Vietnam War Combat Poetry

Vietnam War Combat Poetry By: SP-5 Nelden John Herron

In this unique and significant addition to Vietnam studies, Memories of a Lost War analyzes the poems written by American veterans, protest poets, and Vietnamese, within political, aesthetic, and cultural contexts. Drawing on a wealth of material often published in small presses and journals, the book highlights the horrors of war and the continuing traumas of veterans in post-Vietnam America. In its inclusion of Vietnamese perspectives, the book marks a departure from earlier works that have largely concentrated on Vietnam as a war rather than a country.

A collection of poems by Vietnam War veterans.

The Battle for “Charlie” took place in 1972 during the Vietnam War after most American troops had been withdrawn. A battalion of South Vietnamese paratroopers made a stand reminiscent of the Spartans at Thermopylae in 480 BC. The heroic ARVN troops fought with a single American advisor—Major John J. Duffy, who directed critical American air support and the breakout.Thousands of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops invaded the South with overwhelming ground combat strength, supported by long-range artillery and tanks. They were part of a force ordered to conquer the South by cutting it in half. In the Central Highlands, the 11th Airborne Battalion was flown to a mountain pass designated “Charlie” and ordered to block the large NVA force at all costs. Two weeks of vicious close-range fighting ended with both sides suffering horrific casualties. The greatly outnumbered ARVN paratroopers fought until 90% of their comrades were dead or disabled. The enemy death toll exceeded 1,000 and caused a two-week delay in the invasion timetable. This setback in their strategy caused the overall invasion to fail and forced an NVA withdrawal.Victory was won at great cost. Only 37 of the 471 paratroopers escaped the encirclement. Major Duffy was wounded several times while controlling critical air support throughout the battle. Because he had the only ground-air radio, he was targeted by the NVA as he planned and led a daring escape through enemy lines and ambushes. Under fire at the jungle landing zone, he was the last man to board the rescue chopper after assisting and confirming all troops were safely aboard. Major Duffy received the Distinguished Service Cross for valor and for saving the lives of the survivors.The story is told with poems, eyewitness accounts, and transcripts of a tape-recording by eyewitness (evacuation helicopter co-pilot).

Through the story of the brief, brave life of a promising poet, the president and CEO of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art evokes the turmoil and tragedy of the Vietnam War era. In That Time tells the story of the American experience in Vietnam through the life of Michael O'Donnell, a bright young musician and poet who served as a soldier and helicopter pilot. O'Donnell wrote with great sensitivity and poetic force, and his best-known poem is among the most beloved of the war. In 1970, during an attempt to rescue fellow soldiers stranded under heavy fire, O'Donnell's helicopter was shot down in the jungles of Cambodia. He remained missing in action for almost three decades. Although he never fired a shot in Vietnam, O'Donnell served in one of the most dangerous roles of the war, all the while using poetry to express his inner feelings and to reflect on the tragedy that was unfolding around him. O'Donnell's life is both a powerful, personal story and a compelling, universal one about how America lost its way in the 1960s, but also how hope can flower in the margins of even the darkest chapters of the American story.