Swift Sword Quotes

“The war always lives inside of you,” Duca said, “the hurt, and what you see, and what you experience. It’s always there: the hurt, the pain. No matter how hard we try and no matter how productive we become in life and the things we accomplish, that era will never leave you because it’s horrifying. It’s horrifying. And to see what happened to your friends. God, it’s horrible.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“When we found him,” Pfc Julio Rodriquez wrote, “he had his right hand over his left breast pocket, as if he was holding his Bible. He had a smile on his face, and his eyelids were closed, as if asleep or in prayer.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“A hailstorm of rocket-propelled grenades, thundering mortars, and AK-47 machine-gun fire strafed the exposed men from all directions. The Marines of Mike Company had walked into an ambush laid by over 2,500 well-camouflaged North Vietnamese warriors.

It seemed as if the Angel of Death was swooping down upon the Americans like a swift sword.

Instead of rescuing their fellow comrades, the Marines now faced complete annihilation. Outnumbered, out-gunned, and exposed, there was nowhere to hide. Would any of them survive to see the setting sun?”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5

“The ammunition, not properly tested, delivered to the Marines, was found later to be incompatible with the rifle that the lives of the men depended on.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“You now got two rounds: one spent and you got a brand-new live behind it, so you had to pull it back, punch the thing out, and then manually reload one and fire.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“Wearing forest green utilities with foliage tied to their uniforms, legs, arms, and helmets, their camouflage was so effective that it appeared as if a whole stand of bushes had just picked up and”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“When a M72 LAW failed to fire, there was always the chance that static electricity within the tube might cause the round within the cylinder to explode when it was re-armed.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“remember being so terrified, so afraid, that I could actually taste bile in my throat: that bitter, terrible taste of fear. I’m the first to tell you that I was scared shitless.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“air panel, about two-by-four feet, consisted of rectangular pieces of brightly colored cloth that, when laid out, would mark Marine positions in order to avoid friendly fire.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“machine gun team consisted of the team leader, gunner, assistant gunner, and ammo humper.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“With an effective range of 3.5 klicks (a little over two miles), however, Hayden’s mortars could still provide adequate support where needed.”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“Each grunt was to maintain an interval of ten to fifteen meters while staying within eye contact of each other so that a sweep of enemy machine gun fire or a single mortar round wouldn’t”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

“Father Capodanno must have arrived at the LZ on Hill”
― Doyle D. Glass, Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967