Nicholas Warr – Biography

Nicholas Warr grew up in Oregon and attended Brigham Young University and the University of Oregon before enlisting, in 1966 at the age of twenty, in the United States Marine Corps. Warr was recommended for the Enlisted Commissioning Program by his Drill Instructors in Boot Camp, and subsequently attended OCS at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia. Warr graduated from OCS and was commissioned in March 1967.

After attending The Basic School and a six-week high-intensity Vietnamese language training course, his first assignment as an infantry officer sent him to the Republic of Viet Nam (RVN) from November 1967 until December 1968. He served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division as a Platoon Commander, Company Executive Officer, and Company Commander during some of the toughest fighting of the Vietnam War.

Warr’s unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for participation in Operation “HUẾ CITY” during the Tet Offensive of 1968, and completed his combat tour in the allotted 13 months. Mr. Warr was honorably discharged from the U. S. Marine Corps in March 1970.

His memoir about his experiences as a Platoon Commander during the fighting inside the Citadel Fortress of Huế, Phase Line Green, The Battle for Huế, 1968, was published by Naval Institute Press in hardcover in 1997 and subsequently in paperback in 1999 by Random House. Phase Line Green was on the Marine Reading List for over ten years, is well-read within the Marine Corps, and is often used as a textbook during Marine Corps training for Leadership and Urban Warfare. In conjunction with several other Marines who fought in Huế, Mr. Warr has developed a white paper, entitled Lessons Learned, Operation HUẾ CITY which is available to all American military commands, and was studied extensively during the operational planning for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and subsequent combat operations in the Middle East.

Mr. Warr’s 2nd book, Charlie One Five; A Marine Company’s Vietnam War, was released in August 2013. This book includes stories experienced by Mr. Warr in combat, as well as the personal combat histories of nearly thirty U. S. Marines who served in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines during the early years of the war. Mr. Warr’s third book, which is under development, will complete a “trilogy” of books that document the combat history of one of the most highly decorated infantry battalions in Marine Corps History. Like his 2nd book, this book focuses on the

Marines and sailors serving in Charlie Company, but it also documents many other combat operations and battles involving the other infantry companies of this legendary U. S. Marine infantry battalion.

Mr. Warr continues to write about the battles fought by the Marines during the Vietnam War. He has appeared on radio and TV, most recently in a new documentary episode about the Battle for Huế City during the Tet Offensive of 1968, on the Military Channel, within their new “Ultimate Warfare” series, and the Marine Corps University has developed a decision-forcing course for young infantry leaders in training called “Charlie-One,” based on his experiences as a Platoon Commander during the Battle for Huế.

Mr. Warr lives in Grants Pass with his wife, Susan, and he works as a freelance writer, and lectures inside and outside of the Marine Corps on urban warfare and leadership. Mr. Warr is also a member of the group known as Vietnam Veterans for Factual History and is in the process of producing a documentary film about the Marines and Sailors who fought inside the legendary Citadel Fortress of Huế. Mr. Warr can be contacted through his website: http://nicholaswarr.com or via email at nick@nicholaswarr.com

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Military Record and Published Books:

After attending The Basic School and a six-week high-intensity Vietnamese language training course, his first assignment as an infantry officer sent him to the Republic of Vietnam from November 1967 until December 1968.  He served with the 1^stBattalion, 5^thMarines, 1^stMarine Division as a Platoon Commander, Company Executive Officer and Company Commander during some of the toughest fighting of the Vietnam War.

Warr’s unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for participation in Operation “HUẾ CITY” during the Tet Offensive of 1968, completing his combat tour in the allotted 13 months. His memoir about his experiences as a Platoon Commander during the fighting inside the Citadel Fortress of Huế, Phase Line Green, The Battle for Huế, 1968, was published by Naval Institute Press in hardcover in 1997 and subsequently in paperback in 1999 by Random House.  Phase Line Greenwas on the Marine Reading List for over ten years, is well read within the Marine Corps, and is often used as a textbook during Marine Corps training for Leadership and Urban Warfare. In conjunction with several other Marines who fought in Huế, Mr. Warr has developed a white paper, entitled Lessons Learned, Operation HUẾ CITYwhich is available to all American military commands, and was studied extensively during the operational planning for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and subsequent combat operations in the Middle East.

Mr. Warr’s 2^ndbook, Charlie One Five; A Marine Company’s Vietnam War, was released in August 2013. This book includes stories experienced by Mr. Warr in combat, as well as the personal combat histories of nearly thirty U. S. Marines who served in the 1^stBattalion, 5^thMarines during the early years of the war. Mr. Warr’s third book, which is under development, will complete a “trilogy” of books that document the combat history of the most highly decorated Marine infantry battalions during the Vietnam War. Like his 2^ndbook, this book focuses on the Marines and sailors serving in Charlie Company, but it also documents many other combat operations and battles involving the other infantry companies of this legendary U. S. Marine infantry battalion.

Mr. Warr continues to write about the battles fought by the Marines during the Vietnam War.  He has appeared on radio and television, including a new documentary film episode about the Battle for Huế City during the Tet Offensive of 1968, on the Military Channel, within their new “Ultimate Warfare” series. Further, the Marine Corps University has developed a decision-forcing course for young infantry leaders in training called “Charlie-1,” based on his experiences as a Platoon Commander during the Battle for Huế.