The Enlisted Men’s Club
(Military Fiction)
By Gary Reilly
ISBN #978-0984786077
372 Pages
Price $13.92
Rating 5-Stars
Private (James Palmer on his Dog Tags) Palmer, a
draftee during the Vietnam War is stationed at the Presidio Army base in San
Francisco, a dream assignment so we’re told. But for the young soldier, it may
not be so. Palmer had already been through Basic and MP School. Still a
private, he’s assigned to Company D of the MPs, with the 6th Army,
and a member of STRAC. Company A handles the stockade, while Companies B, C
& D rotate duties; one month on MP Duty, one month on training, and one
month on details. He’s a young man away from home, a loner, and a man that
likes to drink, while staying away from details, and out of view of lifer NCOs. Somehow, he seems to always
mess up without really trying.
The story follows Palmer during all his mishaps during
the stay at Presidio. Though he talks some about his Basic and MP School, it is
his first duty assignment where we follow him through trials and tribulations,
learning about the private person, and how he only wants to get through this
period of Army life and back home to Denver again, without any stops in
Vietnam. At the end of the story, however, he’s on his way to South East Asia.
This was a fun story by the author of The Asphalt
Warrior series, well written, and easily followed. I’m not sure it’s for
everyone, but I think anyone that ever wore a military uniform will love the
book, as it brings back those memories of life in the Army as young men. The
author based the story on his own military background, and his time as a
military policeman. He also served in Vietnam, and we will probably see that
portrayed in the second volume.
As a twenty-year career man, it brought fun memories
back to my time in the Army, and my first duty assignment, though things were a
little different, I’m sure. Most of my assignments were in Texas, post like Fort
Hood, Fort Bliss, Fort Wolters, Fort Sam Houston, and elsewhere like Fort Brag,
and Korea, with a tour in Vietnam. My only dream assignment was a three-year
tour in France. But the Army is always the same. From a private, I became one
of Palmer’s dreaded lifer NCOs, and I
knew young men just like Palmer. I had to laugh as Palmer falls into the
clutches of a salesman trying to sell him a gold four-leaf clover with a
diamond in the center to send to his mother. I did the same thing at my first
duty station in 1959, although I bought it. My mother still wore it until her
death. My wife wears it now. Palmer’s
story will bring a smile to your face, as you also remember your military
service. None of us were all that different. Highly recommended.
Tom Johnson
Author of COLD WAR HEROES & BAD MOON RISING
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