Blood In The Hills Sparknotes

Blood in the Hills: The Story of Khe Sahn, The Most Savage Fight of the Vietnam War, authored by Robert Maras and Charles W. Sasser, was published on April 1, 2017 and is currently priced at $18.32 on amazon.com.
Based off the title alone, the reader is immediately aware of what to expect upon opening the publication. Blood in the Hills: The Story of Khe Sahn, the Most Savage Fight of the Vietnam War, written by Robert Maras with the assistance of Charles W. Sasser, tells the story of Maras, a Vietnam veteran, and his experiences during the war. From his combat landing on Red Beach, to his departure from the Demilitarized Zone, also known as the DMZ, Robert Maras describes in great detail the joys and sorrows of his time in Vietnam. The book

also exhibits the development of the average Marine, and the mental and physical toll the fighting at Khe Sanh takes on each individual. Throughout the memoir, repeated an abundance of times is the “...warrior creed of Semper Fidelis” meaning always faithful, and symbolizing the US Marine Corps determination to fight for their beloved country (Maras 3). This saying was especially influential during the times Bob Maras, subjected to viewing his comrades perish before him, could only hope he would survive the countless battles in the jungle-like terrain of Khe Sanh. Blood in the Hills is a powerful read for those engrossed with not only the corporeal aspect of war, but fascinated in learning about warfare from a psychological perspective.
Critically speaking, the authors are somewhat qualified to discuss the topic at hand, but Maras, the protagonist, is by no means a professional historian on the Vietnam War. In fact, the same can be presumed of co-writer Charles W. Sasser, who has published countless titles with the underlying theme of war, both fiction and nonfiction. Blood in the Hills is a memoir, and while generally educating the reader about the Vietnam War was one of Maras’ goals, writing the novel was more of a therapeutic release for him. Within the author’s note, Maras states, “...I thank my co-author, Charles W. Sasser, for making me talk about my nightmares. You and Dr. Hoffman were right; it did help.” (Maras xi) Many benefits come from writing a personal account of such a traumatic occurrence. For instance, multiple historical fiction works are very straightforward in explaining an event, making the reader feel emotionally disconnected from the book. However, memoirs are often raw with the human emotions all readers experience in their lives, and they can easily relate to what the characters endure.
Blood in the Hills is primarily organized in the order the events ensued, or in other words, chronologically.

In the preface, Maras, accompanied by his fellow veteran companions, Tony Leyba and Sargeant Crawford, stand before the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C. Whilst standing, they reflect on their time at Khe Sahn and remember the fallen troops, forever engraved in the monument. After the brief introduction of characters, time flashes back to April 22, 1967, where Maras is about to land in Vietnam for the first time. From there on out, the actions become sequential in the narrative until his departure, save for several flashbacks and historical explanations. These include a range of aspects; from personal stories on how he came to enlist in the Marine Corps and the stages of bootcamp, to historical accounts on the causes of the Vietnam War and how its abrupt ending. At first, one might have thought authors Maras and Sasser failed to note the sources utilized to write these peppered reports in the reading every now and then. However, they are obscurely written in the author’s note, simple to overlook, as no separate page or clear section was included where the authors properly cited their sources. Incorporated within the acknowledged sources are a few historians, but the majority are as competent as Maras , who has only one book under his belt. Also, Robert did not employ one primary source during the entirety of the 266 page memoir. If he were to do so, he would be

going the extra mile, accumulating more evidence to support his thesis.
With reference to Maras’ thesis, it became evident in the author’s concluding chapter, the afterword. On page 254 the thesis is presented in the first paragraph: “Our names could have been on that black wall with those we fought with and who died from what now seemed a hopeless cause.” At this moment in the text, Maras and his fellow veteran friends “stood silently and misty-eyed before The Wall, with its 58,191 names of servicemen and few women who died in a war that ended twenty-seven years earlier.” (Maras 254) Basically, with the reinforcement of Sasser, Robert recorded his experiences during the battles of Khe Sahn because the war left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was puzzled as to why no one cared to acknowledge the troops stationed in Vietnam and the sacrifices they made for the citizens of the United States. After returning home from the foreign country, Maras questioned, “It didn’t make sense. Not only had the Combat Base been abandoned, I felt like we who fought there had also been abandoned. Why did we go through all that misery and dying in the Hill Fights to save Khe Sahn, only to give it up?...Like our sacrifices were unnecessary and meant nothing.” (Maras 252) This was a valid note made by the author, forcing the reader to analyze the quote and connect it to their own lives, where most people take everything for granted. Whilst Americans were safe within their country’s borders, people like Maras were struggling for survival and doing all they could to protect the nation and its best interests.
Therefore, the purpose of the novel was to inform the reader on these battles and what occurred there, whilst staying “...true to the reality, spirit, and incredible courage of the brave US Marines who fought and died during the Hill Fights in the Republic of South Vietnam during that terrifying spring of 1967.” (Maras xi) Despite his pure motives, Maras’ approach to the subject was at times subjective, steering away from a more scholarly tone. Of course, having participated in the war, he harbored certain, biased views on Khe Sahn and its relevance today. Unfortunately, this is not always a good way of addressing one's beliefs, as it detracts from the historical accuracy of the book. The consumer’s level of interest would have increased if Maras were to have included both American and Vietnamese perspectives on the war, opting for a more historical and professional outlook on the topic.
Robert Maras and Charles W.

Sasser have contributed to this genre of history concerning the Vietnam War, discussing the role it played in many people’s lives. Nonetheless, considering all the books available on this particular subject, Blood in the Hills is hardly an original composition. Much like every other work of historical nonfiction, it is filled with straightforward information on his life in Vietnam, accompanied by small number of pictures in the middle of the book. Alas, Maras’ memoir fails to stand out amongst the thousands of books accessible to the public on Khe Shan and The Vietnam War. Even though the book itself wasn’t unique, Maras’ novel was victorious in fulfilling the purpose. Throughout its entirety, Blood in the Hills remains true to the courageous spirit and fight within each soldier. The reader is provided with sufficient evidence, informing them on the war, but also generating admiration for the Marine Corps and the bravery it took to launch into combat in a foreign land. By the resolution of the story, the author’s thesis is proven, the audience now educated on the horrible battles that transpired at Khe

Sahn.
After thoroughly evaluating the work of Robert Maras from a professional standpoint, it is only fair I offer up my final thoughts of the memoir, and determine whether I would recommend it and whatnot. Personally, I did not enjoy the book as much as I wanted to. There were far too many profanities, which is understandable because Maras was attempting to capture the reality of war, but it did not exactly jive with me. Of course, I am grateful for the efforts of the Marine Corps and the military in general, however, the book fell flat in engaging the reader, coming to the point where it was almost redundant. Despite these critiques, the downfall of Blood in the HIlls was due to the overbearing use of military terms and abbreviations. The opening pages are filled with abbreviations, not at all friendly to a reader with no knowledge on military talk. On occasion, Maras would explain the meaning of these abbreviations, but for the most part, I had to spend extra time researching each word, which greatly detracted from my overall reading experience. All in all, I would recommend this book to someone intrigued by the military, or someone already familiar with this subject. Though, if a person has similar interests to mine, I would not recommend this book, and would advise said reader to indulge in a novel comprehensible enough to ease one into this heavy topic more gently.