Di Di Mau

A True Story About Tigers, Rock Apes, the Jungle, and War

By: Darren Walton, Michael J. Coffino

Narrated by: M.P. MacDougall

Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1969, Darren Walton, at the tender age of 19, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, trading life in idyllic Marin County in California for the chaos of a raging jungle war in Southeast Asia. In no time, he got pressed into service as a member of a Marine reconnaissance unit operating near Da Nang, Vietnam.

There were a few times when he basked in the breathtaking beauty of the triple canopy jungle, the contoured glistening mountain ridges, and the luscious green valleys. But there were many, many other times when he and his fellow marines labored under the terror of the worst the jungle had to offer: torrential monsoons, torturous humidity, rapacious insects, and enemy-placed punji traps springing from hell below.

Darren survived thanks to the unconditional loyalty and courage of his fellow marines, men who risked their own lives to save his, men who demonstrated uncommon courage in the most desperate of circumstances. No questions asked. No conditions imposed. No social barriers erected. Semper Fidelis.

Di Di Mau is Darren’s unabashed personal account of warfare, survival, and brotherhood—and the enduring reflections that followed. It is unlike any book about the Vietnam War.

©2023 Darren Walton (P)2023 Darren Walton

Critic reviews

"A revealing, sometimes gut-wrenching war memoir that examines virtually every aspect of his tour of duty." (Marc Leepson, arts editor and senior writer, The VVA Veteran magazine)

Thank you for your service

I loved this book. Thank you Darren, for giving us the insight of your experience as a Recon Marine.
Whether you agree with the Viet Nam war or not, we owe you a huge debt of gratitude for your bravery and sacrifice.

I enjoyed the story.

I like the writing and content, worth listening too. You will be glad that you bought the book.

Honest, vulnerable, eye-opening and yet enjoyable read.

“Di di mau. Vietnamese slang for ‘go quickly’” – p. 16.

Author Darren Walton was just a young adult when he was sent off to a year in the Vietnamese jungle. Now, decades later “Di Di Mau” is the story of his Vietnam experience. Growing up in liberal Marin County, California, Walton didn’t expect to return a hero for serving the United States Marines in the Vietnam War. However, what he came home to was his need to construct an image of himself that excluded his participation in the war. It wasn’t until Walton’s wife, Gina, began looking into veteran’s benefits that she uncovered a war citation issued to him, that he began to seek PTSD therapy, acknowledgement of his past, and ultimately this exceptional book.

As someone who grew up with a father who served, watching the History Channel and war movies was about the only way we ever glimpsed his past, and the years dedicated to the military. There’s a lot we don’t know, and likely never will, as it was hard on both our parents. But it is through brave, courageous, and honest recounting like that of Darren Walton with Michael Coffino that allow us insights into the environment, decisions, and atrocities witnessed.

More than fifty years later, there is a significant impact this war in particular has had on the United States. While there was certainly media, political, and peer backlash at the time, there has been immeasurable impact on the lives, both physically and mentally of American and Vietnamese alike. I especially liked Walton’s commitment to displaying some of these numerical facts in chapter 19, aptly titled “By the Numbers.”

Beyond the devastating, gruesome, and downright difficult experiences war has, particularly that of the Vietnam war, the stories, descriptions, and encounters Walton portrays within were still eye opening. I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of their encounters with the Rock Apes, the story of the tiger within, and his experience running in their own little war Olympics, albeit with much less appealing field conditions and training. Walton even details the fact finding and background both he and Coffino went on as they sought the uncovering of his American racing counterparts. Reconnecting and re-meeting some of the other men, or their widows, who were present.

Walton and Coffino have crafted an honest, vulnerable, eye-opening, and yet enjoyable read. “Di Di Mau” takes one of the hardest wars the United States has been a part of and shows readers the realities faced. From the jungle to the beaches, Walton bears all.