Uncle Sam Ain't Released Me Yet: Memoirs of a REMF

In 1969, Robert Martin IV arrived in his London Fog windbreaker and Bostonian wing tip shoes to begin a hellish life in the U. S. Army. He has plenty experiences to share. Written in a somewhat sarcastic verse he transports the reader to the nightmare of the Viet Nam war. I was just a teenager and a female at that as I watched the war unfold on the nightly news with my parents. The age of the hippies and “Mother, mother, mother there are way too many of you cryin’.” As I grew I dated a few Viet Nam war vets and became interested in this useless war as each and every one of them had been negatively affected. So reading about Roberts 580 days as he articulates his time and events illustrating his thoughts on their missions, their fears, and their constant desire to just get back to “the world”. His descriptions push his audience to keep turning the page. Reluctantly leaving a pregnant wife and a career as a Pharmacist at home he proved to continually achieve excellence, courage, and strength in Uncle Sam’s Army. Sadly ending up emotionally damaged as so many others.Overall, “Uncle Sam Ain’t Released Me Yet” is an easy and worthwhile read. Even for a woman. It is what I would imagine as an accurate account of life in Vietnam. It is entertaining, sad, at times funny, and will easily appeal to those fortunate enough to have never worn that uniform. I am glad that on September 2, 1970, Robert Martin IV arrived back home in one piece. He should (as well as all the survivors of war) be extremely proud of himself.

Enjoyed reading about the authors experience during the Vietnam war in 1969 & 1970. Very concise and believable. Knew others who were in the war but never heard this kind of storyline about the experience.

I liked this book for it's straightforward articulation of memories of the era. Robert happened to have served in the same unit as me in Vietnam at almost the exact same time so the recollections he mentions are often more than just generic to me. However I believe they will ring a bell with anyone who served in the military in the late sixties and especially those who went to Vietnam. Either he has a superhuman memory or took great notes during the period. Also the many photos are a bonus as most of mine have gotten lost over the years An easy and entertaining read.

A good reminder of what it was like in the Army during the Viet Nam War from a soldier's ground-eye view. His reminisce of basic at Fort Lost in the Woods was spot on, having been there myself for basic. The younger generation should read stories like these to better understand the times and their father's experiences during those tumultuous times.

I was inducted on Dec. 8th, 1968, Sent to fort Leonard wood for basic then to Fort Sill for artillery school. Sent to Vietnam, I was assigned to the 101st Abn/Ambl Div.. Although, like Robert, I had an artillery MOS,13A10, I was assigned to an open Personal Specialist job at Bien Hoa (later the unit moved to Phu Bai). The reason? I could type !Again, like Robert, when I made E5, my MOD was changed to 71H20, personnel specialist.What a coincidence! I can testify that Robert's story is very accurate and we'll told!

Another guy who doesn't know where he served. There has never been a Republic of South Viet Nam, this is an insult to >3 million of us who served in the Republic of Viet Nam, I'm not even going to read it, I'll be too mad at myself. Those of us who served in RVN, welcome home.

As Pat S. said in his review of Robert's book, I also served as one of the Fire Direction Officers in the same Artillery Battalion in Vietnam as Robert. Just about a year later serving at the same time as Pat although we were in different sections of the Battalion. Robert's book is a very good collection of what he went thru during his time in the Army. The book is very well written and easy to read. I was glad to get to meet Robert after reading his book. I consider him a fine person and a DGD.

A very good book. I was in vietnam sept. 69 to sept. 70, with the last 90 days as a r.e.m.f. No matter your job, it was a job, we all had to do,we had no choice in the matter. Another fine book to read is, One R.E.M.F.s Tour Of Duty in Vietnam by James Paul Lott, i gave this book Five Stars.