Lions of Medina: The Marines of Charlie Company and Their Brotherhood of Valor

by Doyle D. Glass

Overview

“A stirring tribute to the valor of Marines in Vietnam.”—Nathaniel Fick, New York Times bestselling author of One Bullet Away

Thursday, October 12, 1967: Marine Lance Corporal Kevin Cahill stepped onto a trail deep in the remote Hai Lang National Forest in South Vietnam. Following Cahill were the Marines of Charlie Company, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division. They would find hell on earth under the jungle canopy. Ambushed, surrounded, outnumbered, out-gunned, and quickly running low on ammunition, the marines of Operation Medina fought toe-to-toe with a ferocious, determined opponent.

Based on extensive interviews with survivors of Operation Medina, as well as with the friends and families of the men who didn't make it back, Lions of Medina takes readers through the tragedy and triumphs of war, and into the heart of a close-knit group of warriors who fought, bled, and died together, and the spirit of loyalty and camaraderie that binds them to this day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451224088
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/01/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	597,798
Product dimensions:	5.86(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.94(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Doyle D. Glass started as a criminal prosecutor in Texas and Kentucky, but made a life change to historian and sculptor. As a sculptor, he specializes in military monuments. He sculpted the Kentucky Medal of Honor Memorial in Louisville and is in the process of completing the Texas Medal of Honor Memorial for Midland. As a historian, Glass spent four years researching and writing Lions of Medina.

Table of Contents

The Few, The Proud     1
Infantry Training Regiment and the Basic School     27
The Other Side of the World     39
Baptism by Fire     63
The Day the World Blew Up     85
The Summer of '67     97
Forces Converge     125
Operation Medina     139
The Trail     159
The Dusk Assault     181
The Hymn     207
Dawn     249
The Aftermath     283
Back in the U.S.A.     307
The Men of Medina     341
Principal Characters     349
Glossary     357
Acknowledgments     397
Author's Note     401
Index     405

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Lions of Medina

“Captures the chaos and ferocity of infantry combat, and shows that little has changed from the pass at Thermopylae, to the jungles of Vietnam and the streets of Iraq.”—Nathaniel Fick, New York Times bestselling author of One Bullet Away
 
"In this moving story of Americans in combat, Doyle Glass takes us deep into the harrowing experiences of one Marine unit in one of the Vietnam War's most bitter battles. What Stephen Ambrose did for Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry in Band of Brothers, Glass does for Charlie Company, 1st Marines in this excellent, powerful book.”—John C. McManus, author of Alamo in the Ardennes and The Deadly Brotherhood
 
“Gritty and gutsy account of what it is like to fight for your life and that of your fellow Marines.”—Leatherneck magazine
 
“The author of this gripping account of Vietnam infantry combat set out to redeem the reputation of the American fighting man in a very controversial conflict...Glass finally gives credit where it is most due, to the grunts who, like their fellows in other wars, bore the lion’s share of the burden in Vietnam.”—Booklist
 
“In a plain, straightforward style unembellished with jingoism or theatrics, Glass intricately weaves all the horrific action of that week that I spent one night with Charlie Co into a fine and inspiring chronicle to record many individual acts of now-sung hero'sm...As I critically read Lions of Medina, I found myself actually gasping for breath, for I kept holding mine as the action unfolded before me all over again, nearly 40 years later...Fortunately, Charlie Co and I never have to redo Operation Medina. Doyle Glass has done it for us in his unmitigated, indelible style.”—Bruce Martin, Operation Medina veteran
 

From the Publisher

Lions of Medina captures the chaos and ferocity of infantry combat. (Nathaniel Fick, New York Times bestselling author of One Bullet Away)

Nathaniel Fick

Gritty and gutsy.

Leatherneck Magazine

Gripping.

Booklist