Kregg P. Jorgenson

A gritty description of a one year assignment to fighting in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. Jorgenson was enthusiastic about doing his duty helping the Vuetnamese people save their country from the Communists. Then he went there and discovered what a guagmire it really was.

He discovered that for him the war was working with his buddies to keep them safe and the big plans of the military were unworkable in a country that had for hundreds of years fought foreign invaders who never conquored the Vietnamese.

The descriptions of battle are vivid and shocking as Jorgenson describes the terror of the quick battles and descriptions of the wounds the soldiers suffered. He served as a point man on most patrols earning three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star for Gallantry. a Bronze Star for Valor plus other awards. He was a member of the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol unit and then a Ranger.

A good description of the fighting in this war by a man who did a lot of it from a very dangerous spot.… (meer)

CHASING ROMEO by Kregg Jorgenson is a story about heroes and poor military officers. The heroes are members of a 5-member LURP Team who stumble across a battalion of armed soldiers heading toward one of the nearby firebases. They are unable to be withdrawn as both their primary and secondary pick-up zones are compromised by the enemy soldiers they see. The nearest pickup zone is miles away. They do encounter other enemy troops and lose the use of their two radios during the skirmishes.

A second story line is about a VIP tour through the country. Against the better judgment of a VIP coordinator, a former SOC Captain, and the pilots of the helicopter, they temp fate and have to fly during a severe monsoon storm. The ship crashes, there are fatalities and severe injuries aboard. They, too, have lost radio contact.

The two groups cross paths, neither would have survived without the other. It's a trying time for everybody, the enemy soldiers who are chasing the LRRPs were getting closer, it's a firefight they can't survive. How does it all end?

The story does lag in spots and also has a large number of typos and missing/added words. Even the book description on Amazon has a typo. An editor would have found these. Wanted to rate 3.5 but settled on 4. Still recommend for those interested in the Vietnam War and its Warriors.… (meer)

Acceptable Loss is an awesome story!! I especially liked reading about the secret insertions into "no man's land" as the five-man LRRP teams operated without any support. It is edge of your seat suspense when these small groups are unknowingly trapped between large enemy forces and have to make their way to the pick-up point, precisely on time, or they will be left behind! After several of these encounters, I can see why Mr. Jorgenson transferred to the Blues. However, it wasn't any easier there as these volunteers knew they were headed for battle when the call came for help.

I am also a Vietnam Infantry veteran and author, and can relate to those instances when the author walked point, as I did for much of my tour; much of it hit home. There is nothing glorified about war, and Kregg was able to show this all through his novel. I truly enjoyed his story. It was very easy to read, and made me feel like I was right there beside him; heart pounding and wondering if we were going to survive. Acceptable loss kept me up a little longer that I should have on some nights, but I found myself yearning for it upon my return home the next evening.

Acceptable Loss deserves five stars and a place within the top twenty of my all time best Vietnam novels. Great job Kregg!

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel… (meer)