I was hooked by the unusual style and, moreso, by the unusual
approach to the familiar material . . . Articulate, sensitive, and
intelligent . . . an unusually readable and persuasive narrative.
Robert W. Lewis North Dakota Quarterly When in 1968 an American
rifle battalion known as the First Wolfhounds landed near Dau
Tieng, a rest area controlled by the North Vietnamese Army, they
expected to interdict the NVA supply line there within three days.
Instead, the soldiers found a prohibitive network of NVA troops,
headquarters, hospitals, supplies, and local support for the NVA.
It seemed impossible, even for the Wolfhounds, famed for their
numbers and fighting strength. In the vivid prose of a mission
survivor, Some Even Volunteered chronicles these brave soldiers'
daily, deadly contact with the NVA, their attempts to win the
villagers' trust, and how they struggled to accept and survive
their circumstances. Eight months later, the Wolfhounds
succeeded--destroying, in the process, an NVA unit of their own
size. Alfred Bradford's sardonic voice is compelling. This
narrative is witty, sometimes hilarious, and always captivating.
Bradford--now a history professor--also provides one of the most
insightful discussions ever written of Vietnam's assumed position
in military history. Some Even Volunteered provides a marvelous
description and a succinct evaluation of the life and the
achievement of the American soldier in Vietnam trying to win the
hearts and minds of the Vietnamese. In a style reminiscent of
Michael Herr in Dispatches but still distinctly his own, Bradford
relates the story of the First Battalion of the 27th Infantry
Regiment (First Wolfhounds) of the 25th Infantry Division as they
pacified the district of Tri Tam. The First Battalion--which had
the highest body count of any rifle battalion in Vietnam--was
air-lifted into an NVA rest area south of Dau Tieng (IIId Brigade
basecamp) in the district of Tri Tam on 24 October 1968. They had
been ordered to interdict the NVA supply line that stretched from
the Ho Chi Minh trail in Cambodia through Dau Tieng to Saigon. They
were expected to complete their mission in three days, but they
uncovered such an extensive network of headquarters, hospitals,
supply, troop concentrations and local support that the mission was
extended to a week, then to a month, and finally, to eight months.
Eight months later, the Wolfhounds had succeeded. Their fire
support base was assaulted three times, their Brigade base twice.
They established four independent forts, ran missions throughout
the Third Brigade Area of Operations, and accepted the surrender of
dozens of Viet Cong and NVA. In effect, they had destroyed an NVA
unit of their own size. In vivid, staccato prose, Bradford delivers
a first-rate narrative. In addition, the last chapter, entitled,
The Will of the People, provides the reader with one of the best
discussions ever written of Vietnam's assumed position in military
history.
General
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