The Eyes of Orion: Five Tank Lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War

by Alex Vernon, Neal Creighton Jr. (Primary Contributor), Greg Downey (Primary Contributor)

Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Book Award, The Eyes of Orion is a highly personal account of the day-to-day experiences of five platoon leaders who served in the same tank battalion in the 24th Infantry Division during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. While professional soldiers and historians will undoubtedly glean much from this narrative, the heart of the account concerns the experiences of the five young lieutenants as they prepared for and served in combat―from their deployment to Saudi Arabia through their six months in the desert training for war, their four days in combat and several weeks of occupation in Iraq, and finally their homecoming. The authors treat their combat experience in Saudi and Kuwait from the perspective of junior officers, all in their twenties and just out of college (four are graduates of West Point and one received his commission through an ROTC program), who served on the front line―facing physical, personal, moral, and leadership challenges.

Genres: Military Fiction

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

From Prairie Village, Kansas, Alex Vernon graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (the only literature major in his class of over a thousand), served in combat as a tank platoon leader in the Persian Gulf War, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The recipient of an Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Book Award and a National Endowment of the Humanities Fellowship, he is the M.E. & Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of English at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this book on my To Read list for several years, and was thrilled when it finally arrived. However, I couldn't read more than a few pages without setting it down for good--there was just too much military jargon. So, a request to authors writing military histories--please write in terms civilians can understand--you're writing a book, not an official after-action report.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of five tank Commanders/Lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War. An Interesting look at the war from the soldiers point of view on the front lines. Amazing how superior to the Iraqi army the US was in Desert Storm.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting first-person accounts of Desert Shield and Desert Storm from five quite distinct voices and perspectives, all young officers leading tank platoons.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this right before I reported to Ft. Knox as a 2Lt.

[J.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely vital information for the novel I am currently writing entitled Grandpa Art. It also gave me a new perspective on my friend Ryan's experience as a lieutenant in the Navy.