CLASS OF ’67: The Story of the 6th Marine Officer Basic Class of 1967

Many reviews of well-written books be­gin with a sentence much like, “I couldn’t put it down.” This book, by retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jack Wells, will probably force many readers to set it aside from time to time and reflect upon what “could have been.”

Publishing this book was an act of love, duty and devotion by my good friend, Jack Wells. It is self-published—a sign of our digital times—because the Vietnam War is not going to be on anyone’s best-seller list in 2010. The success of the novel “Matterhorn” is a recent exception. In contrast, the “Class of ’67” is sadly true and factual. Marine Officer Basic Class 6-67 has the unfortunate distinction of having the highest number of officers who lost their lives in Vietnam.

The “Class of ’67” memorializes the 43 lieutenants who died in Vietnam, many in the intense Tet offensive and post-Tet maelstrom that was I Corps in 1968. The last and 44th officer honored, Colonel William R. “Rich” Higgins, kidnapped in 1988 and murdered by terrorists, was one of the first casualties in our now long, ongoing conflict with militant extremism.

In each chapter, the author recognizes his fellow officers from BC-67 who fell in combat during those terrible years of the Vietnam War. But this book could be about any recruit platoon or officer candidate class of that era. However, it is about young lives lost too soon and also about their families and their ultimate sacrifice.

This was a difficult, emotional path upon which the author set himself. Most families were very appreciative of the desire to commemorate their son, husband, brother or father. Jack’s contact opened doors to a dark time that some did not want to revisit. Given the turmoil caused in our country by the Vietnam War, the types of responses were not surprising.

Especially poignant are the heartfelt remembrances of these lieutenants by their platoon sergeants and radio operators. Those who served in rifle companies will always remember that incredible bond between Marines. Vietnam was a war fought by lieutenants, sergeants and young enlisted Marines. The “Class of ’67” does not pro­vide a history of the war; other books have done that, but it does present the stage for the role of these officers and their fellow Ma­rines in a difficult time.

For lieutenants of that era, this book is a “must-read.” The author, in commemorating the fallen of Marine Officer’s Basic Class of 1967, honors all who served, regardless of their service and time in Vietnam. For those military buffs who wonder what it was like to serve in combat during any war, the book provides a very real per­spective on the grim odds of surviving combat.
Col Robert Douglass, USMCR (Ret)

CLASS OF ’67: The Story of the 6th Marine Officer Basic Class of 1967.

By Jack Wells. Published by CreateSpace.
248 pages. Stock #1439268088.

$41.36 MCA Members. $45.95 Regular Price.