“The first definitive eyewitness account of the combat in Vietnam, this unforgettable, vividly illustrated report records the story of the 14,000 Americans fighting in a new kind of war. Written by one of the most knowledgeable and experienced of America’s war correspondents, Vietnam Diary shows how we developed new techniques for resisting wily guerrilla forces. Roaming the whole of war-torn Vietnam, Tregaskis takes his readers on the tense U.S. missions—with the Marine helicopters and the Army HU1B’s (Hueys); with the ground pounders on the embattled Delta area, the fiercest battlefield of Vietnam; then to the Special Forces, men chosen for the job of training Montagnard troops to resist Communists in the high jungles. Mr. Tregaskis tells the stirring human story of American fighting men deeply committed to their jobs—the Captain who says: “You have to feel that it’s a personal problem—that if they go under, we go under;” the wounded American advisor who deserted the hospital to rejoin his unit; the father of five killed on his first mission the day before Christmas; the advisor who wouldn’t take leave because he loved his wife and feared he would go astray in Saigon. And the dramatic battle reports cover the massive efforts of the Vietnamese troops to whom the Americans are leaders and advisors. An authority on the wars against communism is Asia, Tregaskis has reported extensively on the Chinese Civil War, Korea, the Guerrilla wars in Indochina, Malaya, and Indonesia. He was the winner of the George Polk Award in 1964 for reporting under hazardous conditions.-Print ed.

The year author K.G. McLaughlin graduated from high school, 1967, was known as ÒThe Summer of LoveÓ by an ever-increasing hippie movement that had been sweeping the country since shortly after the John Kennedy assassination in 1963. It was the best summer of his life. But that ended abruptly, he joined the Marines and was guaranteed a trip to Vietnam. In Scenes from a Vietnam-Era Diary, he chronicles his personal odyssey from a safe and content life in Cape Cod to a Marine Corps boot camp culture shock that unknowingly, at the time, was a gentle prelude to the hellish world of being a frontline combat soldier in Vietnam. Raw and uncomproming, McLaughlin presents a real-time, journal-based narrative describing combat while spending months in the hot, waterlogged, bug-infested jungle with one close call after another dodging bullets, bombs, and mines. Scenes from a Vietnam-Era Diary offers a multifaceted narrative of life, death, and the unspeakable horrors of serving in the Vietnam War.

Vietnam is a country with colourful past but it has also endured turbulent times. The Chinese dynasty reigned over Vietnam for over a thousand years, the French turned the country into its colony; and just a few decades ago Vietnam fought back to drive away a superpower like America with literally nothing but its tremendous courage and will power. Still, the country has always been loving and welcoming to visitors. It is to understand this bittersweet dichotomy that the author undertakes an incredible journey from the Extreme North to the Deep South of this magnificent country. Join Amitabha Gangopadhyay as he takes you on a fun, thrilling and fact-filled trip for two weeks to some landmark destinations across Vietnam, meanwhile introducing to us the nuances of Vietnamese life, history and culture. As he embraces the warm and welcoming hearts of the Vietnamese people during his travel, Amitabha reflects his experiences to share with the others. This book is not just a travel journal, but an outsider’s view and understanding the strength of a country that has seen turmoil but still ploughs on forward proudly.

In these excerpts from his diary, a young soldier records the ordeal of his war experiences and his inner conflicts as he reexamines his values in life.

A North Vietnamese diary helps an American come to terms with the war

Elite and highly trained, the 3d Force Recon's eight-man teams were assigned to obtain vital information about NVA operations. Alone, the men of these small teams were sent behind enemy lines, where they all knew that a single mistake could cost everyone their lives. United States Navy Hospital Corpsman Bruce Norton was the only navy corpsman to act as a Marine Force Recon Team Leader. In Force Recon Diary, 1969 Doc Norton chronicles his life, mission by mission, with the 3d Force Recon in the DMZ and the A Shau Valley. He describes the tense patrols, the supreme courage, the sacrifices—in ambushes and hot landing zones—that made this courageous company one of only two Marine units during the entire Vietnam War to receive the United States Army's Valorous Unit Citation.

This volume provides a riveting firsthand account of the most intense fighting of the Vietnam War - DMZ 1968, where death was sudden, life stripped of the superfluous. The author recounts harrowing experiences as a radioman in a Marine rifle company near the North Vietnamese border.

Originally published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1988.

Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal BEST MEMOIR OF 2014. Originally published in 1990, this classic work has now been revised and updated with 50,000 words of additional narrative and previously unpublished photos. It is the story of how, in Vietnam, an elite group of Air Force pilots fought a secret air war in Cessna 0-2 and OV-10 Bronco prop planes--flying as low as they could get. The eyes and ears of the fast-moving jets who rained death and destruction down on enemy positions, the Forward Air Controller made an art form out of an air strike--knowing the targets, knowing where friendly troops were, and reacting with split-second, life and death decisions as a battle unfolded. The expertise of the low, slow FACs, as well as the hazard attendant to their role, made for a unique birds-eye perspective on how the entire war in Vietnam unfolded. For Tom Yarborough, who logged 1,500 hours of combat flying time, the risk was constant, intense and electrifying. A member of the super-secret "Prairie Fire" unit, Yarborough became one of the most frequently shot-up pilots flying out of Da Nang--engaging in a series of dangerous secret missions in Laos. In this work, the reader flies in the cockpit alongside Yarborough in his adrenaline-pumping chronicle of heroism, danger and wartime brotherhood. From the rescuing of downed pilots to taking out enemy positions, to the most harrowing extended missions directly overhead of the NVA, here is the dedication, courage and skill of the fliers who took the war into the enemy's backyard. Colonel Tom Yarborough, USAF (ret.) served in the Air Force for thirty years in a variety of flying and staff assignments. A command pilot, during his two Vietnam tours as a forward air controller, he earned thirty combat decorations, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He currently lives in Springfield, Virginia, where he maintains ties to the academic community as an adjunct history professor at Northern Virginia Community College.