Looking for a Hero: Staff Sergeant Joe Ronnie Hooper and the Vietnam War

by Peter Maslowski and Don Winslow

Book Overview

Widely acclaimed as the Vietnam War's most highly decorated soldier, Joe Ronnie Hooper in many ways serves as a symbol for that conflict. His troubled, tempestuous life paralleled the upheavals in American society during the 1960s and 1970s, and his desperate quest to prove his manhood was uncomfortably akin to the macho image projected by three successive presidents in their "tough" policy in Southeast Asia. Looking for a Hero extracts the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803232446
• ISBN13: 9780803232440
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 618 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Hooper: A man who epitomized the Vietnam conflict.

This is a masterfully researched and written account of the Vietnam War era which makes use of the life of Joe Hooper to illustrate that period of time and the conflict. The formidible team of Maslowski and Winslow are a pair of guides who take you through the jungles of Southeast Asia, the tumultuous politics and social upheavals of America during the 60s and early 70s, and the world of the combat soldier. They periodically stop the narrative to explore such crucial topics as the psychology of human bravery and motivation under the extreme duress of combat, the volatility and subjectivity of memory, and the Cold War mindset of the 1960s. Against this backdrop is woven the checkered life of Joe Hooper: a valiant warrior, womanizer, drinker--a man who could never quite adjust to normal human society. For any student of the Vietnam War era, this book should be essential reading. Maslowski examines the policies and motivations of the three American presidents, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, who pursued the Vietnam debacle; they are each excoriated for the cock-sure macho attitude of their era, their misguided policies, their isolation from and neglect of intelligent voices that could have significantly altered the course of what ultimately became the first big military disaster in American history. Simply put, Maslowski and Winslow--to use a turn of phrase prevalent in the Vietnam Era--tell it like it is.

A Great Book

This book is much more than an excellent biography of a Viet Nam vet and MOH recipient. It is an extensively researched historic account of the Viet Nam war from Kennedy to Nixon. The book covers every aspect of the war. It is brutally honest and that is why the book will upset a few. I have read several books about the war and this is one of my favorites. A must have for any war buff's collection.

Beautifully Written, Profound in its Conclusions

With LOOKING FOR A HERO, Peter Maslowski and Don Winslow have given us an inspiring and heart-breaking tribute to the heroism of Staff Sergeant Joe Hooper and his fellow Delta Raiders of the 101st Airborne Division. By extension, the book is actually a tribute to all who served in the combat infantry during the Vietnam War. The authors' respect for the courage and tenacity of those who shouldered a grunt's rucksack in the jungles and villages of Vietnam is obvious. Thanks to LOOKING FOR A HERO, the story of MOH-winner Joe Hooper, and it's a poignant and important story, will not disappear down the memory hole. All of which makes baffling the criticisms that have been leveled here against LOOKING FOR A HERO, from the ludicrous attack that the book was not well-researched, to the one-star review which opined that the book failed to explain the heart and soul of Joe Hooper. Actually, Hooper could not have hoped for more fair, compassionate, and accurate biographers than Maslowski and Winslow. The man comes alive again thanks to their exhaustive research and gift for the written word. In no way, as has been alleged, does LOOKING FOR A HERO tear down Joe Hooper or any other combat soldier who fought in Vietnam. To shine a spotlight on the conflicting testimony that veterans provide about battles, or to expose the army hierarchy's crass abuse of the awards system, or to acknowledge that war heroes are human too with warts and imperfections, in no way diminishes the central theme of the book: namely, the heroism of Joe Hooper, Clifford Sims, Dale Urban, and their fellow Delta Raiders. And to point out, as the authors do, that the sacrifices of the Vietnam combat soldier were ultimately rendered in a lost cause is self evident, and not a slam at those who answered the call and did their duty. Maslowski and Winslow's negative critique of U.S. policy and tactics in Vietnam is spot on, however painful it is to admit as much. The mistakes made during the Vietnam (indeed, the mistake that was the Vietnam War) are not supposed to be glossed over to make the pain of the war more palatable, but ruthlessly examined so that young Americans like those who served in the Delta Raiders will hopefully never again be thrown away in unwinnable foreign adventures. It's a shame that LOOKING FOR A HERO did not garner the attention it deserved. Maslowski and Winslow have written a book as profound as A RUMOR OF WAR, THE 13th VALLEY, WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG, and THE LONG GRAY LINE. Keith Nolan (author of RIPCORD, OPERATION BUFFALO, etc.)

From an Original Delta Raider

If you only read the first three pages of the prologue, you'll recognize my name. It's hard to read the negative stuff about a brother in arms, a friend and about a war you thought at the time, was worth fighting and dying for. I have so much respect for Capt. McMenamy, Capt. Hogan and Platoon Sgt. Parker, that to this day, at a reunion, it is hard not to refer to them by their rank rather than by "Wayne, Cleo & George". The inspiring story of " Joe Hooper & the Delta Raiders" is well documented in the book, but then I'm prejudiced. If you want a history lesson about the Vietnam war without any sugar coating, I would recommend this book. If you want a textbook case of how alcohol can affect a great man, I would also recommend this book. I will go to my grave with the belief that SSgt. Sims threw himself on that grenade to save his men. The Professor seems to write a bit skeptically about PTSD, for those that feel likewise I have written a poem. "If nightmares & dreams could be bottled like wine, I'd send you a crate, Vintage Tet 68, so you could share some of mine" God Bless Ya, Joe Hooper Sgt. Al Mount D Co. 2/501st. Inf. 101st Airborne Div.

Amazing account of a tragic life

This book is fantastic! It follows the life of Hooper from childhood to his death, but also discusses the Vietnam War and many of its details. The book however does not get bogged down in the details of the war but refers to it in an appropriate amount. The book is a joy to read and reads quite quickly. The life of Hooper is an exciting journey full of highs and lows. His life seems to not get enough credit or recognition as it should or as much as Audie Murphy in WWII or York in WWI. This book gives at least gives you the objective truth about Joe Hooper's life and leaves you to either respect him or dislike him. I was a student of professor Maslowski at the University of Nebraska and I can tell you first hand that he is a wonderful professor and a very intelligent man. I have heard him lecture about the war and he knows what he is talking about. He understands the difference between judging the war at a broad level and at the platoon level and this book goes to show it. He has total respect for the individual that served but understands the overall flaws in the command and how the individual was effected by them. I would definitely suggest this book to read, because it is extremely interesting and very historically accurate.