Rating:
Marshalling the Faithful by Charles W. Henderson is an interesting story to read and it is probably one of my favorite war books I have read so far. The story takes place at the time when the Vietnam War started and the United States Marines just landed in Vietnam to fight. Trying to settle the fight in South Vietnam, the marines later notice that this war was not going to be easy. The Marines experience a new tactic the enemy uses against them and chaos is brought to them. The main character in this story is an officer named Pat Collins.
- The book cover of Marshalling the Faithful
Pat Collins waited in an attack transport ship and stayed in Thailand for military training to prepare for his first-year service in Vietnam. He hoped for the war to end in a matter of months and they did not take on the enemies as serious. However, when he fought in his first fight, chaos and fear overcomes his confidence. Collins, known as the “Mad Man” in the story, takes his men on adventurous patrols, giving many of them a good scare. In his head, the first rule of combat was stuck with him the whole time, “to kill or to be killed.” Marshalling the Faithful is a story about the soldiers fighting for their lives against the Viet Congs in the deep forests of Vietnam. Collins was shot many times from machine guns and riflemen but that did not stop him from fighting back and pushing forward with his men. All he wanted to do is head back home safe and sound. Eventually, after a long and rough year of service, Pat Collins was sent back home to the United States to see his family.
Reading this book by Henderson gave me the creeps everyday. I love war stories, but the ones I have read before this one were pointless and the insides of the war were not so detailed. When I first picked up this book, I thought to myself, “Well, here is another war book! I’m sure this book will be easy to read, but boring to read as well.” However, I thought wrong. Marshalling the Faithful is a very hard book to understand for people who cannot picture the scenes in their minds. This book is very deep with details about how the soldiers went through extreme battles and the fear they were experiencing. I was basically swallowed into the book; I almost felt like I was in the battlefield, beside the characters and listening to them about what they thought of the war. I could almost imagine how scary it was for the marines to fight in an unknown terrain with many trees, which creates possible amushes for the enemies. Though I love this book a lot, there are some drawbacks to it. I found it very hard for me to find out who’s point of view it is in different chapters. Each chapter, there were different point of views from different characters. The main character was in most of the chapters with the other minor characters, but it was way too confusing to figure out the situation until you have read a little further into the chapter.
Looking at the structure and the writing style of Henderson in his book, it is a third-person view, but with many different situations. Henderson tends to change the setting and add more minor characters into the story to emphasize the chaos of the Vietnam War. However, Henderson’s structure and word usage in his sentences draws the readers into the book and keeps them curious every time. It is hard to take your eyes off the page because you want to know what has happened next. Forutnately for Henderson, talking about the Vietnam War is easy for him because he fought in the Vietnam War.
Charles W. Henderson
A little about the author, Charles W. Henderson served in the United States Marine Corps for 23 years as a Cheif Warrant Officer. He fought in the Vietnam War and in Lebanon. He was a leader out on the battlefield and receieved the Combat Action Ribbon and Meritorous Service Medal. In 1976, Henderson received the Commercial Airplane Pilot Certification, a license for commercial pilots. Then later, he decided to become a writer and write for a magazine. As a free-lance journalist, Henderson went back to Vietnam to write an article for LIFE Magazine about the life of Vietnam and what they went through before. After doing an assignment for LIFE Magazine, Henderson decided to film a documentary on the end of the Vietnam War. While shooting, Henderson published his first book called Goodnight Saigon. Other notable books he has written are Marine Sniper and Silent Warrior. Today, Henderson enjoys his life in Colorado, breeding and herding horses at a registered place called the American Quarter Horses for professional rodeo and other club competitions.
-Andy Chung
