Young Soldiers Amazing Warriors: Inside One of the Most Highly Decorated Battalions of Vietnam
Book Details
Author(s)Robert H. Sholly
PublisherStonywood Publications
ISBN / ASINB00IO8RF4E
ISBN-13978B00IO8RF42
Sales Rank41,045
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
“The best book I have ever read about combat in Vietnam.†— Major General Thomas P. Lynch, USA (Ret.)
What was it like to be on the front lines in a controversial war thousands of miles away from home?
A powerful and moving account of a highly-decorated battalion’s journey through extraordinary times, this action packed story waited 47 years to be told. It is finally available to the public who should be aware of the sacrifices put forth by the men sent to war in Vietnam a half century ago. Incorporating the author’s viewpoint, taken from his daily journals, the non-political story line is augmented by remembrances of his men about the same events as they occurred.
Firefights and battles are described as the men of the battalion fight them. Action is intense. The book covers the stories of the men who fought with great valor and bravery, sometimes against literally overwhelming odds. A platoon is overrun by the enemy and the acting-platoon leader calls artillery fire on its position. The combat tempo is such that in a 60-day period, four men were awarded the Medal of Honor, and five men received the Distinguished Service Cross for actions above and beyond the call of duty to include several incidents where men gave their lives.
Before they encountered even the first adversary, the young soldiers had to learn how to overcome and cope with the weather, terrain, flora and fauna. These conditions could not be duplicated in training, so it was all on the job training, faced by an armed enemy. When someone thinks about combat, they don’t think about killer ants, mosquitoes, termites, leeches, hornets, and bees. Because a U.S. soldier is considered to be the fiercest predator in the jungle, not much thought is given to tigers, elephants, venomous snakes, raucous monkeys and untrusting water buffalo, though any one of those will disturb a day. Other environmental obstacles to be overcome are the slippery slopes of precipitous mountains, the rushing and dangerous streams to be crossed, bamboo thickets with closely-spaced 8-inch diameter bamboo stalks hindering movement by soldiers with 70-pound rucksacks on their backs, trees with 6-inch toxic spikes, difficult to see wait-a-minute vines snag clothing and equipment. All of this to be moved through in monsoon downpours or drought periods where water has to be lowered from helicopters through the triple canopy forest. Sometimes movement is held to 2-5 kilometers (1-3 miles) in a day, while at other times forced marches and runs for up to 20 plus miles are required with an evening ground assault at the end of the march to clear an unsecured area for a firebase. This book is raw infantry with no excuses for the mission or apologies for the way it went down. In the Central Highlands of Vietnam, this is the way it was.
This critically-praised book was the Grand Prize Winner of the Great Southeast Book Festival, the winner of the Military Non-Fiction Award given by the National Indie Excellence Awards and recipient of 18 other book awards.
What was it like to be on the front lines in a controversial war thousands of miles away from home?
A powerful and moving account of a highly-decorated battalion’s journey through extraordinary times, this action packed story waited 47 years to be told. It is finally available to the public who should be aware of the sacrifices put forth by the men sent to war in Vietnam a half century ago. Incorporating the author’s viewpoint, taken from his daily journals, the non-political story line is augmented by remembrances of his men about the same events as they occurred.
Firefights and battles are described as the men of the battalion fight them. Action is intense. The book covers the stories of the men who fought with great valor and bravery, sometimes against literally overwhelming odds. A platoon is overrun by the enemy and the acting-platoon leader calls artillery fire on its position. The combat tempo is such that in a 60-day period, four men were awarded the Medal of Honor, and five men received the Distinguished Service Cross for actions above and beyond the call of duty to include several incidents where men gave their lives.
Before they encountered even the first adversary, the young soldiers had to learn how to overcome and cope with the weather, terrain, flora and fauna. These conditions could not be duplicated in training, so it was all on the job training, faced by an armed enemy. When someone thinks about combat, they don’t think about killer ants, mosquitoes, termites, leeches, hornets, and bees. Because a U.S. soldier is considered to be the fiercest predator in the jungle, not much thought is given to tigers, elephants, venomous snakes, raucous monkeys and untrusting water buffalo, though any one of those will disturb a day. Other environmental obstacles to be overcome are the slippery slopes of precipitous mountains, the rushing and dangerous streams to be crossed, bamboo thickets with closely-spaced 8-inch diameter bamboo stalks hindering movement by soldiers with 70-pound rucksacks on their backs, trees with 6-inch toxic spikes, difficult to see wait-a-minute vines snag clothing and equipment. All of this to be moved through in monsoon downpours or drought periods where water has to be lowered from helicopters through the triple canopy forest. Sometimes movement is held to 2-5 kilometers (1-3 miles) in a day, while at other times forced marches and runs for up to 20 plus miles are required with an evening ground assault at the end of the march to clear an unsecured area for a firebase. This book is raw infantry with no excuses for the mission or apologies for the way it went down. In the Central Highlands of Vietnam, this is the way it was.
This critically-praised book was the Grand Prize Winner of the Great Southeast Book Festival, the winner of the Military Non-Fiction Award given by the National Indie Excellence Awards and recipient of 18 other book awards.
