{"product_id":"ghosts-and-shadows-a-marine-in-vietnam-1968-1969-9780786472772","title":"Ghosts and Shadows: A Marine in Vietnam, 1968-1969","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Phil Ball\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: McFarland \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: McFarland \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Military\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The author arrived at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego ill-prepared for the training and abuse that awaited him in boot camp. At the time, he would have done anything to escape; only upon reflection years later did he realize that the self-confidence instilled in him by his drill instructors had probably saved his life in Vietnam. A few months after boot camp, Private Ball was shipped out to Vietnam, joining F Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, near Khe Sanh. As a grunt, in the vernacular of the Corps, Ball, like the other youths of F Company, did a difficult and deadly job in such places as the A Shau Valley, Leatherneck Square, the DMZ and other obscure but critical I Corps locales. His--their--fear of death mingled with homesickness. Little did they realize that the horrors of the Vietnam War--horrors that while in-country they often claimed did not even exist--would haunt them for the rest of their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McFarland \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46862432108695,"sku":"9780786472772","price":1945.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780786472772.webp?v=1769966176","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/ghosts-and-shadows-a-marine-in-vietnam-1968-1969-9780786472772","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}