Military Vietnam

Flying Blind chronicles the adventures of gifted aviator Jean-Louis Thibodeaux in Indo-China during and after the Vietnam War. Following the novel The Train by Tony Jordan, Flying Blind finds the young protagonist, who is assigned the mission of rescuing downed aircrew members, struggling to survive a 365-day tour of duty in a combat squadron during the Vietnam War. Thibodeaux has joined the US Air Force intent on becoming a jet pilot…but sabotage and injury lead to a different fate. A skilled nighttime helicopter pilot, Thibodeaux flies a specially equipped aircraft that allows for ...

In 1967, something has changed, and not in a good way. For the first time, the communists are holding territory that they have captured near the borders of Laos and North Vietnam. It could be that the leaders in Hanoi want to secure supply and reinforcement routes into South Vietnam… or it could be something far more nefarious. The communists’ new strategy is an opportunity for the U.S. military and its allies to finally engage their enemy in a large-scale, set-piece battle that would allow American airpower and artillery to destroy a massive enemy force. It’s tempting bait. Such a ...

Musgrave writes honestly about his struggle to balance his deep love for the Marine Corps against his responsibility as a citizen to protect the very troops asked to protect America at all costs. Fiercely perceptive and candid, The Education of Corporal John Musgrave is one of the most powerful memoirs to emerge from the war.

Dereliction of Duty is a stunning analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations, and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. McMaster pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants.

Glamour, danger, liberation: in a Mad Men–era of commercial flight, Pan Am World Airways attracted the kind of young woman who wanted out, and wanted up. Required to have a college education, speak two languages, and possess the political savvy of a Foreign Service officer, a jet-age stewardess serving on iconic Pan Am between 1966 and 1975 also had to be between 5′3" and 5′9", between 105 and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of age at the time of hire.

In this landmark work that will forever change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam, author Fredrik Logevall taps newly accessible diplomatic archives in several nations and traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He brings to life the bloodiest battles of France’s final years in Indochina - and describes how, from an early point, a succession of American leaders made disastrous policy choices that put America on its own collision course with history.

"Green Shadows: A History of the Special Forces" is a comprehensive exploration of the origins, evolution, and significant contributions of the Green Berets. This book delves into the formation of the Special Forces, tracing their roots back to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the First Special Service Force. It examines the pivotal role played by President John F. Kennedy in establishing the Green Berets as a unique and elite force within the military. The book also highlights the Green Berets' involvement in various global conflicts, including their crucial role in Vietnam and ...

Days before he was drafted in 1962, Dennis Foley volunteered to join the army in the hopes of someday getting into West Point. He was only eighteen years old. At basic training in Fort Dix, New Jersey, a presentation by two impressive, self-confident special forces sergeants made an indelible impression on him. His career would come full circle. In 1972, wearing a green beret, Foley would be given command of his own A-Team.

Haunted by guilt, a soldier-turned-priest is drawn back into war, forced to confront evil with ruthless violence. Sean Nolan had his life mapped out, working toward a commission in the US Army. Until he blames himself for a friend’s death. Desperate to make amends, he abandons his military dreams for a career that could not be more different. He becomes a priest. His vocation ends suddenly when an inner drive for justice compels him to kill a man guilty of rape and murder. Driven again by guilt, Nolan enlists in the US Army as penance, serving two tours in Vietnam. Though he proves ...

Corporal Rick Heller is near the end of his tour and looking forward to going home to pick up the threads of his life. To be reunited with his fiancée and get married. To get his life back on course, but somehow, Vietnam casts a dark shadow over the lives of those who served. Heller is fated to be no exception. Ditched by his girl, he suddenly realized he has nothing left. His life, his plans, and his ambitions are in tatters. MACV is desperate to retain good men, experienced jungle fighters. Offers promotion and the chance to join a new unit, the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. Known as...

Nothing Ever Dies, Viet Thanh Nguyen writes. All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory. From the author of the best-selling novel The Sympathizer comes a searching exploration of a conflict that lives on in the collective memory of both the Americans and the Vietnamese.

Most scholars and analysts believe that the primary cause of our abysmal war record since Vietnam has been the US military’s overwhelmingly conventional approach to conflict, which favors kinetic operations, highly mobile precision firepower, and sophisticated systems of command and control. Here, James Warren argues that a much more formidable obstacle to success has been pervasive strategic ineptitude at the highest levels of decision-making, including the presidency, the national security council, and the foreign policy community in DC.

Chief Petty Officer James "Patches" Watson was there at the start. One of the first to come out of the famed Underwater Demolition Team 21, he was an initial member—a "plank owner"—of America's deadliest and most elite fighting force, the U.S. Navy SEALs. Through three tours in the jungle hell of Vietnam, he walked the point—staying alert to trip wires, booby traps, and punji pits, guiding his squad of amphibious fighters on missions of rescue, reconnaissance, and demolition—confronting a war's unique terrors head-on, unprotected . . . and unafraid.

From its terrifying opening to its final eloquent words, Dispatches makes us see, in unforgettable and unflinching detail, the chaos and fervor of the war and the surreal insanity of life in that singular combat zone. Michael Herr’s unsparing, unorthodox retellings of the day-to-day events in Vietnam take on the force of poetry, rendering clarity from one of the most incomprehensible and nightmarish events of our time.

Dan Pedersen takes listeners on a colorful and thrilling ride - from Miramar to Area 51 to the decks of aircraft carriers in war and peace - through a historic moment in air warfare. He helped establish a legacy that was built by him and his "Original Eight" - the best of the best - and carried on for six decades by some of America's greatest leaders. Topgun is a heartfelt and personal testimonial to patriotism, sacrifice, and American innovation and daring.

In October 1969, Captain William Albracht, the youngest Green Beret in Vietnam, took command of a remote hilltop outpost called Fire Base Kate, held by only 27 American soldiers and 150 Montagnard militiamen. He found their defenses woefully unprepared. At dawn the next morning, three North Vietnamese Army regiments - some 6,000 men - crossed the Cambodian border and attacked.

While most historians of the Vietnam War focus on the origins of US involvement and the Americanization of the conflict, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen examines the international context in which North Vietnamese leaders pursued the war and American intervention ended. This riveting narrative takes the listener from the marshy Mekong Delta swamps to the bomb-saturated Red River Delta, from the corridors of power in Hanoi and Saigon to the Nixon White House, and from the peace negotiations in Paris to high-level meetings in Beijing and Moscow.

For those seeking answers as to how the United States became bogged down in Vietnam, War During Peace: A Strategy for Defeat is a must-read. As evidenced by the book's voluminous bibliography, this book is carefully researched and documented. The book details the strategic mistakes made in Washington, D.C. between 1965 and 1968 during the Vietnam War. War During Peace: A Strategy for Defeat offers a probing examination of civil-military relationship gone wrong is a major contribution to military science and to the field of civil-military relations. Detailing the flaws in the Johnson ...

In the crucible of war, where death and survival walk hand in hand, one man grapples with faith, duty, and the meaning of sacrifice. John Peck, a young Navy corpsman deployed to Vietnam in 1967, found himself on the front lines—not just of combat, but of an inner war between doubt and belief. Charged with the immense responsibility of saving lives amidst the relentless violence of war, Peck bore witness to the rawest forms of courage, loyalty, and loss. His days were filled with the agony of the wounded, the chaos of battle, and the unspoken fear that each mission might be his last. Yet, ...

Dive into the fiery maelstrom of the Tet Offensive in Crucible of War, the latest gripping installment in the Airmen Series - the continuing story of American involvement in Vietnam. During a raid on a VC camp, CIA operative Granier stumbles upon a chilling revelation – two of Ho Chi Minh's tapes detailing plans for a monumental assault on multiple cities. Faced with this imminent threat, Granier embarks on a desperate race against time to convince dismissive American commanders of the impending danger. As the Tet Offensive ignites, Granier draws upon his lethal sniper skills in Saigon, ...