Arc Light Book

In early February of 1968, at the beginning of the Tet Offensive, Gregory V. Short arrived in Vietnam as an eighteen-year-old, Marine mortarman. Amid all the chaos, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, stationed near the DMZ at a place called Con Thien. While living in the horrible conditions reminiscent of the First World War, his unit was constantly being bombarded by the enemy's artillery and mortar shells. It was from this display of firepower that he would begin to learn the deadly art of survival. Then, in early April, his battalion was finally ordered to leave Con Thien and help establish LZ Vandegrift (Stud) in preparation for Operation Pegasus. It was during this period that he left his mortar crew to become an 81's Forward Observer for Hotel Company. Working with the U.S. Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division and other units; he helped relieve the siege at Khe Sanh by reopening Route 9. As fortune would have it, his unit would remain at Khe Sanh for the next eight weeks, until they abandoned it in June. Participating in several different operations close to the Laotian border, the contact with the enemy was heavy and frequent. Then, on May 19th, Ho Chi Minh's birthday, the NVA attempted to overrun the combat base in the dead of night. Accidentally discovered by a Marine convoy, just 600 meters from the main gate, he helped participate in the destruction of an NVA regiment. Tragically, within a two-month period, one of the companies (Charlie Company) within his battalion would sustain over eighty per cent casualties. Then, in June of 1968, Lance Corporal. Short was transferred to the 27th Marines, stationed near Da Nang. Serving with Alpha Company as a 61mm mortarman, he participated in the fight for Cam Le Bridge during the enemy's Summer Offensive. It was during this time that he had an opportunity to get acquainted with the Vietnamese culture, which he describes in his book. Then in September, the 27th Marines were sent back home and he was transferred to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines (Walking Dead). While operating along the DMZ and near the A Shau Valley as an infantryman (grunt), he would spend the next five months patrolling the surrounding area and enduring the harsh elements. At the beginning of 1969, he suddenly re-upped for a second tour of duty and was sent home on a thirty-day leave. Describing in detail as to how everything and everyone back home had changed in his absence, he participated in the first anti-war march in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Then, after being reassigned to the 1st Marine Air Wing in Da Nang, he got an opportunity to experience the rear areas of Vietnam and the kids who served there. Employing his experiences as a combat veteran and a trained historian, his book is very unique and completely different from the other books about Vietnam. In fact, he gives a completely new slant as to the reasons behind the Tet Offensive and the Vietnam War in general. The book "Arc Light" is a compelling autobiography about a young man serving with the Marines in Vietnam during the height of the war. Direct, honest, and brutal in his observations, Mr. Short holds nothing back in describing the hardships of modern warfare and the illusions of victory held by our leaders.Read More