The Education of Corporal John Musgrave

Vietnam and Its Aftermath

By: John Musgrave

Narrated by: John Musgrave

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A Marine's searing and intimate story - "A passionate, fascinating, and deeply humane memoir of both war and of the hard work of citizenship and healing in war’s aftermath. A superb addition to our understanding of the Vietnam War, and of its lessons.” (Phil Klay, author of Redeployment)

John Musgrave had a small-town Midwestern childhood that embodied the idealized postwar America. Service, patriotism, faith, and civic pride were the values that guided his family and community, and like nearly all the boys he knew, Musgrave grew up looking forward to the day when he could enlist to serve his country as his father had done. There was no question in Musgrave’s mind: He was going to join the legendary Marine Corps as soon as he was eligible. In February of 1966, at age 17, during his senior year in high school, and with the Vietnam War already raging, he walked down to the local recruiting station, signed up, and set off for three years that would permanently reshape his life.

In this electrifying memoir, he renders his wartime experience with a powerful intimacy and immediacy: from the rude awakening of boot camp, to daily life in the Vietnam jungle, to a chest injury that very nearly killed him. Musgrave also vividly describes the difficulty of returning home to a society rife with antiwar sentiment, his own survivor's guilt, and the slow realization that he and his fellow veterans had been betrayed by the government they served. And he recounts how, ultimately, he found peace among his fellow veterans working to end the war. Musgrave writes honestly about his struggle to balance his deep love for the Marine Corps against his responsibility as a citizen to protect the very troops asked to protect America at all costs. Fiercely perceptive and candid, The Education of Corporal John Musgrave is one of the most powerful memoirs to emerge from the war.

©2020 John Musgrave (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Outstanding memoir of service as a Marine rifleman and subsequent radicalization.... There’s not a false note in this book, full of both pride and sorrow. It’s just the retort to those who wonder why Vietnam vets can’t just forget about the past and move on.... Smart and self-aware, Musgrave delivers one of the best recent books on America’s experience in Vietnam." (Kirkus, starred)

"Sobering.... [Musgrave] poignantly captures the rigors of jungle warfare... Heartfelt." (Publishers Weekly)

"Riveting, gritty, piercing – this work by John Musgrave illuminates the journey of many a veteran, from generation to generation. John guides the reader on the well-trodden path that begins with the early enthusiasm of seeking the life of a warrior, to the fulfilling of that which was sought after, and then to the aftermath of having found it. John describes in high magnification what every step on the path looks like, and feels like. Thankfully, for any reader, but especially for combat veterans, John shows us how to retreat from the oft-viewed abyss of guilt and despair to confront the visible and the invisible wounds, and to experience post-traumatic growth.A must-read for veterans, and for anyone who loves one or is trying to love one." (Vincent K. Brooks, a fellow combat veteran, General (US Army, Retired), and Vice Chairman of the Gary Sinise Foundation)

Top notch

Great personal history of John’s war. Our country still owes these veterans their welcome home celebration. They did what was asked of them, whatever the outcome they went when called. Welcome home John!

Must read.

About the vietnam war and life after the war. A very good book. And narrated by the writer himself.

Courageous

Musgrave’s raw account of courage and humility is a must read giving the reader new insights for compassion towards our Vets.

He is a Viet vet, so am I

A must read to understand, an amazing story to anyone wanting to understand why some us were/are broken. 5+ stars.

Great read

Exceptional book about a young Marines journey from Vietnam to a place where he has found understanding and peace.

Respect

Most guys I know who served never want to talk about it. Or maybe not to young people like me who grew up in between major casualty events and without the active draft. So I appreciate the candid story. I have had a close family member seriously wounded in Iraq. I spent weeks with him at Walter Reed

Excellent work

This has been one of the most powerful memoirs I’ve read regarding Vietnam and everything that came after it, both at a micro level with the veterans themselves and it’s larger impact on American society and it’s citizens as a whole even 60 years on now. I’m thankful for John Musgrave and the guys like him for their willingness to tell these stories, because they need to be told.

There are not enough stars

The person closest in the world to me did not live long enough to read this book - to know he was understood. I have no way to say enough to urge you to read it, I am profoundly changed. Thank you Sergeant Musgrave and your wife Shannon.

Real life self-reflective thinking from a Vietnam Vet

John Musgrave pulls no punches from others, as well as himself, in this true life analysis of a U.S. Marine in Vietnam. Whether he considers himself a hero or not as to his time in combat, he is a true hero in telling his story to help other vets and to help others in their understanding of war vets and what they faced during combat and afterwards. An exceptional book; well written and well read by the author. Sir. Thank you, Sir.