Dak To And The Border Battles Of Vietnam 1967 1968

In 1967, the North Vietnamese launched a series of offensives in the Central Highlands along the border with South Vietnam--a strategic move intended to draw U.S. and South Vietnamese forces away from major cities before the Tet Offensive. A series of bloody engagements known as "the border battles" followed, with the principle action taking place at Dak To. Drawing on the writings of key figures, veterans' memoirs and the author's records from two tours in Vietnam, this book merges official history with the recollections of those who were there, revealing previously unpublished details of these decisive battles.

Their officers and senior noncoms were drawn from the U.S. Army's elite. An all-volunteer unit of paratroopers, the "Sky Soldiers, " men of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) were MACV's "fire brigade, " rushed to stem the tide wherever the fighting was heaviest. In 1967 the attention of General Giap and his North Vietnamese Army (NVA) focused on a small mountain hamlet in the Central Highlands called Dak To. From June to November 1967, in the hills and valleys surrounding Dak To, the 173d fought some of the bloodiest battles of the entire Vietnam War.

The author fanaticized about combat and played war games in his youth. War is not a game. Combat wasn't this fantasy for him in real life. This book tells the story of a Kansas boy who grew up quickly serving as a combat platoon leader in the Vietnam War. It shares his exploits with A Company, 4/503, 173 Airborne Brigade. His platoon was very unlucky in the June/November 1967 campaign as the "Fire Brigade" took on the NVA in Dak To. His actions are reported in at least two documentary books dealing with individual firefights in the Central Highlands during that period. This is the unpolished truth about the brutal war and how really futile it was to go toe to toe against a better-prepared army and survive. The author gives unembellished reports of what his unit experienced and backs it up with the Battalion After Action Reports. He acknowledges he is alive today only because of superior tactical air support and artillery firepower. This book gives an entirely different viewpoint than most books authored by Vietnam veterans. While his observations may be controversial to some vets, it reflects the author's objective opinion of what he experienced there.

“Excellent . . . honest and realistic . . . Edward Murphy’s meticulous research is unflawed and his writing style is novel-like.”—San Antonio Express-News “A no-holds barred account . . . highly recommended.”—Military magazine In June 1967, General William Westmoreland sent the 173d Airborne Brigade to Dak To, a mountainous region in the deadly Central Highlands. Here the 173d found itself locked in mortal combat, facing tremendous odds against a professional, well-trained enemy hidden under triple-canopy jungle and deeply entrenched in fortified positions, bunkers, and tunnels. Edward F. Murray captures the conflict in all its horror and heroism in this graphic account drawn from letters, diaries, official reports, and interviews with more than eighty veterans of the campaign. Outmanned, exhausted, often cut off from supplies and communication, America’s “Sky Soldiers” battled back with incredible valor to rout the NVA in some of the fiercest combat of the entire Vietnam War. “Fast-paced . . . an impressive immediacy.”—Publishers Weekly

Moving through the jungle near the Cambodian border on May 18, 1967, a company of American infantry observed three North Vietnamese Army regulars, AK-47s slung over their shoulders, walking down a well-worn trail in the rugged Central Highlands. Startled by shouts of “Lai day, lai day” (“Come here, come here”), the three men dropped their packs and fled. The company commander, a young lieutenant, sent a platoon down the trail to investigate. Those few men soon found themselves outnumbered, surrounded, and fighting for their lives. Their first desperate moments marked the beginning of a series of bloody battles that lasted more than a week, one that survivors would later call “the nine days in May border battles.” Nine Days in May is the first full account of these bitterly contested battles. Part of Operation Francis Marion, they took place in the Ia Tchar Valley and the remote jungle west of Pleiku. Fought between three American battalions and two North Vietnamese Army regiments, this prolonged, deadly encounter was one of the largest, most savage actions seen by elements of the storied 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. Drawing on interviews with the participants, Warren K. Wilkins recreates the vicious fighting in gripping detail. This is a story of extraordinary courage and sacrifice displayed in a series of battles that were fought and won within the context of a broader, intractable strategic stalemate. When the guns finally fell silent, an unheralded American brigade received a Presidential Unit Citation and earned three of the twelve Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam.

"The fierce close combat in the remote areas of South Vietnam's northern provinces in 1967-1968 -- the battles of Hiep Duc, March 11, Nhi Ha, and Hill 406 -- has been strangely under-reported slice of the Vietnam War. Through the valley brings those battles into ... focus, chronicling the efforts of the ... Americal Division and the 196th Light Infantry Brigade ... Colonel Humphries draws on both his own combat experience and the eyewitness reports of fifty former veterans"--Jacket.

The fierce close combat in the remote areas of South Vietnam's northern provinces in 1967-68--the battles of Hiep Duc, March 11, Nhi Ha, and Hill 406--has been a strangely underreported slice of the Vietnam War. Through the Valley brings those battles into sharp focus, chronicling the efforts of the proud units of the Americal Division and the 196th Light Infantry Brigade against a stubborn enemy in long-forgotten villages and on torturous hills. Colonel Humphries draws on both his own combat experience and the eyewitness reports of fifty former veterans to reconstruct what it was like to fight in Vietnam.

Uses interviews with over eighty survivors to recount one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.