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West Dickens Avenue: A Marine at Khe Sanh
In January 1968, the 26th Marine Regiment was ordered to a place in the far northwest corner of South Vietnam called Khe Sanh. John Corbett, an untested replacement in a clean, green uniform, and his fellow leathernecks were responsible for building and defending the combat base, and holding positions on the strategic hills overlooking the Ho Chi Minh Trail as it crossed into Laos and South Vietnam from nearby North Vietnam.
Only days after Corbett arrived at Khe Sanh, some twenty thousand North Vietnamese soldiers surrounded the base, outnumbering the American Marines seven to one. What followed over the next seventy-seven days became one of the deadliest fights of the Vietnam War—and one of the greatest battles in military history.
Private First Class Corbett, an “ammo humper” in an 81mm mortar section, made do with little or no sleep for days on end. The enemy bombarded the base incessantly, and Corbett’s mortars returned the fire, day and night. Extremes of heat, cold, and fog added to the misery, as did all manner of wounds and injuries too minor to justify evacuation from frontline positions. The emotional toll was tremendous as the Marines saw their friends suffer and die every day of the siege. Corbett relates these experiences through the eyes of an eighteen year old but with the mind and maturity of a man now in his fifties. His story of life, death, and growing up on the front lines at Khe Sanh speaks for all of the Marines caught up in the epic siege of the Vietnam War.
Only days after Corbett arrived at Khe Sanh, some twenty thousand North Vietnamese soldiers surrounded the base, outnumbering the American Marines seven to one. What followed over the next seventy-seven days became one of the deadliest fights of the Vietnam War—and one of the greatest battles in military history.
Private First Class Corbett, an “ammo humper” in an 81mm mortar section, made do with little or no sleep for days on end. The enemy bombarded the base incessantly, and Corbett’s mortars returned the fire, day and night. Extremes of heat, cold, and fog added to the misery, as did all manner of wounds and injuries too minor to justify evacuation from frontline positions. The emotional toll was tremendous as the Marines saw their friends suffer and die every day of the siege. Corbett relates these experiences through the eyes of an eighteen year old but with the mind and maturity of a man now in his fifties. His story of life, death, and growing up on the front lines at Khe Sanh speaks for all of the Marines caught up in the epic siege of the Vietnam War.
228 pages, Hardcover
First published February 4, 2003
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39 people want to read
About the author
John Corbett
84 books20 followersJohn Corbett is a writer, curator, and producer based in Chicago. He is co-owner of Corbett vs. Dempsey, an art gallery. Corbett is the author of several books, including Extended Play: Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein (Duke U. Press, 1994), Microgroove: Forays into Other Music (Duke, 2015), A Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation (University of Chicago Press, 2016), Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium (Duke, 2017), and Pick Up the Pieces: Excursions in Seventies Music (University of Chicago, 2019). As an essayist and reviewer, Corbett has written for numerous academic and commercial publications, including DownBeat, The Wire, The Chicago Reader, The Chicago Tribune, NKA, Bomb, LitHub, and Lapham’s Quarterly. Corbett has edited or co-edited many books, including several on the musicians Sun Ra and Peter Brötzmann, as well as the 125 books and catalogs that his gallery, Corbett vs. Dempsey, has produced, and he has contributed to major museum monographs on artists including Jim Lutes, Charline Von Heyl, Christopher Wool, Albert Oehlen, and Sadie Benning, and essays on artists Rachel Harrison for the Art Institute of Chicago and Bob Thompson for the Museum of Modern Art, NY. Corbett’s work as a music producer includes his label, the Unheard Music Series, which existed from 1999-2006, and Corbett vs. Dempsey, an ongoing label issuing CDs of new and historical jazz, experimental music and improvised music. In 2002, Corbett was invited to be guest artistic director of JazzFest Berlin, and he co-produced the Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music as well as a weekly series of concerts at the club of the same name. He has organized many musical events and festivals, most recently a series at the Art Institute of Chicago and stand-alone events at the Guggenheim Museum of Art, NYC, and the Menil Collection, Houston. As a curator, Corbett has been involved in many exhibitions at museums including the Smart Museum of Art, Chicago (Monster Roster: Existentialist Art in Postwar Chicago, 2016), the Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY (3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980), Sullivan Galleries, the School of the Art Institute, Chicago (Touch and Go: Ray Yoshida and his Spheres of Influence, 2010), and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (Pathways to Unknown Worlds: Sun Ra, El Saturn, and Chicago’s Afro-Futurist Underground, 2009). Corbett taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1988 to 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 31, 2022
This is a disappointingly mediocre combat memoir written by John Corbett, a Marine who fought at Khe Sanh. It is a short and straightforward work that could have probably served as an introductory guide to other Marines arriving at Khe Sanh, but otherwise has little value.
The glimpse into Corbett's mind that the reader is offered will allow them to see Vietnam through the eyes of a narrow-minded American Marine. He narrates his story with detachment, which made me wonder why I should care about what he is describing if he himself does not. Unlike in other memoirs, camaraderie, sacrifice, bravery, and pain are not the focus of this work. Instead, Corbett provides information about the way the Marines did their laundry at Khe Sanh – in boiled water contained in halved fifty-five-gallon steel drums – and how to speak to reporters who were, according to Corbett, everywhere – just ignore them. He explains how the Marines tried to get rid of the flies, which were a constant nuisance, by trapping them in peanut butter. An even bigger problem were the rats, a major concern of both the Marines and the medical staff. As Corbett writes, the Vietnamese rats were gigantic and well-fed on discarded American C-rations. They lived in the bunkers and bit the sleeping Marines at night. This resulted in medical evacuations for some that may have been exposed to rabies, but eventually, too many were bitten and could not realistically be relieved and evacuated.
He writes about the ARVN soldiers with the disdain and suspicion that was so widespread among the Americans in Vietnam. At least, he has enough humanity to pity them for being led to the front lines, where they constructed gun placements for heavy-caliber machine guns and were exposed to a much higher risk than the Americans.
He also remembers how once they managed to distract the doctors at the medical facility of the combat base and steal a 5-gallon container of ethanol normally used in the pharmacy for cough medicine preparation or cleaning the radar scopes. It was the purest drinking alcohol that he had ever tasted. He and his pals had a jungle party.
He tells, briefly, about the hostility that existed between the Marine Corps and the Army. A standard joke among soldiers at Khe Sanh was that the Marines judged their success by how uncomfortable they were —the more misery, the more success. For instance, the CAP O-1 Marines went to the local parasite-infested stream and bathed in the fast current while the advisory team fashioned a shower out of two welded together 55 gallon drums, some pipe, a shower head and an emersion heater. The soldiers at the Lang Vei Camp and the advisory team established their own radio codes and frequencies to insure confidential communications because the Marines were listening in on the prescribed frequencies, and the soldiers did not trust the Marines. According to Corbett, this distrust ran throughout the history of Khe Sanh.
Corbett's narrative suffers from a complete lack of focus. Each chapter is divided into multiple subchapters, each no more than three paragraphs long and completely different in topic. The author jumps from rats to air strikes to tactics to how his poncho could not keep his clothes dry. I often found myself losing concentration and unable to organize my thoughts.
WEST DICKENS AVENUE was such a boring read for me that I do not even know what to write about it. I dropped it before the final chapter because I did not want to waste my time anymore. The most impressive thing in this work is Corbett's confession that he lied to his family that he was still in Saigon playing golf because he did not want them to know that he was sent to Khe Sanh. I thought that this was sweet. This book is the worst combat memoir that I have read so far – so dull and uninformative. I am glad that I dropped it. I do not even think that it demonstrates the daily struggles that the Marines faced at Khe Sanh well.
The glimpse into Corbett's mind that the reader is offered will allow them to see Vietnam through the eyes of a narrow-minded American Marine. He narrates his story with detachment, which made me wonder why I should care about what he is describing if he himself does not. Unlike in other memoirs, camaraderie, sacrifice, bravery, and pain are not the focus of this work. Instead, Corbett provides information about the way the Marines did their laundry at Khe Sanh – in boiled water contained in halved fifty-five-gallon steel drums – and how to speak to reporters who were, according to Corbett, everywhere – just ignore them. He explains how the Marines tried to get rid of the flies, which were a constant nuisance, by trapping them in peanut butter. An even bigger problem were the rats, a major concern of both the Marines and the medical staff. As Corbett writes, the Vietnamese rats were gigantic and well-fed on discarded American C-rations. They lived in the bunkers and bit the sleeping Marines at night. This resulted in medical evacuations for some that may have been exposed to rabies, but eventually, too many were bitten and could not realistically be relieved and evacuated.
He writes about the ARVN soldiers with the disdain and suspicion that was so widespread among the Americans in Vietnam. At least, he has enough humanity to pity them for being led to the front lines, where they constructed gun placements for heavy-caliber machine guns and were exposed to a much higher risk than the Americans.
He also remembers how once they managed to distract the doctors at the medical facility of the combat base and steal a 5-gallon container of ethanol normally used in the pharmacy for cough medicine preparation or cleaning the radar scopes. It was the purest drinking alcohol that he had ever tasted. He and his pals had a jungle party.
He tells, briefly, about the hostility that existed between the Marine Corps and the Army. A standard joke among soldiers at Khe Sanh was that the Marines judged their success by how uncomfortable they were —the more misery, the more success. For instance, the CAP O-1 Marines went to the local parasite-infested stream and bathed in the fast current while the advisory team fashioned a shower out of two welded together 55 gallon drums, some pipe, a shower head and an emersion heater. The soldiers at the Lang Vei Camp and the advisory team established their own radio codes and frequencies to insure confidential communications because the Marines were listening in on the prescribed frequencies, and the soldiers did not trust the Marines. According to Corbett, this distrust ran throughout the history of Khe Sanh.
Corbett's narrative suffers from a complete lack of focus. Each chapter is divided into multiple subchapters, each no more than three paragraphs long and completely different in topic. The author jumps from rats to air strikes to tactics to how his poncho could not keep his clothes dry. I often found myself losing concentration and unable to organize my thoughts.
WEST DICKENS AVENUE was such a boring read for me that I do not even know what to write about it. I dropped it before the final chapter because I did not want to waste my time anymore. The most impressive thing in this work is Corbett's confession that he lied to his family that he was still in Saigon playing golf because he did not want them to know that he was sent to Khe Sanh. I thought that this was sweet. This book is the worst combat memoir that I have read so far – so dull and uninformative. I am glad that I dropped it. I do not even think that it demonstrates the daily struggles that the Marines faced at Khe Sanh well.
April 3, 2019
Great book. Enjoy reading about the authors experience in Khe Sanh. A quick read as well.
June 5, 2019
This book is about the vicious and cruel battle at Khe Sanh during the Vietnam war.
From his own memories the writer puts together an exciting and interesting book. Reality, thoughts, humour, death -all in a mixture that makes this book a keeper.
For me, Before, Khe Sanh was only a line in a Bruce Springsteen song but now it´s more- much more. I am glad I´ve found this book in my Swedish military book club.
From his own memories the writer puts together an exciting and interesting book. Reality, thoughts, humour, death -all in a mixture that makes this book a keeper.
For me, Before, Khe Sanh was only a line in a Bruce Springsteen song but now it´s more- much more. I am glad I´ve found this book in my Swedish military book club.
June 23, 2024
An eyewitnesses account of the seige at Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War. It reveals the horror, tragedy and sacrifice of the men of the USMC.
An important addition to the stories of that war.
The writing style is straightforward. No elegant prose. It endeavors to capture what it was like living so close to death for so long.
An important addition to the stories of that war.
The writing style is straightforward. No elegant prose. It endeavors to capture what it was like living so close to death for so long.
June 24, 2020
I want to make one thing clear before I begin my review, I am thankful to men like Mr. Corbett for what they do for our country and I certainly acknowledge the importance of the sacrifice that every member of our armed forces engages in. With that said, what did I think of West Dickens Avenue?
It's alright but it suffers from a lack of focus. Generally, when a veteran decides to write a memoir on their experiences it is because he or she wants to tell the story of a particular mission or set of missions. Occasionally, they also do it to explain the idiosyncrasies of war or explore some sort of theme among the enlisted men and what they experienced. There wasn't anything like this in West Dickens Avenue, it's clear that Mr. Corbett wanted to tell the experience of being at Khe Sanh when the siege began but it doesn't seem like he had a particular reason to do so.
There are a lot of good moments in this book, the evening of the first shelling, the surrender of an enemy lieutenant, the mortar dual, his near-death experience, and a handful of other moments in the book were either very entertaining or very fascinating to read and try to visual what it would have been like. Aside from those moments though, not much really happens at all. Most of the book is intensely boring to read, recycled moments of morning shelling, asking questions about if he will be injured, and lots and lots of doing nothing of note.
This is an aspect of war that can be done very well, you can look to something like Jarhead for a great depiction of what waiting around for action can look like. Instead, Mr. Corbett just describes these events and it's very very boring to read. There are only so many times that hearing how lucky your foxhole is can remain interesting. What is probably the most frustrating is that through the whole book the writing is setting up some massive attack of ground forces from the enemy, Mr. Corbett is constantly worried that at any moment the enemy will finally attack the base with all they have.
This never happens, there is a brief moment where a small force of NVA come through the lines but that's really the only time we hear about combat occurring between his Marine division and the enemy. Now, you may think it's unfair that I criticize the fact that this is what really happened, that they were never attacked on a wide scale while Mr. Corbett was there, allow me to explain. Even if you are writing a memoir you should still have a basic understanding of how to tell a story and how your audience will read and react to the various beats of that story.
Given that this is a true story, and we hear how Mr. Corbett feels directly at numerous points through the book, to bring the main conflict of the story to a close it was necessary to tell us how he felt when they never attacked. Hearing how relieved, confused, angry, or whatever emotions he felt regarding this issue are very important to provide catharsis to the reader over the suspense built up waiting for the encounter with the enemy. Instead, it simply doesn't happen, he leaves Khe Sanh and the book is largely over.
Additionally, this book doesn't chronicle the entirety of his service, when he left Khe Sanh he still had about half a year to serve before he could go home. In the closing chapters of the book, he tells us, in extremely brief detail, about all the operations he was involved in and a number of the crazy things he saw or encountered. These stories he briefly mentions also happened sound much more interesting to read than three-fourths of what happened during his time at Khe Sanh. I'm really not sure why he omitted them considering they comprised more of his time in country than what was told to us.
The quality of the writing in the book is alright, here I am much more forgiving given the fact that most, if not all, of these authors, haven't written before and are simply seeking to make sure what they went through isn't forgotten. In fact, I found the way the book was written to be very interesting, it isn't narrative or any form of traditional prose. It reads almost like a direct stream of consciousness. It's as if Mr. Corbett is attempting to place the reader into his head as he experiences what happens, it makes for some extremely interesting moments but also ends up working against him when it's used to describe all of the boring moments that make up most of this book.
I think that Mr. Corbett knew two things, he knew he wanted to tell people what he went through, and he wanted to make sure to explain what happened at Khe Sanh. However, I don't think he was sure how to do it, most of the decisive moments of Khe Sanh happened chronologically after he's done describing his experience, and as a result, there isn't much actual meat on the bone for the story he wants to tell. I think he would have been much better served if he had told us his whole experience, he says he went to Vietnam for adventure, but he leaves out what seems to be the most interesting moments.
It's alright but it suffers from a lack of focus. Generally, when a veteran decides to write a memoir on their experiences it is because he or she wants to tell the story of a particular mission or set of missions. Occasionally, they also do it to explain the idiosyncrasies of war or explore some sort of theme among the enlisted men and what they experienced. There wasn't anything like this in West Dickens Avenue, it's clear that Mr. Corbett wanted to tell the experience of being at Khe Sanh when the siege began but it doesn't seem like he had a particular reason to do so.
There are a lot of good moments in this book, the evening of the first shelling, the surrender of an enemy lieutenant, the mortar dual, his near-death experience, and a handful of other moments in the book were either very entertaining or very fascinating to read and try to visual what it would have been like. Aside from those moments though, not much really happens at all. Most of the book is intensely boring to read, recycled moments of morning shelling, asking questions about if he will be injured, and lots and lots of doing nothing of note.
This is an aspect of war that can be done very well, you can look to something like Jarhead for a great depiction of what waiting around for action can look like. Instead, Mr. Corbett just describes these events and it's very very boring to read. There are only so many times that hearing how lucky your foxhole is can remain interesting. What is probably the most frustrating is that through the whole book the writing is setting up some massive attack of ground forces from the enemy, Mr. Corbett is constantly worried that at any moment the enemy will finally attack the base with all they have.
This never happens, there is a brief moment where a small force of NVA come through the lines but that's really the only time we hear about combat occurring between his Marine division and the enemy. Now, you may think it's unfair that I criticize the fact that this is what really happened, that they were never attacked on a wide scale while Mr. Corbett was there, allow me to explain. Even if you are writing a memoir you should still have a basic understanding of how to tell a story and how your audience will read and react to the various beats of that story.
Given that this is a true story, and we hear how Mr. Corbett feels directly at numerous points through the book, to bring the main conflict of the story to a close it was necessary to tell us how he felt when they never attacked. Hearing how relieved, confused, angry, or whatever emotions he felt regarding this issue are very important to provide catharsis to the reader over the suspense built up waiting for the encounter with the enemy. Instead, it simply doesn't happen, he leaves Khe Sanh and the book is largely over.
Additionally, this book doesn't chronicle the entirety of his service, when he left Khe Sanh he still had about half a year to serve before he could go home. In the closing chapters of the book, he tells us, in extremely brief detail, about all the operations he was involved in and a number of the crazy things he saw or encountered. These stories he briefly mentions also happened sound much more interesting to read than three-fourths of what happened during his time at Khe Sanh. I'm really not sure why he omitted them considering they comprised more of his time in country than what was told to us.
The quality of the writing in the book is alright, here I am much more forgiving given the fact that most, if not all, of these authors, haven't written before and are simply seeking to make sure what they went through isn't forgotten. In fact, I found the way the book was written to be very interesting, it isn't narrative or any form of traditional prose. It reads almost like a direct stream of consciousness. It's as if Mr. Corbett is attempting to place the reader into his head as he experiences what happens, it makes for some extremely interesting moments but also ends up working against him when it's used to describe all of the boring moments that make up most of this book.
I think that Mr. Corbett knew two things, he knew he wanted to tell people what he went through, and he wanted to make sure to explain what happened at Khe Sanh. However, I don't think he was sure how to do it, most of the decisive moments of Khe Sanh happened chronologically after he's done describing his experience, and as a result, there isn't much actual meat on the bone for the story he wants to tell. I think he would have been much better served if he had told us his whole experience, he says he went to Vietnam for adventure, but he leaves out what seems to be the most interesting moments.
February 3, 2020
A compelling firsthand account of the Khe Sanh siege. The author's style is reminiscent of Hemingway - short, crisp, declarative sentences. Well worth the read.
October 19, 2015
The best part about this book was its authenticity. Corbett tells things the way they were and doesn't make what happened sound unrealistic. The only downside of that is there was not as much action as I thought there would be. For about half of the book, Corbett was stuck in a foxhole hoping he wouldn't get hit by the enemy's rocket, artillery, and mortar fire. The story would have been a little better had it been told from the perspective of a soldier engaging in the close quarters fighting. However, the historical significance of the book and authenticity earns it three stars. I have definitely also earned a new level of respect for all Vietnam vets after reading West Dickens Avenue.
August 24, 2010
jack Corbett was a marine stationed at Khe Sanh during the horrific 77 day siege during the Vietnam war. Simply written but able to evoke the feelings of being smack in the middle of the war for the reader. In spite of knowing that he obviously survived, I still felt the tension of every battle.
September 18, 2014
Concise and visually compelling account of a young man's experience of the siege of Khe Sanh as a recent enlistee. One of the few books about the Vietnam war I've read that is uncontaminated by any political opinions on the war.
August 22, 2015
Enjoyable read. Corbett takes you through his experience "on the line" as a Marine on a mortar team. Humbling to learn how these Marines lived day to day, 77 days of constant shelling from the NVA. He did an excellent job of keeping you in his shoes during book.
March 5, 2007
An emotionally stirring account of the Siege of Khe Sanh in 1968 told from the perspective of PFC John Corbett.
July 2, 2011
The author's breathless telling of Vonnegut-sized paragrpahs in plain, direct telling has an honest and direct presence for being told in the first person. An excellent account of risk and privation.
June 15, 2013
The best book I've ever read about Vietnam War.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews