• Guns Up!

  • A Firsthand Account of the Vietnam War
  • By: Johnnie M. Clark
  • Narrated by: Jimmy Starace
  • Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (173 ratings)

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Guns Up!  By  cover art

Guns Up!

By: Johnnie M. Clark
Narrated by: Jimmy Starace
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Publisher's summary

This gut-wrenching firsthand account of the war is a classic in the annals of Vietnam literature.

"Guns Up!" was the battle cry that sent machine gunners racing forward with their M60s to mow down the enemy, hoping that this wasn't the day they would meet their deaths. Marine Johnnie Clark heard that the life expectancy of a machine gunner in Vietnam was seven to 10 seconds after a firefight began. Johnnie was only 17 when he got there, at the height of the bloody Tet Offensive at Hue, and he quickly realized the grim statistic held a chilling truth.

The Marines who fought and bled and died were ordinary men, many still teenagers, but the selfless bravery they showed day after day in a nightmarish jungle war made them true heroes. Guns Up! contains updated information about those harrowing battles. It is a tribute to the raw courage and sacrifice of the United States Marines.

©2002 Johnnie M. Clark (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"A tough, no-nonsense portrayal of combat, courage, and camaraderie." (Oliver L. North)

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What listeners say about Guns Up!

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    117
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Performance
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Story
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I love this Book

I haven't heard the Audio book but I read the book and I love it it depicts war as it is and it shows it through the eyes of a gunner which of coarse are only suppose to live for 7.5 seconds once a fire fight broke out but Johnnie and his friend Chan got through it a must read for any war buff out there especially the Vietnam ones.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Authentic, raw and refreshingly shallow

Guns up! is authentic, raw and refreshingly shallow. Narrated excellently. Too bad the author decided to give us the censored version in an attempt to bribe God to allow his book to be published (?). But even the tiring, and sometimes melodramatic religiousness feels authentic.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

missing some scenes

it's great overall, there's a scene with the grenade that wasn't covered and that specifically made the book and story told of the Marines believable for me. Laughing during a firefight or after is usually how you blew off steam or the fact you almost died.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unreal

Guns up

This is such a great listen. Thank you for your service. Semper Fi

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

where is the unabridged version?

I've read this book many times in the past and this version seems to go by way too fast there are too many things missing because of abridging. I would really like to have the unabridged version, but this is still a great story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not the full story.

I have read this book years ago.
I know there a few parts left out in this audible version. But it is one of the best books I have ever read.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Abridged not worth listening.

Read the hard copy before listening to this. Abridged listening version wasn't as good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Read the book few years .

Listen to the book being read was like hearing it for the first time..... worth it!!!!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • EB
  • 08-14-18

Not much of the book

This audio book is but only a small portion of the real book thus I was disappointed.

Pick up the paperback if you can there is so much more to the story.

If you're looking for a decent listen this audio book hits on a lot of the major themes of the book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

something's not right

I've read this book a few times and I can swear things have been omitted from the story and the language was edited.

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