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Books > Humanities > History > American history > From 1900

Capturing Skunk Alpha - A Barrio Sailor's Journey in Vietnam (Paperback): Raúl Herrera, John E. O'Neill Capturing Skunk Alpha - A Barrio Sailor's Journey in Vietnam (Paperback)
Raúl Herrera, John E. O'Neill
R741 R617 Discovery Miles 6 170 Save R124 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

On the evening of July 11, 1967, a Navy surveillance aircraft spotted a suspicious trawler in international waters heading toward the Quang Ngai coast of South Vietnam. While the ship tried to appear innocuous on its deck, Saigon quickly identified it as an enemy gunrunner, codenamed Skunk Alpha. A four-seaborne intercept task force was established and formed a barrier inside South Vietnam’s twelve-mile territorial boundary. As the enemy ship ignored all orders to surrender and neared the Sa Ky River at the tip of the Batangan Peninsula, Swift Boat PCF-79 was ordered to take the trawler under fire. What followed was ship-to-ship combat action not seen since World War II. Capturing Skunk Alpha relates that breathtaking military encounter to readers for the first time. But Capturing Skunk Alpha is also the tale of one sailor’s journey to the deck of PCF-79. Two years earlier, Raúl Herrera was growing up on the west side of San Antonio, Texas, when he answered the call to duty and joined the US Navy. Raúl was assigned to PCF Crew Training and joined a ragtag six-man Swift Boat crew with a mission to prevent the infiltration of resupply ships from North Vietnam. The brave sailors who steered into harm’s way in war-torn Vietnam would keep more than ninety tons of ammunition and supplies from the Viet Cong and NVA forces. The Viet Cong would post a bounty on PCF-79; Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and Chief of State Nguyễn Văn Thiệu would congratulate and decorate them for their heroism. Capturing Skunk Alpha provides an eyewitness account of a pivotal moment in Navy operations while also chronicling one sailor’s unlikely journey from barrio adolescence to perilous combat action on the high seas. 

Hal Moore - A Soldier Once...and Always (Paperback): Mike Guardia Hal Moore - A Soldier Once...and Always (Paperback)
Mike Guardia
R428 Discovery Miles 4 280 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Hal Moore, one of the most admired American combat leaders of the last 50 years, has until now been best known to the public for being portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie "We Were Soldiers." In this first-ever, fully illustrated biography, we finally learn the full story of one of America's true military heroes. A 1945 graduate of West Point, Moore's first combats occurred during the Korean War, where he fought in the battles of Old Baldy, T-Bone, and Pork Chop Hill. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, Moore commanded the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry in the first full-fledged battle between U.S. and North Vietnamese regulars. Drastically outnumbered and nearly overrun, Moore led from the front, and though losing 79 soldiers, accounted for 1,200 of the enemy before the Communists withdrew. This Battle of Ia Drang pioneered the use of "air mobile infantry" - delivering troops into battle via helicopter - which became the staple of U.S. operations for the remainder of the war. He later wrote of his experiences in the best-selling book, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young. Following his tour in Vietnam, he assumed command of the 7th Infantry Division, forward-stationed in South Korea, and in 1971, he took command of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord, California. In this capacity, he oversaw the US Army's transition from a conscript-based to an all-volunteer force. He retired as a Lieutenant General in 1977. At this writing, Hal Moore is 90 years old and living quietly in Auburn, Alabama. He graciously allowed the author interviews and granted full access to his files and collection of letters, documents, and never-before-published photographs.

Saigon to Pleiku - A Counterintelligence Agent in Vietnam's Central Highlands, 1962-1963 (Paperback): David Grant Noble Saigon to Pleiku - A Counterintelligence Agent in Vietnam's Central Highlands, 1962-1963 (Paperback)
David Grant Noble
R1,221 R898 Discovery Miles 8 980 Save R323 (26%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Initially stationed at the U.S. Army's counterintelligence headquarters in Saigon, David Noble was sent north to launch the army's first covert intelligence-gathering operation in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Living in the region of the Montagnards-Vietnam's indigenous tribal people, deemed critical to winning the war-Noble documented strategic hamlets and Green Beret training camps, where Special Forces teams taught the Montagnards to use rifles rather than crossbows and spears. In this book, he relates the formidable challenges he confronted in the course of his work. Weaving together memoir, excerpts from letters written home, and photographs, Noble's compelling narrative throws light on a little-known corner of the Vietnam War in its early years-before the Tonkin Gulf Resolution and the deployment of combat units-and traces his transformation from a novice intelligence agent and believer in the war to a political dissenter and active protester.

Fire Road - The Napalm Girl's Journey Through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace (Paperback): Kim Phuc... Fire Road - The Napalm Girl's Journey Through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace (Paperback)
Kim Phuc Phan Thi
R465 R391 Discovery Miles 3 910 Save R74 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Get out! Run! We must leave this place! They are going to destroy this whole place! Go, children, run first! Go now!

These were the final shouts nine year-old Kim Phuc heard before her world dissolved into flames―before napalm bombs fell from the sky, burning away her clothing and searing deep into her skin. It’s a moment forever captured, an iconic image that has come to define the horror and violence of the Vietnam War. Kim was left for dead in a morgue; no one expected her to survive the attack. Napalm meant fire, and fire meant death.

Against all odds, Kim lived―but her journey toward healing was only beginning. When the napalm bombs dropped, everything Kim knew and relied on exploded along with them: her home, her country’s freedom, her childhood innocence and happiness. The coming years would be marked by excruciating treatments for her burns and unrelenting physical pain throughout her body, which were constant reminders of that terrible day. Kim survived the pain of her body ablaze, but how could she possibly survive the pain of her devastated soul?

Fire Road is the true story of how she found the answer in a God who suffered Himself; a Savior who truly understood and cared about the depths of her pain. Fire Road is a story of horror and hope, a harrowing tale of a life changed in an instant―and the power and resilience that can only be found in the power of God’s mercy and love.

War in the Villages - The U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons in the Vietnam War (Hardcover): Ted N. Easterling War in the Villages - The U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons in the Vietnam War (Hardcover)
Ted N. Easterling
R917 Discovery Miles 9 170 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Much of the history written about the Vietnam War overlooks the U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons. These CAPs lived in the Vietnamese villages, with the difficult and dangerous mission of defending the villages from both the National Liberation Front guerrillas and the soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army. The CAPs also worked to improve living conditions by helping the people with projects, such as building schools, bridges, and irrigation systems for their fields. In War in the Villages, Ted Easterling examines how well the CAPs performed as a counterinsurgency method, how the Marines adjusted to life in the Vietnamese villages, and how they worked to accomplish their mission. The CAPs generally performed their counterinsurgency role well, but they were hampered by factors beyond their control. Most important was the conflict between the Army and the Marine Corps over an appropriate strategy for the Vietnam War, along with weakness of the government of the Republic of South Vietnam and the strategic and the tactical ability of the North Vietnamese Army. War in the Villages helps to explain how and why this potential was realized and squandered. Marines who served in the CAPs served honorably in difficult circumstances. Most of these Marines believed they were helping the people of South Vietnam, and they served superbly. The failure to end the war more favorably was no fault of theirs.

Writings from Vietnam (Paperback): Mary Barbara McKay Writings from Vietnam (Paperback)
Mary Barbara McKay
R350 R285 Discovery Miles 2 850 Save R65 (19%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Story Of Vietnam War - The Disrespect Of Australians: Know About Australians Tours Of Duty In South Vietnam (Paperback):... Story Of Vietnam War - The Disrespect Of Australians: Know About Australians Tours Of Duty In South Vietnam (Paperback)
Phillis Lavery
R252 Discovery Miles 2 520 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
JFK and de Gaulle - How America and France Failed in Vietnam, 1961-1963 (Hardcover): Sean J. Mclaughlin JFK and de Gaulle - How America and France Failed in Vietnam, 1961-1963 (Hardcover)
Sean J. Mclaughlin
R889 Discovery Miles 8 890 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Despite French President Charles de Gaulle's persistent efforts to constructively share French experience and use his resources to help engineer an American exit from Vietnam, the Kennedy administration responded to de Gaulle's peace initiatives with bitter silence and inaction. The administration's response ignited a series of events that dealt a massive blow to American prestige across the globe, resulting in the deaths of over fifty-eight thousand American soldiers and turning hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese citizens into refugees. This history of Franco-American relations during the Kennedy presidency explores how and why France and the US disagreed over the proper western strategy for the Vietnam War. France clearly had more direct political experience in Vietnam, but France's postwar decolonization cemented Kennedy's perception that the French were characterized by a toxic mixture of short-sightedness, stubbornness, and indifference to the collective interests of the West. At no point did the Kennedy administration give serious consideration to de Gaulle's proposals or entertain the notion of using his services as an honest broker in order to disengage from a situation that was rapidly spiraling out of control. Kennedy's Francophobia, the roots of which appear in a selection of private writings from Kennedy's undergraduate years at Harvard, biased his decision-making. The course of action Kennedy chose in 1963, a rejection of the French peace program, all but handcuffed Lyndon Johnson into formally entering a war he knew the United States had little chance of winning.

Memorial Days - Vietnam Stories, 1973-2022 (Paperback): Wayne Karlin Memorial Days - Vietnam Stories, 1973-2022 (Paperback)
Wayne Karlin
R693 R571 Discovery Miles 5 710 Save R122 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The conflict in Vietnam has been rewritten and reframed into many corners of American life and has long shadowed contemporary political science and foreign policy. The war and its aftermath have engendered award-winning films and books. It has held up a mirror to the twentieth century and to the wars of the twenty-first. Set in wartime Vietnam and contemporary Vietnam, in wartime America and in America today, the stories that comprise Memorial Days were written from 1973 to the present. As our continuing reappraisals of the war's shadow have unspooled over the last half-decade, so too has Wayne Karlin returned to the subject in his fiction, collected and published together here for the first time. A girl in Maryland runs away from Civil War reenactors she imagines to be American soldiers in Vietnam, while a woman in Vietnam hides in the jungle from an American helicopter and another tries to bury the relics of the war. A man mourns a friend lost in Iraq while a helicopter crewman in Quang Tri loads the broken and dead into his aircraft. Extras playing soldiers in a war film in present-day Vietnam model themselves after other war films while a Marine in a war sees himself as a movie character. A snake coiled around the collective control of a helicopter in Vietnam uncoils in a soldier come home from Iraq. The chronology is the chronology of dreams or nightmares or triggered flashbacks: images and incidents triggering other images and incidents in a sequence that seems to make no sense-which is exactly the sense it makes. Some stories burn with the fresh experiences of a Marine witnessing war firsthand. Some stories radiate a long-abiding grief. All the stories reflect and reconfigure the Vietnam War as it echoes into the present century, under the light of retrospection.

Seawolf 28 (Paperback): Alan James Billings Seawolf 28 (Paperback)
Alan James Billings
R548 Discovery Miles 5 480 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
The Round Whisper of No Moon (Paperback): Peter Kaufmann The Round Whisper of No Moon (Paperback)
Peter Kaufmann
R444 R382 Discovery Miles 3 820 Save R62 (14%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Lost in Vietnam (Hardcover): Chuck Forsman, Le Ly Hayslip Lost in Vietnam (Hardcover)
Chuck Forsman, Le Ly Hayslip
R977 R778 Discovery Miles 7 780 Save R199 (20%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Vietnam is an ancient and beautiful land, with a deep history of occupational conflict that remains an enigma in Americans' collective memory. It is still easy to forget that Vietnam is a country and not a war, even as America's role in Vietnam inflamed and divided the American citizenry in ways that are still evident today. It is as if Vietnam's civil war resurrected our own. And if you are a Vietnam War veteran or a family member of a vet, it's worse, because, even after a half-century, many of the wounds won't heal. What do you do when you have given up on forgetting? Chuck Forsman is one of a sizable number of aging Vietnam vets who have found deep satisfaction in revisiting Vietnam, supporting charities, orphanages, and clinics, doing volunteer work and more-anything to redeem what the U.S. military did there. He is also a renowned painter and photographer who depicts places and environments in ways that become unforgettable visual experiences for the contemporary viewer. Lost in Vietnam chronicles a journey, not a country. They were taken on visits averaging two months each and two-year intervals over a decade. Forsman traveled largely by motorbike throughout the country-south, central, and north-sharing his experiences through amazing photographs of Vietnam's lands and people. His visual journey of one such veteran's twofold quest: the one for redemption and understanding, and the other to make art. The renowned Le Ly Hayslip introduces the book and sets the table for Forsman's incredible sojourn.

Destroy and Build - Pacification in Phuoc Thuy, 1966-72 (Hardcover): Thomas Richardson Destroy and Build - Pacification in Phuoc Thuy, 1966-72 (Hardcover)
Thomas Richardson
R1,446 Discovery Miles 14 460 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In 2002, Governor General Michael Jeffrey stated that 'we Australians had everything under control in Phuoc Tuy Province'. This referred not only to military control, but to the policy of 'pacification' employed by the Republic of Vietnam and external 'Free World' allies such as the US and Australia. In the hopes of stemming the tide of Communism, pacification aimed to win the allegiance of the populace through political, economic and social reform. In this new work, Thomas Richardson explores the 1st Australian Task Force's (1ATF) implementation of this policy in Phuoc Tuy between 1966 and 1972. Using material from US and Australian archives, as well as newly translated Vietnamese histories, Destroy and Build: Pacification in Phuoc Tuy, 1966-1972 challenges the accepted historiography of the Western forces' fight against insurgency in Vietnam.

Sog Medic - Stories from Vietnam and Over the Fence (Hardcover): Joe Parnar, Robert Dumont Sog Medic - Stories from Vietnam and Over the Fence (Hardcover)
Joe Parnar, Robert Dumont
R767 R605 Discovery Miles 6 050 Save R162 (21%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Elite units carried out many dangerous operations during the Vietnam War, the most secret and hazardous of which were conducted by the Studies and Observations Group, formed in 1964. In the years since the Vietnam War, the elite unit known as SOG has spawned many myths, legends and war stories. Special Forces medic Joe Parnar served with SOG during 1968 in FOB2/CCC near the tri-border area that gave them access to the forbidden areas of Laos and Cambodia. Parnar recounts his time with the recon men of this highly classified unit, as his job involved a unique combination of soldiering and lifesaving. His stories capture the extraordinary commitment made by all the men of SOG and reveal the special dedication of the medics, who put their own lives at risk to save the lives of their teammates. Parnar also discusses his medical training with the Special Forces. During his tour with SOG, Parnar served as a dispensary medic, chase medic, Hatchet Force medic and as a recon team member. This variety of roles gave him experience not only in combat but in dealing with and treating the civilians and indigenous peoples of that area. There is a graphic account of a Laotian operation involving America's most decorated soldier, Robert Howard, during which Parnar had to treat a man with a blown-off foot alongside nearly fifty other casualties. It is a reminder of the enormous responsibility and burden that a medic carried. This new edition of SOG Medic makes this highly-praised and sought-after book available again once more, with additional photos and maps.

North to Canada - Men and Women Against the Vietnam War (Paperback): James L. Dickerson North to Canada - Men and Women Against the Vietnam War (Paperback)
James L. Dickerson
R584 R514 Discovery Miles 5 140 Save R70 (12%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Viet Nam - A History from Earliest Times to the Present (Hardcover): Ben Kiernan Viet Nam - A History from Earliest Times to the Present (Hardcover)
Ben Kiernan
R1,786 R1,595 Discovery Miles 15 950 Save R191 (11%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book narrates the history of the different peoples who have lived in the three major regions of Viet Nam over the past 3,000 years. It brings to life their relationships with these regions' landscapes, water resources, and climatic conditions, their changing cultures and religious traditions, and their interactions with their neighbors in China and Southeast Asia. Key themes include the dramatic impact of changing weather patterns from ancient to medieval and modern times, the central importance of riverine and maritime communications, ecological and economic transformations, and linguistic and literary changes. The country's long experience of regional diversity, multi-ethnic populations, and a multi-religious heritage that ranges from local spirit cults to the influences of Buddhism, Confucianism and Catholicism, makes for a vividly pluralistic narrative. The arcs of Vietnamese history include the rise and fall of different political formations, from chiefdoms to Chinese provinces, from independent kingdoms to divided regions, civil wars, French colonies, and modern republics. In the twentieth century anticolonial nationalism, the worldwide depression, Japanese occupation, a French attempt at reconquest, the traumatic American-Vietnamese war, and the 1975 communist victory all set the scene for the making of contemporary Viet Nam. Rapid economic growth in recent decades has transformed this one-party state into a global trading nation. Yet its rich history still casts a long shadow. Along with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Viet Nam is now involved in a tense territorial standoff in the South China Sea, as a rival of China and a "partner" of the United States. If its independence and future geographical unity seem assured, Viet Nam's regional security and prospects for democracy remain clouded.

Surviving Combat Memories - Surviving with aftermath of Vietnam War (Paperback): Russ Warriner Surviving Combat Memories - Surviving with aftermath of Vietnam War (Paperback)
Russ Warriner
R310 R256 Discovery Miles 2 560 Save R54 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Long Slow Target (Paperback): Larry Allen Lindsey Long Slow Target (Paperback)
Larry Allen Lindsey
R517 R457 Discovery Miles 4 570 Save R60 (12%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
The Tet Offensive - A Concise History (Paperback): James Willbanks The Tet Offensive - A Concise History (Paperback)
James Willbanks
R838 R714 Discovery Miles 7 140 Save R124 (15%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In the Tet Offensive of 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched a massive countrywide attack on South Vietnam. Though the Communists failed to achieve their tactical and operational objectives, James Willbanks claims Hanoi won a strategic victory. The offensive proved that America's progress was grossly overstated and caused many Americans and key presidential advisors to question the wisdom of prolonging combat.

Willbanks also maintains that the Communists laid siege to a Marine combat base two weeks prior to the Tet Offensive-known as the Battle of Khe Sanh--to distract the United States. It is his belief that these two events are intimately linked, and in his concise and compelling history, he presents an engaging portrait of the conflicts and singles out key problems of interpretation.

Willbanks divides his study into six sections, beginning with a historical overview of the events leading up to the offensive, the attack itself, and the consequent battles of Saigon, Hue, and Khe Sahn. He continues with a critical assessment of the main themes and issues surrounding the offensive, and concludes with excerpts from American and Vietnamese documents, maps and chronologies, an annotated list of resources, and a short encyclopedia of key people, places, and events.

An experienced military historian and scholar of the Vietnam War, Willbanks has written a unique critical reference and guide that enlarges the debate surrounding this important turning point in America's longest war.

Faced With Life-Or-Death Decisions - Way To Survive On This Deadly Cliff: Journey About People Finding Survival With Deadly... Faced With Life-Or-Death Decisions - Way To Survive On This Deadly Cliff: Journey About People Finding Survival With Deadly Cliffhangers (Paperback)
Arthur Sturch
R238 Discovery Miles 2 380 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Journey Of Soldiers In War - Story About An Arduous Journey Of Soldiers Finding Survival In War: How Suffering From... Journey Of Soldiers In War - Story About An Arduous Journey Of Soldiers Finding Survival In War: How Suffering From Survivor'S Guilt In War (Paperback)
Tyson Migdal
R282 Discovery Miles 2 820 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Stories Of Soldiers In War - An Arduous Journey Of Soldiers Finding Survival In War: Adventure Of Finding Survival Of Soldier... Stories Of Soldiers In War - An Arduous Journey Of Soldiers Finding Survival In War: Adventure Of Finding Survival Of Soldier In War (Paperback)
Earleen Matsu
R282 Discovery Miles 2 820 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Unpopular War - Story About Paratrooper In Vietnam War: The Battle In Vietnam (Paperback): Bernadette Goodson Unpopular War - Story About Paratrooper In Vietnam War: The Battle In Vietnam (Paperback)
Bernadette Goodson
R282 Discovery Miles 2 820 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Rant, Whine & Bitch - Chronicles of Dragon Brigade (Paperback): Jimmie Moore Rant, Whine & Bitch - Chronicles of Dragon Brigade (Paperback)
Jimmie Moore
R525 Discovery Miles 5 250 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
The War In South Vietnam - A Story Of Combat Operations In South Vietnam: A Story Of Combat Operations In South Vietnam... The War In South Vietnam - A Story Of Combat Operations In South Vietnam: A Story Of Combat Operations In South Vietnam (Paperback)
Latrina Lautz
R398 Discovery Miles 3 980 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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