Jungle on the Moon

By Jim Lotzgesell

This story of fiction is about a time when Americans were fighting in the jungles of Asia, while at the same time, landing and walking on the moon. The irony of this juxtaposition is obvious, and this tale takes that irony to task. There were units during the Vietnam War that penetrated into Asia further, performed more perilous missions, and had higher casualties than the Lurps (the nickname arose, originally, from LRRPs, or Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol[s]). Nonetheless, given a comparative lack of training and wide use across the theater of war, they were some of the most successful units of their day. Often, they had surprisingly high kill-ratios (ratio of enemy-dead-to-friendly-dead) when compared to other units of the conflict. Lurps were tiny units - single companies of two-to-four platoons, with two-to-four six-man teams apiece. They were attached to brigades, divisions, and corps in various guises - Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, Long Range Patrol, and eventually, Ranger. Different companies had different team naming conventions: sometimes using numbers - Ranger 21 would be second platoon, team one; sometimes using states - California, Hawaii, Texas. Each team had a tradition and a history, often over years -- filled with legendary leaders, members (identified, appropriately, as lurps), and deeds. The members' nicknames often came from their radio call signs - these usually derived from a earlier pre-service moniker or humorous reading of their name, physiognomy, or behavior. Sometimes, even, ethnic group -- lurps included numerous. So, you had Spider, Hulk, Indian. Thirty or more missions into enemy territory could have a pretty severe effect on a man's psyche. And then, there was the last mission. The story of the last mission which follows, just happened to coincide with Apollo 11, the first moon-landing mission -- where famous astronauts first trod the surface of the moon.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1980204977
• ISBN13: 9781980204978
• Release Date: April 2018
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"