Vietnam War Heroes

Ten True Tales

by Allan Zullo

Ten true stories of real-life heroes of the Vietnam War! Twenty-eight soldiers--all but five badly wounded or dead in the first few minutes of a devastating ambush--are fending off 200 North Vietnamese soldiers. US platoon leader Lieutenant Hal Fritz shouts to his comrades, "We will never give up!"Dozens of severely wounded soldiers are trapped in a fog-shrouded outpost and under merciless attack by the enemy. No other medical helicopter pilot will dare attempt a rescue, except for Major Patrick Brady. These and other American heroes risked their lives serving their country in the Vietnam War. You will never forget their courageous true stories.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Allan Zullo is an American non-fiction writer. He is the author or co-author of more than eighty paperbacks for adults and children.

A native of Rockford, Illinois, Zullo graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1969 with a degree in journalism. His books include The Baseball Hall of Shame and Baseball Confidential (both co-written with Bruce Nash), A Boomer's Guide to Grandparenting (co-written with his wife Kathryn), and the Haunted Kids series. Zullo has also written articles for The National Enquirer, The Christian Science Monitor, Ladies Home Journal, and The Palm Beach Post. His syndicated comic strip "The Ghost Story Club" ran in American newspapers from 1995 to 1998.

Zullo currently lives in Fairview, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Zachary K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vietnam War Heros by Allan Zullo
Ten famous war heroes are fighting in the Vietnam War. These soldiers did heroic deeds because these soldiers saved other soldiers lifes in the worst situations since these men are his brothers in arms so will the men survive in these situations and be awarded the metal of Honor or will these ten storys all be a failure.
My favorite part is when the captain and his twenty some troops are surrounded by tons of enemies and they use all the ammunition they had so they decided to make a diversion and was able to scare off the enemies for a while. U.S. troops and tanks found them and took over but if the captain did not help they all would be dead and he suffered many wounds of grenades and bullets.
I recommend this book to people who like real stories from the Vietnam War and likes action. This book is mostly for boys but can be for girls too.

[Quentin Borremans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response: This book makes me very thankful for what kind of country we have. It makes me realize how much sacrifice has been put in to keep our freedom. I don't know if I would be able to do anything that the soldiers did/do in war. This book just amazes me.


Plot: This book is very well written. It makes me feel like I was actually there with the soldiers as they were fighting. Most of the soldiers featured in this book have lived through the war. Only one of them have died.


Characterization: Harold “Hal” Fritz is a very brave man. He did what people would have called crazy. His squad was ambushed and it seemed like there was no hope left. He had only three mobile men left, the others had to stay put due to injuries. He came up with the idea of charging the enemy in hopes they would retreat for a while. They charged and his plan worked. He went back to help out his wounded squad mates when he got news that a tank squad showed up. He was thrilled. He ran up to the tanks and they shot at him. Turns out there were enemies behind him with RPG’s (Rocket Propelled Grenade). The tanks couldn't tell who's who so Hal had to order them where to shoot. With Hals’ bravery, they were able to make it out alive.


Leo Thorsness was a pilot of an F-105 fighter jet. His job was to dodge anti air missiles and bomb the turrets where they came from. On his 93rd mission he was shot with a missile, causing him to evacuate the plane. He was going too fast for evacuation and messed up his legs when he got out of the plane. He was captured and was tortured and locked up for information. He refused to give information until one day, he told lies just for the suffering to stop. He felt bad, but the other prisoner said that it was ok, you were brave for doing what he did. I think that being able to withstand all that torture is a very noble thing to do. He was very brave. He was released when the war was over. His wife was very happy that he was alive.


Milton Olive III was an African-American that had no hope left in his hometown. He joined the army. He later became a full fledge paratrooper. He had completed many missions. He also had a kid that was part of his squad that made fun of him for his race. They had a fight and he gained respect from the kid. During one mission, they got into an ambush. During the fight a grenade fell into their trench. Olive dove onto the grenade and gave his life for his squad mates. He was the bravest man in that squad. He knew what he had to do as a soldier and did his job.


There were many more soldier that shown their bravery and sacrifice everything just to save one another. They did things that most Americans will never even think about doing. The amount of courage these men have is unbelievable.


Impact of Setting: The book takes place in Vietnam during 1955-1975. Having the place be a warzone did not help out the people that were living there. There was constant fear of death, and everyone was scared.


I recommend this book to male and female above the age of 12. There is some blood and gore in the book, but that is what war is. It gives me another perspective about what happens in war besides what the textbooks show. I give it 4 out of 5 stars because it was well written, I think that it could have more heroes.

[Bryce Bastar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response: I like 10 True Tales Vietnam War Heros by Allan Zullo because I enjoy reading war stories. This is another true story about American Heroes who put their lives on the line everyday to make our lives better.


Plot: This book is about ten true war stories and how ten men won the medal of Honor. The medal of Honor is the highest award that the military gives out. They all lived, but one person.


Characterization: Harold Fritz was the first brave man I read about. He was an Army Lie Personal Response: This is another true story about American Heroes who put their lives on the line everyday to make our lives better.


Plot: This book is about ten true war stories and how ten men won the medal of Honor. The medal of Honor is the highest award that the military gives out. They all lived but one person.


Characterization: Harold Fritz was the first brave man I read about. He was an Army Lieutenant whose squad was ambushed and all of them were wounded but three. He made up a plan and it worked


Leo Thorsness was a pilot of a fighter jet. He was supposed to dodge air missiles. He got shot with a missile trying to save one of his comrades. The tendons and muscles in his legs were torn and he was unable to walk. He was captured and tortured and told lies so he wouldn't get abused.


Milton Olive III was a paratrooper, he was ambushed and saved the lives of others. But he died when he jumped on a grenade that was tossed into his trench.

Setting: This book took place during 1955-1975 in Vietnam. There were war zones all around the guys. It was a constant battle for them all to stay alive.


Setting: The setting was all over Vietnam, in the forest, air, and sea. Most of the stories in this book took place in the Vietnamese juggles and trenches during the war. This is important because it tells the reader the problems and conditions of the Vietnam war.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys war stories. I think middle school and up, because there are some graphic details in the book. I give it a four out of five stars, because it was well written and something I enjoyed.

[Matthew Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about 10 soldiers/marines,sailors and airmen who earned the Medal of Honor during Vietnam. The Medal of Honor is the highest award anyone can receive in the US military. I had heard about some of these individuals and their feats of courage but the others I hadn't heard of. This book gave me an insight to what they really experienced in their moment of combat where they earned the Medal of Honor.

[Joshua Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 True Tales Vietnam War Heroes by Allan Zullo is a great book. The book is about men in Vietnam who did extraordinary acts. There is a story about a pilot in the army that is three missions away from retirement and gets into trouble. There is a story about a man who stormed the enemies with a few other guys, while other of his men where injuries, and many more great stories.

I think the book is great. I think the book is great for many reasons, first I really like reading about the wars. Also I like how they get so many stories of people who did extraordinary acts in war. Also they give the name of the people, what they did and what kind of medals they got and stuff like that. Another great thing about the book is Allan Zullo tells the stories in great detail, it like you could imagine what it look like that the person was going through.

If I were to recommend the book to anyone it would be people who like history, or people who are interested in war and what its like. Even though if people read the book who are interested in war, not all situations are like that but stuff in war dies happen like in the book. Also I would recommend this to people into history because they could see like how you would have to fight in wars couple of years back., and if they were to be a history teacher or is a history teacher when they teach about Vietnam they will have a better understanding of what war combat was like. But that is who I would recommend 10 True Tales Vietnam War Heroes to.

[Victor Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book ,"10 True Tales: Vietnam War Heroes", by Allan Zucco is a very new way this event is shown to us. Zucco tells us the story of this horrific event through the eyes of ten medal of honor veterans. Each of these ten men had unique experiences in this war but all had one thing in common, fight for a nation they were proud to serve. Throughout the novel, each veteran explains there own background, reasons they joined, and their current situation in their stories. Many of these brave men were on the verge of defeat and in the face of danger. But like most brave men, they laughed at death and continued fighting. This book has a huge lesson throughout it's pages, don't stop fighting until you win. A lesson can be learned from any book, but only some can teach such valuable lessons. All these lessons on not giving up and to continue fighting for what you think is right have never been told in such a way before. Zucco also is able to mold these stories to fit into the minds of young readers. Without this, the story would not have been the same.

[The Purple Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping tales of valor and true heroics. My son and I noticed that credit was given to God and/or a higher power in many of the accounts. Also, all of these heroes were regular people who stepped up without hesitation. The stories have wounds and deaths and war, but it isn't graphic in description, so we could learn about what it was like without it being disturbing.

This is a simple yet enlarging read for ages 10+ with a glossary in the back to define various war terminology. I highly recommend it to adults who want for a fulfilling read that isn't a huge time investment.

[a.t.m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

war heroes stories

Excellent book on Vietnam war heroes and history. The author has written a great book and I highly recommend to anyone interested in what it takes to receive our country’s highest medal.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

very sad but awesome book

[Bennett Worley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because there was a lot of war.there was 28 people i dont think that is alot but 5 people where badley ingered or hurt I think it was a really good book

[Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was boring at times, but otherwise, it was pretty good.

[Matt Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good easy read about America’s Hero’s; Medal of Honor winners. Such brave and courageous men.

[Olivia McCalmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was good and it is good that these military personnel were sacrificing their lives for their squad in the war.

[Joey F · Rating 4 out of 5]

good