Book Review: Vietnam: No Regrets

Throughout the pages of Vietnam: No Regrets, the reader gets a journey straight into the heart of one of the most controversial extended episodes in our nation's history, painting the gruesome conflict in a graphic, vivid light - undeniably real and raw.

As a radio operator with the 1/27 Wolfhounds, one of the most feared US Army units in the conflict, Watkins described what it is like on nightly ambushes and air assaults during his tour of duty from late 1969 to 1970. 

He pulls no punches when it comes to describing his feelings about the conflict or serving with officers who were only looking to make a name for themselves without a care for their troops. And he describes the pain and agony of what it was like for a soldier to get a "Dear John" letter, which is something a lot of veterans can relate to. 

One of the 'not so unusual' stories revealed by the author was when a new officer volunteered for them to immediately leave on a rescue mission to try to save a group of Green Berets, even though they had just returned from an extensive patrol. Once there and in the midst of battle, the reality of this officer's decision became apparent even to him as they ran out of water, food, and other necessities, and he had to send for emergency support. The new officer had acted without regard to the safety and needs of his own men. 

Any Vietnam veteran - or any combat veteran of the war for that matter - can relate completely when the author mentions that when you are in the midst of battle, you want to be gone, but once you are out, you miss the adrenaline and want to be back. 

Vietnam: No Regrets is graphic in its violence, the need to seek out and destroy the enemy while ensuring that their own men were not hurt. It includes mistakes made, but it includes prayers lifted up in both supplication and gratefulness. Watkins made it through Vietnam and has shared a major part of his life as a member of Alpha Company 1/27 Wolfhounds, Twenty-fifth Infantry Division. 

Reader Reviews
The author's account of his tour of duty with the Wolfhounds is well written and appears to be realistic. His accounts of the daily and nightly patrols and ambushes in the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam and Cambodia are accurate. They detail the demands that this hot, humid, and very difficult war had put on the U.S. army foot soldier.
~Dave M

I am a Vietnam Vet and fully enjoyed this story. I am surprised that no Hollywood producer ever thought to make this a movie. It is an excellent accounting of life in Vietnam for the true Soldiers. I was USAF and worked the flight line. I never experienced the life of an Infantry soldier. I did meet friends from NY that I grew up with that lived the story. This book is an extraordinary experience and should be shared with many others. One of my friends that met me at Bien Hoa was in the 25th and stationed at Cu Chi Welcome home, my brother, welcome home.
~Bones

I am just finishing this book and that I bought it based on the reviews I read before getting it. The book is a well-written book about what Combat Soldiers goes though from the time they arrive in-country and through their tour. I know because I was in the 4th Division in the Central Highland of Vietnam in 1969 into 1970. All of the emotions a new soldier feels were accurately brought out in this book and also the change that takes place mentally after you experience combat and all the emotions that go with it. 

The statistics he quoted were accurate, and the fact remains that on the ground, less than 10% of the military forces in Vietnam were combat Soldiers beating the bush to find and kill the enemy.
~Arthur W. Salmons

About the Author 

J. Richard Watkins was born and raised in Brockton, MA. After graduating High School in June 1968, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. His one-year combat tour of duty as part of the 25th Infantry Division. Following his year in Vietnam, Watkins was one of the lucky men to return home and settled again in Brockton, alive and as physically complete as he had been upon departure. He became self-employed and worked for the local government as a Constable until his retirement in 2001. Over the years, Watkins' time in Vietnam - the people he met, the experiences that shaped him as a man, and ultimately, reflected throughout his life - became paramount to understanding who he is today.