Platoon Leader in Vietnam

July 06, 2022 00:37:25
Platoon Leader in Vietnam
The Spear
Platoon Leader in Vietnam

Jul 06 2022 | 00:37:25

/

Show Notes

Few books have had the impact on generations of young soldiers as Jim McDonough’s Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat. First published in the mid-1980s, Platoon Leader remains on military reading lists worldwide and is still included in curriculum for junior officers and NCOs across the joint and combined force. Detailing the events that shaped Jim’s life as a young lieutenant in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam, Platoon Leader is a tale of leadership, followership, and the burdens of infantry combat on the young men and women in line companies. In this episode, Jim joins host Tim Heck to reflect on the formative experiences he had as a young leader in combat, the moral weight of his responsibility, and how he chose to interact with a population and ally in a way that preserved the humanity required to lead in combat.

Other Episodes

Episode

August 02, 2024 00:49:01
Episode Cover

One Day in Panjwai District

Lt. Col. Brian Kitching joins this episode of The Spear to share a story from a 2012 deployment in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. Two...

Listen

Episode

June 04, 2019 00:45:20
Episode Cover

By, With, and Through: Inside the Battle for Mosul

The battle to wrest control of the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS involved some of the fiercest urban combat since World War II....

Listen

Episode

April 25, 2025 01:27:12
Episode Cover

Easter Offensive, 1972

During the Vietnam War, the 1972 Easter Offensive was a major operation launched by North Vietnam to destabilize South Vietnam and strengthen its own...

Listen