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Honor Through Sacrifice: The Story of One of America's Greatest Military Leaders
"A man can fight if he can see daylight down the road somewhere," President Lyndon Johnson told a senator in March 1965. "But there ain't no daylight in Vietnam-there's not a bit." Even as he said that, he was committing the first US ground combat units and initiating a massive bombing campaign in North Vietnam. Unaware of President Johnson's private misgivings about the conflict, Gordon Lippman dutifully entered Vietnam as the 3rd Brigade/1st Infantry Division executive officer in September of that year.
It didn't take long for his fellow soldiers to figure out that Gordon Lippman was the man they wanted to follow into battle. Overcoming great challenges in the Army, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross and two battlefield commissions and became a hero among heroes. He focused on the mission at hand, rallied his troopers, led from the front, and dodged enemy bullets. A couple of times they hit home, but he came back to fight again! He was one of those studs to come out of small-town America and become a leading member of "The Greatest Generation."
This is a sweeping story on the broad landscape of twentieth-century compromise, accommodation, and conflict, from the allied war in Europe to the forgotten victory in Korea to the televised dinnertime war in Vietnam.
It didn't take long for his fellow soldiers to figure out that Gordon Lippman was the man they wanted to follow into battle. Overcoming great challenges in the Army, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross and two battlefield commissions and became a hero among heroes. He focused on the mission at hand, rallied his troopers, led from the front, and dodged enemy bullets. A couple of times they hit home, but he came back to fight again! He was one of those studs to come out of small-town America and become a leading member of "The Greatest Generation."
This is a sweeping story on the broad landscape of twentieth-century compromise, accommodation, and conflict, from the allied war in Europe to the forgotten victory in Korea to the televised dinnertime war in Vietnam.
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 22, 2021
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June 27, 2022MWSA Review
Honor Through Sacrifice: The Story of One of America’s Greatest Military Leaders is a memoir/biography chock full of history. From World War II through the undeclared war in Vietnam, author Robert Lofthouse gives a well-document account of his highly-decorated cousin, Gordon Lippman.
Lippman, a bonafide hero, came from a farming county in South Dakota with ingrained leadership skills. To have these attributes in a young man who never graduated from any of the service academies is an anomaly. Yet anyone who served with or under his command would say that Lippman was the one they’d follow into battle.
Gordon enlisted in the army to serve his country, carrying with him his faith and the traditional values of his South Dakota family. He served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He earned some of our country’s highest honors: Silver and Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and three Combat Infantry Badges, to name a few. He was part of the second D-Day landing and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Years later, he served in Korea. In the 1960s, as a brigade executive officer, Lippman led men young enough to be his sons while fighting the Viet Cong in the Iron Triangle.
Much has been written about Gordon Lippman in Readers Digest and Newsweek Magazine. He was eulogized on Paul Harvey’s radio program, and Harry Reasoner told Lippman’s story for CBS news. Gordon was honored by his state in South Dakota Magazine. Robert Lofthouse has pulled articles and interviews together to create a historically accurate memoir in a tribute to his hero cousin.
Review by Nancy Panko (June 2022)
Honor Through Sacrifice: The Story of One of America’s Greatest Military Leaders is a memoir/biography chock full of history. From World War II through the undeclared war in Vietnam, author Robert Lofthouse gives a well-document account of his highly-decorated cousin, Gordon Lippman.
Lippman, a bonafide hero, came from a farming county in South Dakota with ingrained leadership skills. To have these attributes in a young man who never graduated from any of the service academies is an anomaly. Yet anyone who served with or under his command would say that Lippman was the one they’d follow into battle.
Gordon enlisted in the army to serve his country, carrying with him his faith and the traditional values of his South Dakota family. He served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He earned some of our country’s highest honors: Silver and Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and three Combat Infantry Badges, to name a few. He was part of the second D-Day landing and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Years later, he served in Korea. In the 1960s, as a brigade executive officer, Lippman led men young enough to be his sons while fighting the Viet Cong in the Iron Triangle.
Much has been written about Gordon Lippman in Readers Digest and Newsweek Magazine. He was eulogized on Paul Harvey’s radio program, and Harry Reasoner told Lippman’s story for CBS news. Gordon was honored by his state in South Dakota Magazine. Robert Lofthouse has pulled articles and interviews together to create a historically accurate memoir in a tribute to his hero cousin.
Review by Nancy Panko (June 2022)
Displaying 1 of 1 review