Re: RARA-AVIS: Briarpatch

From: Richard Moore ( moorich2@aol.com)
Date: 17 Nov 2004


Briarpatch is one of the few Thomas novels I have yet to read. I saved two or three for times when I really needed a lift. Meanwhile I reread my favorites.

Interesting plotline you mention regarding buying up the leftover American arms in Vietnam. When I was there Vietnam was a living museum of 20th century small arms. A great deal of WWII surplus arms from Allied and Axis powers somehow managed to get shipped there long before the US was involved. These could be readily bought in the markets and some GIs fancied something a bit different from the M-16, especially during the period when that rifle was prone to jamming.

A favorite was the all-metal "Grease Gun" used by U.S. paratroopers in WWII. A big reason was it fired .45 caliber ammo, which was easy to obtain in Vietnam. Every gun has a distintive sound and the Grease Gun firing in the relatively slow automatic rate of the 1940s
(and with that deep base-boom of the .45) had a nifty, unique sound that stood out from the AKs and 16s in a fire fight.

Anyway, Vietnam was, and I bet still is, crawling with all kinds of weapons. I'll have to put Briarpatch on my list to read for February. As I've said before, Thomas has given me more reading pleasure than any other writer I can think of.

Richard Moore

--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Michael Robison
<miker_zspider@y...> wrote:
> Mark wrote:
>

> Nothing about the Kennedy assassination and really no
> other significant theory about real historical events
> that I can recall. Well, maybe. In the book, agents
> for the CIA buy American arms left in Vietnam after
> the war and sell them to factions in other third world
> nations that want them.
>
> miker
>
>
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 17 Nov 2004 EST