Overview

9,000 rounds of 155mm artillery fire. That's what it cost Bob Nerbovig to master the art of calling fire. Four years in the Mojave Desert with the 4th Battalion, 11th Marines. Four years of ground- slap and concussive force that shattered his inner ear and left a permanent ringing in his skull. In December 1964, he thought he was done. But when Sergeant Miller asked him to return, to train the young Marines heading to Vietnam, to teach them how to hear through static and call coordinates that could save lives, Nerbovig knew he couldn't say no. The Iron Pigs were going to war. The massive M114 howitzers were heading to the Rocket Belt around Da Nang, where the jungle was so thick it swallowed sound and the enemy so close that every fire mission was danger close. Where a single transposed digit meant friendly fire. Where illumination rounds were the difference between seeing the enemy and being overrun in the darkness. Nerbovig's damaged ears, his vertigo, his constant ringing, his inability to find level, became both his greatest liability and his most vital asset. Because he knew what these young radio operators needed to learn: that artillery isn't about destruction. It's about precision. It's about putting steel exactly where it's needed, when it's needed, to bring Marines home alive. This is the story of the men who never fired a rifle but whose voices on the radio saved countless lives. It's about invisible wounds and visible courage. It's about the brutal, life-saving music of the guns. THE IRON PIGS: The story of the Steel Symphony.

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About Robert Nerbovig: I have been married for 59 years to my wife Pat. I am a former active duty Marine as are my 2 sons. We live in the mountains of Arizona. I have been programming computers for business since 1970 and designing and developing web pages since 1996. I am familiar with computer viruses and the havoc they wreak. I am the 26th great great grandson of King Olaf of Norway.(Saint Olaf)

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