Download or read book Death in the A Shau Valley written by Larry Chambers and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring a new introduction by the author about his return to Vietnam, his reflections on the war, and his humanitarian work in Cambodia. “The enemy had a single purpose: kill me and my teammates.” Larry Chambers was still new to Vietnam in early 1969 when the LRRPs of the 101st Airborne Division became L Company, 75th (Rangers). But his unit’s mission stayed the same: act as the eyes and ears of the 101st deep in the dreaded A Shau Valley—where the NVA ruled. Relentless thick fog frequently made fighter bombers useless in the A Shau, and the enemy had furnished the nearby mountaintops with antiaircraft machine guns to protect the massive trail network that snaked through it. So, outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, the teams of L Company executed hundreds of courageous missions. Now, in this powerful personal record, Larry Chambers recaptures the experience of the war’s most brutal on-the-job training, where the slightest noise or smallest error could bring sudden—and certain—death. . . .

Download or read book A Shau Valor written by Thomas R. Yarborough and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Da Nang Diary: A military history of the Battle of Hamburger Hill and other fights between the NVA and the US and its Vietnamese allies. Throughout the Vietnam War, one focal point persisted where the Viet Cong guerrillas and Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) were not a major factor, but where the trained professionals of the North Vietnamese and US armies repeatedly fought head-to-head. A Shau Valor is a thorough study of nine years of American combat operations encompassing the crucial frontier valley and a fifteen-mile radius around it―the most deadly killing ground of the entire war. Beginning in 1963, Special Forces A-teams established camps along the valley floor, followed by a number of top-secret Project Delta reconnaissance missions through 1967. Then, US Army and Marine Corps maneuver battalions engaged in a series of sometimes-controversial thrusts into the A Shau, designed to disrupt NVA infiltrations and to kill enemy soldiers, part of what came to be known as Westmoreland’s “war of attrition.” The various campaigns included Operation Pirous (1967); Operations Delaware and Somerset Plain (1968); and Operations Dewey Canyon, Massachusetts Striker, and Apache Snow (1969)―which included the infamous battle for Hamburger Hill―culminating with Operation Texas Star and the vicious fight for and humiliating evacuation of Fire Support Base Ripcord in the summer of 1970, the last major US battle of the war. By 1971, the fighting had once again shifted to the realm of small Special Forces reconnaissance teams assigned to the ultra-secret Studies and Observations Group (SOG). Other works have focused on individual battles or units, but A Shau Valor is the first to study the campaign―for all its courage and sacrifice―chronologically and within the context of other historical, political, and cultural events.

Download or read book Death in the Jungle written by Gary R. Smith and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-05-18 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SNAKES, VIPERS, CROCS, SHARKS, AND THE VC With 257 combat missions in Vietnam under his belt, Gary Smith is a living witness to the realities of Naval Special Warfare. He worked with some of the toughest and most highly motivated men in the world, executing missions in the murderous terrain of Rung Sat Special Zone and Dung Island. The key to their success: go where no ordinary soldier would go and no VC would expect them. Though death reigned as king in the jungles of Vietnam, Gary Smith considered it a privilege and an honor to serve under the officers and with the men of Underwater Demolition Team Twelve and SEAL Team 1. Because he and his teammates, trained to the max, gave each other the courage to attain the unattainable . . . .

Download or read book Requiem written by Horst Faas and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between the French Indochina war of the fifties and the fall of Phnom Penn and Saigon in 1975, 134 photographers from different nations were killed. Horst Faas, two-times Pullitzer Prize winner and Chief Photographer for The Associated Press in Saigon at the height of the war, and Tim Page, another veteran who had been badly wounded, have gathered many thousands of photos from the Western agencies and from archives in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. These have now been assembled to form both a monument to the dead and a record of the most terrifying war photography ever taken. Never again will the media have the kind of access to the war zone that was offered to the photographers in Vietnam. In many cases the photographers tried to get as close as possible, then paid the price.

Download or read book Nam Sense written by Arthur Wiknik and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2005-07-19 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A candid memoir of being sent to Vietnam at age nineteen, witnessing the carnage of Hamburger Hill, and returning to an America in turmoil. Arthur Wiknik was a teenager from New England when he was drafted into the US Army in 1968, shipping out to Vietnam early the following year. Shortly after his arrival on the far side of the world, he was assigned to Camp Evans near the northern village of Phong Dien, only thirty miles from Laos and North Vietnam. On his first jungle patrol, his squad killed a female Viet Cong who turned out to have been the local prostitute. It was the first dead person he had ever seen. Wiknik's account of life and death in Vietnam includes everything from heavy combat to faking insanity to get some R & R. He was the first in his unit to reach the top of Hamburger Hill, and between sporadic episodes of combat, he mingled with the locals; tricked unwitting US suppliers into providing his platoon with hard-to-get food; defied a superior and was punished with a dangerous mission; and struggled with himself and his fellow soldiers as the antiwar movement began to affect them. Written with honesty and sharp wit by a soldier who was featured on a recent History Channel documentary about Vietnam, Nam Sense spares nothing and no one in its attempt to convey what really transpired for the combat soldier during this unpopular war. It is not about glory, mental breakdowns, flashbacks, or self-pity. The GIs Wiknik lived and fought with during his yearlong tour were not drug addicts or war criminals or gung-ho killers. They were there to do their duty as they were trained, support their comrades—and get home alive. Recipient of an Honorable Mention from the Military Writers Society of America.

Download or read book Ground Pounder written by Gregory V. Short and published by University of North Texas Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Previously published in 2007 by AuthorHouse under the title: Arc Light: A Marine's journey through South Vietnam.

Download or read book Fearful Odds written by Charles W Newhall and published by . This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fearful Odds is a no holds barred narrative told in three parts. It is the true story of a young Army officer, groomed for command and assigned to lead a platoon on a reconnaissance mission in the A Shau Valley, Vietnam in 1968. An otherwise routine mission is complicated by the contradiction of an inept chain of command. The resulting casualties devastate the platoon and the graphic images and memories of the action and the grueling months that follow, lead Chuck Newhall to a lifetime of severe trauma, guilt, grief and anger. Returning home, Newhall embarks on an extraordinary entrepreneurial career bringing great wealth, prestige and security, despite severe episodes of depression and anxiety which would hobble others from achieving such levels of success. And yet a few years later, and seemingly without warning, the family that he had worked so hard to create and support is suddenly ripped apart by tragedy intensifying an emotional upheaval that revisits the pain and anguish he first felt during his time in Vietnam. After decades of experience in managing the long-term effects of trauma and with the support of his family, Chuck Newhall has successfully come to terms with his past and the effects of PTSD. Fearful Odds offers hope, inspiration and valuable coping tools for anyone, or their families, who has been affected by post-traumatic stress, depression, mild traumatic brain disorder or the suicide of a loved one. Fearful Odds is a story of perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds and will offer a guiding hand to others who are facing challenges on the battlefield, boardroom or back at home. "Chuck Newhall's compelling narrative account of combat action in Vietnam takes you to one of the darkest hellholes on earth -- the A Shau Valley in 1968. Just when you thought that the war was over, Fearful Odds packs a punch in the gut you will be feeling for a long time." Joseph L. Galloway, author of We Were Soldiers Once...and Young "If you care about America's warriors, and about how we as a society can help them come home after war, then you should read this book." Nathaniel Fick, author of One Bullet Away "The illuminating depictions of sessions with your phychiatrist Dr. Kaiser can be regarded as almost a manual for understanding PTSD and learning how to overcome it. However, unlike the majority of books on the subject, you explain how PTSD can be addressed via depictions of how your own efforts have succeeded to varying extents. Readers will learn far more from your book, which is "real life," than from others." Solomon H. Snyder, M.D. Distinguished Service Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University

Download or read book The Crouching Beast written by Frank Boccia and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-06-06 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a first lieutenant in Bravo Company of the Third Battalion, 187th Infantry, Frank Boccia led a platoon in two intense battles in the Vietnamese mountains in April and May 1969: Dong Ngai and the grinding, 11-day battle of Dong Ap Bia--the Mountain of the Crouching Beast, in Vietnamese, or Hamburger Hill as it is popularly known. The Rakkasans, the 3/187th, are the most highly decorated unit in the history of the United States Army, and two of those decorations were awarded for these two battles. This vivid account of the author's first seven months in Vietnam gives special attention to the events at Dong Ap Bia, following the hard-hit 3/187th hour by hour through its repeated assaults on the mountain, against an unseen enemy in an ideal defensive position. It also corrects several errors that have persisted in histories and official reports of the battle. Beyond describing his own experiences and reactions, the author writes, "I want to convey the real face of war, both its mindless carnage and its nobility of spirit. Above all, I want to convey what happened to both the casual reader and the military historian and make them aware of the extraordinary spirit of the men of First Platoon, Bravo Company. They were ordinary men doing extraordinary things."

Download or read book Death in the Imperial City written by Richard Camp and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-06 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within the context of the Vietnam War, the battle for Hue City stands as an example of urban warfare and how the U.S. military and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam were able to secure victory in the face of severe odds. This commemorative begins with an overview of the city and its geographical, political, and cultural importance to the region. According to Buddhist myth, the picturesque city of Hue, the provincial capital of Thua Thien Province and the former imperial capital of Vietnam, sprang to life as a lotus flower blossoming in a puddle of mud.* Hue is located on a bend of the Huong or Perfume River, a major waterway running from the western foothills to the sea. The river provides an excellent supply route from the South China Sea only seven kilometers northeast of the city. The mountain slopes of the Annamite Chain (or Giai Truong Son) begin an equal distance away and the Laotian border lies another 50 miles farther west. In between the mountains and the border are the A Shau Valley and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the major North Vietnamese infiltration and supply route to the south. The narrow 25-mile long A Shau Valley, known as Base Area 114, served *Some of the content in the following work was originally published in 1997 by Jack Shulimson, LtCol Leonard A. Blasiol (USMC), Charles R. Smith, and Capt David A. Dawson (USMC) in U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Defining Year, 1968. as an arm of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and provided an important sanctuary from which Communist forces could launch their attacks on the population centers along the coast. The Annamite Chain presented a formidable obstacle that prevented allied forces from penetrating into the interior of the country except by helicopter.

Download or read book Lurps written by Robert C. Ankony and published by Hamilton Books. This book was released on 2008-10-21 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lurps is the revised edition of the memoir of a juvenile delinquent who drops out of ninth grade to chase his dream of military service. After volunteering for Vietnam, he joins the elite U.S. Army LRRP/Rangers—small, heavily armed long-range reconnaissance teams that patrol deep in enemy-held territory. It is 1968, and the Lurps find themselves in some of the war's hairiest campaigns and battles, including Tet, Khe Sanh, and A Shau. Readers witness all the horrors, humor, adrenaline, and unexpected beauty through the eyes of a green young warrior. Gone are the heroic clichZs and bravado as compelling narrative and realistic dialogue sweep the reader along with a powerful sense that this is actually happening. This poignant coming-of-age story explores the social background that shaped the protagonist's thinking, his uncertain quest for redemption through increased responsibility, the brotherhood of comrades in arms, women and sexual awakening, and the baffling randomness of who lives and who dies.

Download or read book Ripcord written by Keith Nolan and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2003-06-03 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On April 10, 1970, Hill 927 was occupied by troopers of the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division. By July, the activities of the artillery and infantry of Ripcord had caught the attention of the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) and a long and deadly siege ensued. Ripcord was the Screaming Eagles’ last chance to do significant damage to the NVA in the A Shau Valley before the division was withdrawn from Vietnam and returned to the United States. At Ripcord, the enemy counterattacked with ferocity, using mortar and antiaircraft fire to inflict heavy causalities on the units operating there. The battle lasted four and a half months and exemplified the ultimate frustration of the Vietnam War: the inability of the American military to bring to bear its enormous resources to win on the battlefield. In the end, the 101st evacuated Ripcord, leaving the NVA in control of the battlefield. Contrary to the mantra “We won every battle but lost the war,” the United States was defeated at Ripcord. Now, at last, the full story of this terrible battle can be told.

Download or read book Hell On A Hill Top written by Benjamin L. Harrison and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2004 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HELL ON A HILL TOP-for four months in 1970, Hell raged on the hill tops of Ripcord, 805, 902 and 1000, all just east of the A Shau Valley. HELL ON A HILL TOP Instead of backing away from the fight, the North Vietnamese mortar, recoilless rifle, heavy machine gun, sapper and regular infantry attacks increased. The last offensive around Ripcord was starting to look like the last stand. Unwilling to keep American soldiers at high risk at this stage of the war; Ripcord was evacuated on 23 July. The battle went unnoticed for 30 years until Keith Nolan's book, RIPCORD, was published. As powerful and gripping as was the story of great leadership and courageous fighting by our soldiers, the magnitude of the enemy force still remained unknown. The author, the 3rd Brigade commander during the siege and evacuation, made trips to Vietnam in 2001 and 2004 and interviewed the 324B Division Commander whose first-ever division sole mission, was to destroy Firebase Ripcord. The full story is now told.

Download or read book Death Valley written by Keith William Nolan and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1969 Summer Offensive was unique-the first major engagement after the announcement of U.S.withdrawals.It would send the 1st Marine Division and the 23rd Infantry division (Americal) into a hot , humid killing ground ingiltrated by NVA troops.

Download or read book David Lee Roy written by David Leon Nelson and published by Modern Southeast Asia. This book was released on 2011 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The story of David Nelson and Lee Roy Herron, friends from Lubbock, Texas, during the Vietnam War. Describes Nelson's quest to uncover the events leading to Lee Roy's 1969 death in service to the US Marine Corps, providing closure and honoring the life of a fallen soldier"--Provided by publisher.

Download or read book LRRP Team Leader written by John Burford and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 1994-05-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the LRRPs, courage was a way of life Vietnam, 1968. All of Sergeant John Burford's missions with F Company, 58th Infantry were deep in hostile territory. As leader of a six-man LRRP team, he found the enemy, staged ambushes, called in precision strikes, and rescued downed pilots. The lives of the entire team depended on his leadership and their combined skill and guts. A single mistake—a moment of panic—could mean death for everyone. Whether describing ambushes in the dreaded A Shau Valley or popping smoke to call in artillery only yards away from his position, Burford demonstrates the stuff the LRRPs are made of—the bravery, daring, and sheer guts that make the LRRPs true heroes. . . .

Download or read book Mekong First Light written by Joseph W. Callaway, Jr. and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Before we got to Vietnam, the troops all thought you would be the first lieutenant killed, and in the end, you were the only one left. We were all wrong. You were the best.” —Sgt. Lonnie “Tallman” Caldwell December, 1966: Platoon leader Lt. Joseph Callaway had just turned twenty-three when he arrived in Vietnam to lead forty-two untested men into battle against some of the toughest, most experienced, and best-trained guerrilla soldiers in the world. Callaway soon learned that most events in this savage jungle war were beyond his control. But there was one thing he could do well: take the best damn care of his troops he knew how. In the Viet Cong–infested provinces around the Mekong Delta where the platoon was assigned, the enemy was always ready to attack at the first sign of weakness. And when the jungle suddenly erupted in the chaos of battle, the platoon leader was the Cong’s first target. Mekong First Light is at times horrific, heartrending, and heroic, but is always brutally honest. Callaway’s account chronicles a soldier’s painful realization of the true nature of America’s war in Vietnam: It was a war that could not be won.

Download or read book Lest We Forget written by William C. Meacham and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It takes a special kind of man--and a special kind of courage--to routinely risk one's life for others. . . . Lt. "Wild Bill" Meacham was a former enlisted man turned UH-1 pilot assigned to Bravo Company, 101st Aviation Battalion, an assault helicopter company whose liftships were called the Kingsmen. Meacham quickly learned that the fighting in Vietnam wasn't confined to hot LZs: He killed nine enemies on the ground during the Tet 1968 defeat of the VC. Bravo Company carried troops and supplies for many units, but Meacham preferred flying insertions and extractions for the LRRPs of the 101st and for the men of SOG, whose operations frequently took them into Laos. From combat assaults in Cu Chi to night operations in the enemy-infested A Shau Valley to hot extractions from Laos, Meacham engaged in some of the most dangerous flying imaginable. As he hovered a few feet off the ground in LZs exploding with mortar shells and crackling with AK-47 fire, it was often only Meacham's relentless daring and calm hands at the chopper's controls that kept the men on the ground from the enemy--and certain death. The Kingsmen were held in the highest esteem by LRRPs and other special-operations forces throughout Vietnam. This heroic, harrowing, and utterly absorbing account is a powerful tribute to those men and their fearless reputation.