The Band Never Played for Us

Ronald G. Goddard grew up seeing Hollywood movies that showed American troops boarding ships and going off to World War II with bands playing and well-wishers swarming docks to give soldiers rousing sendoffs. But when his troop transport ship left San Diego Harbor for Vietnam in March 1967, there were no patriotic farewells. It would be a chilling wake-up call for Goddard and his fellow marines of Golf Company, 2nd Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. He shares an accurate account of their experiences in this autobiography. From being issued an M16 rifle that jammed to being baptized in a blaze of fire on the front lines, he reveals what he learned about fighting the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Regular Army troops in the rice paddies and jungles from DaNang to the DMZ. At nineteen years old, Goddard was a corporal leading squad sized patrols.