Book Review – W.E.B. Griffin’s “Brotherhood of War: The Captains”
Today I finished reading W.E.B. Griffin‘s military novel, Brotherhood of War: The Captains.
This is the second installment in this series of books.
In Brotherhood of War: The Lieutenants, W.E.B. Griffin introduced us to four young soldiers at the end of hostilities in World War 2. Three of the soldiers, Lowell, Felter, and MacMillan, had all been promoted to the rank of captain by the end of the book. Parker was still a first lieutenant at the end of the first book.
Brotherhood of War: The Captains begins on June 25, 1950, when North Korea launched an all-out attack on South Korea, the opening phase of the Korean War.
Captain Rudolph “Mac” MacMillan is stationed near Seoul, Korea, when he receives an urgent order to rescue three American officers stranded on a peninsula. They’re under attack from mortars and in danger of being captured or killed. MacMillan makes a flight across the country and makes a hair-raising landing, picks up the officers, and quickly takes off while under fire from light machine guns.
MacMillan is then sent back to the U.S. to keep him out of harms way, much to his disgust. MacMillan is a warrior but also a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The army doesn’t want one of those top award winners to get killed in combat. It would be extremely bad for moral and the media.
Over in Paris, France, Captain Craig Lowell and his young German wife, Isle, and infant son, Peter-Paul, are spending some time getting to know Isle’s father, Peter Paul von Greiffenberg, a former high ranking German officer during the Second World War. They’re later visited by Captain Sanford “Sandy” Felter and his wife, Sharon. While visiting, Felter informs Lowell that there’s now a war taking place in Korea. After already serving his country and being wounded when seeing further combat while in Greece, Lowell is not interested in fighting in another war.
Lowell would later be visiting relatives back in the U.S. when he receives his notice about being deployed to serve in Korea. He was initially assigned to be in the infantry where his combat experience in Greece would be beneficial to the American soldiers in Korea. Lowell protests this as he sees it as being part of a slaughter as right now the American and South Korean forces were still on the run. A talk with Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bellman goes a long way. Bellman is able to use his connections to get Lowell transferred to a tank company as he was recently trained (and excelled) in a tank training school at Fort Knox.
First Lieutenant Philip Sheridan Parker VI is the commander of a tank platoon stationed in Japan when the war begins in Korea. His men are a bit rowdy, especially when they receive notice about immediate departure for Korea, but Parker has exceptional leadership skills and keeps them in line.
After arriving in Korea, Parker’s platoon is quickly sent to assist a tank company that was under attack by the North Korean army. When he arrives at the position, he’s shocked to see the American soldiers running away from the battle line like cowards, including the unit’s lieutenant. Parker uses his pistol to shoot and kill the coward lieutenant, an event that would later come back to haunt him. The retreating men stop and are forced to join Parker’s men. They form a solid defensive line and successfully hold it from further attacks. Not long after that Parker is promoted to the rank of captain.
Later, Parker would be in a jeep and observing enemy forces when a rogue artillery shell lands fairly close to his position. He doesn’t think he’ injured until he see the pool of his blood quickly building in the vehicle. A piece of shrapnel had caught him in the butt. Parker is quickly transported to a MASH unit and receives care for his wound.
In Korea, Captain Lowell is given command of tanks in Baker Company. The tanks and men aren’t in the best condition, but Lowell uses his leadership and influences to get them in fighting condition. His actions and toughness earn him the nickname, “The Duke.” His bravery inspires the men, and his intelligence keeps them from being killed by the enemy. Their defensive positions easily hold back a few enemy attacks. Later, Colonel Jiggs, Lowell’s commanding officer, would make Lowell the unit’s S-3, a move that would later bring another promotion to the young officer.
Back in the U.S., MacMillan is transferred to an army aviation helicopter training school at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He excels in his training and quickly masters learning how to operate helicopters, much to the surprise of his flight instructor. Instead of having a meaningless (to him) future as a flight instructor, MacMillan is able to transfer to the command of General Black and return to Korea as a helicopter pilot. His initial duties would have him flying cargo between forts, all while remaining at least ten miles away from the front lines and safely away from the action.
In Korea, Lieutenant General Walker issues a command to send a unit of tanks north into Korea to harass the enemy forces. It’s really a distraction to take away some pressure from other American forces also launching an attack. Captain Lowell forms the battle plans and creates Task Force Bengal (later renamed to Task Force Lowell in his honor). He uses ingenious techniques to create the battle plan. Lowell then has the honor of personally leading his men into battle behind enemy lines. He’s highly successful and receives a medal for his actions.
While Lowell is kicking ass in Korea, his wife Isle is killed in a car crash back home in Germany. The culprit is Major T. Jennings Wilson, a man who drank too much and was speeding while on winding roads. He crashed into Isle’s car and accidentally the woman. Lowell is informed about his wife’s death at about the halfway point of his mission, but he elects to finish the mission before flying to Germany to handle her business. It’s also at the conclusion of his mission where Captain Lowell is promoted to the rank of major.
When Captain MacMillan is flying his boring supply missions, he runs into one of his old friends who used to work for the OSS, and learns of a secret U.S. base on the coast of Korea. MacMillan wants to keep fighting the North Koreans, but he was ordered not to fly within ten miles of the front. Instead of flying, MacMillan uses his skills to acquire a Chinese junk boat, outfits it with outboard motors, and installing gun mounts and other ordnance. He then takes his heavily armed boat out at night and begins attacking North Korean bridges and other targets of opportunity.
Captain MacMillan’s actions soon attract the attention of other parts of the military. One night he was coincidentally attacking targets right next to a special operation that was taking place, and he almost killed U.S. soldiers. Military intelligence decides to acquire MacMillan’s talents and use his skills at a secret base. He’s promoted to the rank of major. Captain Felter is also assigned to the same base, and he helps gather intelligence and carry out some operations.
When Major Lowell returns to Korea, he’s assigned to be an aide for Major General John L. Harrier. Little does he know, but working as a general’s aide is a stepping stone to one day becoming a general. One of his first assignments as an aide is to escort the VIPs with an upcoming USO show. One of the VIPs is a young movie star named Georgia Paige.
Georgia takes particular interest in Lowell, and he allows himself to be with her. The two of them spend a great deal of time together. Lowell even takes Georgia to the front lines so that she can see a tank and get some pictures with the soldiers. Those pictures though would come back to haunt Lowell. Once a magazine prints the pictures (thanks to Georgia’s jealous co-worker), Lowell’s credit is severely diminished and his career as a tank commander is over.
In the aftermath of his trouble, Lowell runs into Major Parker and learns that Parker is going to face a court martial for killing a lieutenant earlier in the war. Lowell locates MacMillan at his secret base and gets his advice for facing the court martial trial. Parker’s charges are dropped after Lowell takes the stand as a character witness, and the court martial learns that other officers in the army have also killed fellow officers, all in the name of maintaining order with the troops. Captain Felter had to shoot and kill an officer back in Greece.
Not long after that, Felter and MacMillan run a secret operation on a beach in North Korea. Their assignment is to pick up a Chinese officer who wishes to defect to the U.S. The problem is that it’s a cloudless night and a North Korean security patrol spots the U.S. soldiers. Felter and his men shoot and kill the enemy Koreans, but Felter is badly wounded in his knee. He’s painfully taken back to MacMillan’s boat, but they come under fire from North Korean artillery. Their boat is damaged and it takes an hour for the closest U.S. ship to rescue them. MacMillan is also injured and several of his Korean are killed.
Captain Felter survives, but a doctor on a hospital ship wants to amputate his leg. Felter refuses and General Black intervenes when he pays Felter a visit. Felter is ultimately transferred to another hospital in the U.S. where doctors are able to save his leg, but it’s going to require a lot of physical therapy. For his actions and bravery, Captain Felter is promoted to the rank of major.
Both Major Lowell and Captain Parker are returned to the U.S. and sent through an advanced officer training course. They both finish numbers one and two in their class, but both combat experienced officers are assigned meaningless tasks. Lowell tells this to his uncle who then contacts a high ranking state senator who, in turn, has a discussion with a high ranking army officer. Lowell and Parker are immediately transferred to an artillery school in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
However, neither Lowell or Parker are going to command any artillery units. Their records from Korea aren’t going to allow that to happen. They’re paid a visit by Colonel Roberts who pushes for the two officers to join the army aviation program and become helicopter pilots. Lowell is insulted at the thought of joining the army aviators, but Parker sees it as the next phase of the army’s cavalry unit. They both join the aviation training program.
Brotherhood of War: The Captains ends with Captain Parker marrying his girlfriend, Dr. Antoinette Ferguson, a pathologist from Boston. The wedding takes place on January 14, 1953.
So is W.E.B. Griffin’s Brotherhood of War: The Captains a good book?
This is an excellent book that takes a detailed look at how things really run in the army. The attention-to-detail here is fantastic, from the operations inside of a tank to that of airplane and helicopter aviation.
It’s fascinating reading about this core group of characters and how they handle their surroundings, both in and out of the army. Most of the book flows at a pretty fast pace. Numerous references to the first book help you remember what happened in the previous story.
My only issue with W.E.B. Griffin’s writing style is how he handles the passage of time and events in the war. This is a story that takes place over the course of two-and-a-half years, but when reading it from start to finish, you don’t really have that feeling of the passage of time. Part of this is because we really don’t hear about other events in the Korean War. We know that the war goes poorly at first for the U.S. and South Korean troops, but we really don’t hear about their forward progress. The only time we really hear about any progress is during Task Force Lowell’s rampage through North Korea, though even that part doesn’t go into too much detail.
If you’re expecting combat and serious military history, then you may feel somewhat disappointed with this book. Yes, some combat and action scenes are scattered here and there, but most of the book focuses on the reality of life as an officer, from dealing with problem soldiers and fellow officers to acquiring resources and handling other problems.
The Brotherhood of War series can be best thought of as a military drama versus an action book. If you go into it with that mindset then you’ll be fine. The combat scenes are rewarding, and the setting in Korea is quite fascinating. I’ll be looking forward to soon reading the next book in this series.
