me a bloody mess and, through a jaw broken by an AK round, said, "look what they done to me, Corporal Mead." I believe that he was shot eight times including one in the face. He was hit several times in the arm and shoulder.Cheatwood's injuries were FAR from minor. His jaw was shattered, he lost most of his teeth and part or all of his tongue.I learned later that he crossed into enemy territory and started peeking through windows. He saw a group of NVA gathered around a map and started throwing hand grenades. They didn't know whether to run or shoot. Some did one and some did the other. His actions, however, threw the enemy into chaos. He killed, I'm sure, a couple of high ranking field officers (we found the room with sophisticated maps amoung the debris) and he made them think they were under attack. The whole enemy line was on the run from Cheatwood.I think Mr. Warr has Alpha Co confused with Bravo. Bravo Co. was in the house on the corner. Charlie was supposed to be on our right flank but had fallen two blocks behind and allowed the enemy to get in behind us.Cheatwood acted with incredible courage to save lives and buy time. He deserves the Medal of Honor and certainly would've gotten it if he'd been a 2nd Lieutent instead of a Lane Corporal, but wound up with the Navy Cross. He didn't lose his mind, as Mr.Warr states...he got angry and did his job as a Marine. Mr. Warr's description is totally inaccurate. Further, and most galling to me, our corpsman wrote Cheatwood up for a Congressional Medal of Honor. It wasn't an after thought by an officer in the rear with the gear. I know because I signed it. Unless, of course, Mr. Warr or some other officer destroyed it and replaced it with his.It is not too difficult to Google 'Paul R. Cheatwood' and find many references to him as a mortarman with Bravo Co. If Mr. Warr was interested in accuracy he should have interviewed Marines with Bravo Co. where Cheatwood served.I can only wonder what other errors Mr. Warr made. If you want to know about Hue City read Fire In The Streets.(former) Sgt. S. M. Mead

I am a Hue City Veteran and I relived my own combat experiences as I read this incredible book. I was Nick's corpsman. He tells it like it was because he lived it like the rest of us. This book is enlightening. It is personal. It is historical yet emotional. Nick reveals the struggles that confronted each of us and they are written in a way which provides the reader a greater understanding of what the Marines faced in this battle. Every waking moment was tense and we continued to be vigilant throughout every night in Hue. None of us will ever forget our brothers who gave their all. Like Nick I knew the men personally and I was there for every one of them. I witnessed their professionalism and their passion to fight and protect one another.I have written a book from my own perspective as a "Doc" with the Marines and trust it will enlighten and provide encouragement to our combat veterans and those facing their own battlefields. It is entitled "Battlefield Faith" and can be found here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-Faith-John-Milford-Loudermilk/dp/1717977235/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=battlefield+faith&qid=1573170325&s=books&sr=1-1Semper Fi my Brothers!

This is simply one of the most powerful books written on Viet NamWarr`s writing transports the reader into the very real terror and sacrifices faced by troops tasked with regaining control of HueFrom the NVAA brutal recounting of events Warr and his fellow Marines faced each day retaking Hue from a vastly determined and well prepared NVAI had to put this book away time after time to process the insanely unbelievably difficult moments hours and days Warr shared with this reader. So powerful I found passages from the book would appear in my day and I found myself thinking.....that Really happenedAnyone who has a sincere interest in learning about the US in Hue 1968 and American bravery should read this amazing book by Warr.

I gave four stars because the book needed editing. Otherwise, it is a brilliant, insightful and compelling read. As a former Marine officer who missed Hue by a couple of years, I could imagine myself in the author’s shoes. I tip my hat in respect. It is a record of that battle that will survive the test of time.

I had trouble understanding what really happened at Chickamauga. Several tours of the battlefield, maps, etc.. didn't really put it together. Then I read a book that explained it to me. I have read as much as I could find about the Battle for the Imperial city. It never made any sense. Phase Line Green was the book that told me how things happened.I prefer to read books written by people who were actually there. This book will grab you and pull you into the houses along Mai Thouc Loan St. Those guys were as tough as any Marines I have ever read or heard about.

I came across this book reading No True Glory; Marines in the Battle for Fallujah, Iraq. They endured the same type of urban fighting, House to house, street to street as this book.As a former Sergeant of Marines and Afghanistan veteran myself the book draws close ties from the Marine Corps then to today, from lingo to the high and lows endured.I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Vietnam war, especially if you’re a Devil Dog.S/F

Enjoyed this book cover to cover. I highly recommend reading if you enjoy first hand accounts of battle.

If you like military books this is a great read.