#VNM 1972 Easter Offensive / Nguyen Hue (1972) (Vietnam War)

[casbooks]

Book 30 of 2024 (★★★★)

Title: Vietnam Marines 1965–73 Authors: Charles D. Melson

Series: 43 of Osprey - Elite ISBN: 9781855322516

Rating: ★★★★ Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.ARVN.VNMC, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.ROK.ROKMC, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.USMC.Misc, Books.Military.Series.Osprey.Elite

Description: Osprey's survey of Marines during the second half of the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The period following World War II (1939-1945) saw a number of associated Marine Corps, three of whom fought together during the war in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973. These Corps were similar formations, but each had its own history and traditions: they were the United States Marines, the Vietnamese Marines, and the Korean Marines. Common to them was a reputation for toughness on themselves and any foreign or domestic enemies; strong unit pride and loyalty; and a privileged place within the political structure of their respective countries. This title by US Marine historian Charles Melson describes the history, weapons, equipment, uniforms and insignia of the US, Vietnamese and Korean Marines who fought in Vietnam.

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 28 of 2023

Title: Naked in Da Nang Authors: Mike Jackson & Tara Dixon Engel & Frank Borman ISBN: 9781616737467 Tags: Aviation, B-52 Stratofortress, CSAR, EB-66 Destroyer, FAC, From LAPL, LAO Laos, LAO Laotian Civil War (1959-1975), LAO USAF Steve Canyon Program - Ravens FAC (Laotian Civil War), O-2 Skymaster, OV-10 Bronco, PHL Philippines, PHL US USAF Clark Air Force Base, SAM, T-33 Shooting Star, T-37 Tweet, T-38 Talon, T-41 Mescalero, US USA 101st Airborne Division - 1st Brigade, US USA 101st Airborne Division - 2nd Brigade, US USA 101st Airborne Division - 3rd Brigade, US USA 101st Airborne Division - Screaming Eagles, US USA 17th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 17th Cavalry Regiment - 2/17, US USA 5th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 5th Cavalry Regiment - 3/5, US USA 7th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 8th Cavalry, US USA 8th Cavalry - F Troop - Blueghosts, US USA United States Army, US USAF 20th TASS - Bilk FAC, US USAF 20th TASS - Covey FAC, US USAF 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS), US USAF 37th ARRS Sqd, US USAF 504th TASG, US USAF 68th TASG, US USAF 704th TASS, US USAF 7th Air Force, US USAF 7th/13th Air Force, US USAF Cannon Air Force Base NM, US USAF Fairchild AFB - SERE School, US USAF Fairchild Air Force Base WA, US USAF Hurlburt Field FL, US USAF JEST Jungle Environment Survival Training, US USAF Lackland Air Force Base TX, US USAF Laughlin Air Force Base NV, US USAF LCol Iceal Hambleton, US USAF Shaw Air Force Base SC, US USAF United States Air Force, VNM 1972 Easter Offensive (1972) (Vietnam War), VNM A Shau Valley, VNM Camp Eagle (Vietnam War), VNM CSAR for Bat 21B (Vietnam War), VNM Da Nang, VNM Da Nang - DOOM Club, VNM DMZ Demilitarized Zone - 17th Parallel (Vietnam War), VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM FSB Bastogne (Vietnam War), VNM Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam War), VNM Hue Phu Bai, VNM I Corps (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Arc Light (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Phu Bai, VNM Quang Tri, VNM Rao Trana, VNM Route 1, VNM Route 547, VNM RVN ARVN 3rd ID, VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM RVN SVNAF Da Nang Airbase, VNM RVN SVNAF General Nguyen Kao Ki, VNM RVN SVNAF South Vietnamese Air Force, VNM Song Ho, VNM Tan Son Nhut Air Base, VNM US USMC/USA Phu Bai Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975) Rating: ★★★ (3 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Aviation.USAF.FAC Description: FACs (forward air controllers) in Vietnam flew low and slow, searching for signs of an elusive enemy. Often they trolled themselves as bait for the NVA troops to try to shoot down. When a friendly unit made contact, having a FAC overhead made their day, because the FACs controlled the bomb-, rocket-, and napalm-laden fast movers, fighter jets, and attack aircraft whose ordnance often made the difference between life and death. They were regarded by many of their air force and naval aviator brethren as insane, suicidal, or both. In addition to the perils of enemy fire which ranged from lucky AK-47 shots to .51 caliber machine guns and SA-7 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, they had to watch out to keep from being blown up in a B-52 Arc-Light strike or knocked down by friendly artillery.

Review: Meh

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 45 of 2023

Title: A Backseat View from the Phantom Authors: Fleet S. Lentz Tags: A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II, Air Liaison Officer, B-52 Stratofortress, F-4 Phantom II, F-8 Crusader, FAC, KC-130 Hercules, KHM Angkor Temples, KHM Cambodia, KHM Cambodian Civil War (1967-1975), KHM Pol Pot / Saloth Sar, KHM Tonle Sap (Great Lake), LAO Hmong Meo Tribesmen, LAO Laos, LAO Laotian Civil War (1959-1975), LAO Pathet Lao, LAO Plain of Jars / Plaine des Jarres, LAO Saravane, LAO Tchepone, LAO USAF Steve Canyon Program - Ravens FAC (Laotian Civil War), LAO Vientiane, lineback, MiG-15 Fagot, MiG-17 Fresco, MiG-19 Farmer, MiG-21 Fishbed, PHL Philippines, PHL Poro Point, PHL US USAF Clark Air Force Base, PHL US USN NAS Cubi Point, POW, SA-2 Guideline SAM, SA-7 Strela SAM, SAM, THA Bangkok, THA RTAF Royal Thai Air Force, THA RTAFB Nam Phong Royal Thai Airbase, THA RTAFB Nam Phong Royal Thai Airbase - The Rose Garden, THA RTAFB Udorn Royal Thai Air Base, THA RTNAF U-Tapao Air Field, THA Thailand, THA Udon Thani, THA Udon Thani - Charoen Hotel, THA Udon Thani - Yellow Bird Bar, THA US USA Port Samae San (Vietnam War), THA USMC TF Delta (Vietnam War), US President Richard M. Nixon, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, US USAF JEST Jungle Environment Survival Training, US USAF United States Air Force, US USMC 9th Marines, US USMC 9th Marines - 3/9, US USMC MAG-15, US USMC MALS-41, US USMC MCAS Cherry Point NC, US USMC MCAS El Toro CA, US USMC MCAS El Toro CA - SERE School, US USMC United States Marine Corps, US USMC VFMA-115 Silver Eagles, US USMC VFMA-115 Silver Eagles - Blade, US USMC VMFA-112, US USMC VMFA-115, US USMC VMFA-232 Red Devils, US USMC VMFA-312, US USMC VMFA-533, US USN NAS Dallas TX, US USN NAS Glynco GA, US USN NAS Miramar CA, US USN NAS Miramar CA - Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), US USN NAS Oceana VA, US USN NAS Pensacola FL, US USN United States Navy, US USN VF-96, US USN VFA-192 Golden Dragons, US USN VT-10, VNM 1972 Easter Offensive / Nguyen Hue (1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Cam Lo, VNM Camp Carroll (Vietnam War), VNM Da Nang, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV NVAF North Vietnamese Air Force, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM Gia Lam, VNM Hanoi, VNM Hanoi - Ho Lao Prison (Hanoi Hilton) (Vietnam War), VNM Hanoi - Metropole Hotel, VNM Operation Arc Light (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Combat Skyspot (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Linebacker I (1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Linebacker II (1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Sunset (1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Phouc Tuong (Dogpatch), VNM Quang Tri, VNM RVN SVNAF Da Nang Airbase, VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975), WSO/RIO Weapons Systems Officer/Radar Interecept Officer Rating: ★★ (2 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Aviation.USMC.Fighters, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Laotian Civil War.Aviation.FAC.Ravens, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Laotian Civil War.Aviation.USMC.Fighters

Description: As a 26-year old Marine radar intercept officer (RIO), Fleet Lentz flew 131 combat missions in the back seat of the supersonic F-4 B Phantom II during the wind-down of the Vietnam War. Overcoming military regulations, he and his fellow Marines at The Rose Garden (Royal Thai Air Base Nam Phong) kept sorely needed supplies moving in while moving combat troops out of Southeast Asia. His personal and accessible memoir describes how pilots and RIOs executed dangerous air-to-ground bombing missions in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos—quite different from the air-to-air warfare for which they had trained—and kept themselves mission-capable (and human) while surviving harsh circumstances.

Review: This book should actually have been called A Frontseat View of Nam Phong. The amount he wrote on flying and being in the air and in combat is miniscule - barely a footnote - when compared to his detailed rememberances of people, what they did at the bar, what he did as a building inspector on base, and details on scrounging for stuff at Cubi Point and elsewhere. But to really get a feel of what it was like to fly combat in Laos and Cambodia and both South and North Vietnam, you'd better get a different book because this one barely mentions any of that. Definitely a 2 star book simply because of the misleading title and description. If this was supposed to be a book about life at an Air Base, it'd be a 3 at least, but NOPE.

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 41 of 2023

Title: Stalking the Vietcong: Inside Operation Phoenix: A Personal Account Authors: Stuart A. Herrington ISBN: 9780307823809 Tags: A-1 Skyraider, AC-119G Shadow, Buddhism (Religion), Catholic, CHE Geneva Conference of 1954 (French Indochina War), CHE Switzerland, Counter-Terrorism, Interrogator, KHM Cambodia, KHM Cambodian Incursion (1970) (Vietnam War), LAO Lam Son 719 (1971) (Vietnam War), LAO Laos, Military Intelligence, SA-7 Strela SAM, US CIA Central Intelligence Agency, US President John F. Kennedy, US President Richard M. Nixon, US State Department, US State Department - Foreign Service Institute, US USA 25th ID, US USA Fort Benning GA, US USA Fort Benning GA - US Army Infantry School, US USA Fort Bliss TX, US USA Fort Bragg NC, US USA Fort Bragg NC - MATA Military Assistance Training Advisor Course, US USA Fort Holabird MD, US USA Fort Holabird MD - Tactical Intelligence Officers Basic Course, US USA General James Herbert, US USA General James Hollingsworth, US USA MI Army Military Intelligence, US USA United States Army, US USA USSF Green Berets, US USA USSF Special Forces, VNM 1968 Tet Offensive (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM 1972 Easter Offensive / Nguyen Hue (1972) (Vietnam War), VNM An Ninh, VNM Bao Cong, VNM Bao Trai, VNM Bao Trai - Chieu Hoi Center (Vietnam War), VNM Battle of An Loc (1972) (1972 Easter Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Battle of Quang Tri (1972) (1972 Easter Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Bien Hoa, VNM Bien Hoa - Corps Interrogation Center, VNM Bien Hoa - La Plage, VNM Cao Dai Religion, VNM CIA Phung Hoang / Phoenix Program (1965-1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Con Son Island Prison, VNM Cu Chi, VNM Dong Nai River, VNM DRV Ho Chi Minh, VNM DRV NVA 101st Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 24th Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 271st Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 271st Regiment - D8 Bn, VNM DRV NVA 271st Regiment - D8 Bn - C3 Co, VNM DRV NVA General Vo Nguyen Giap, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV VC C1 Duc Hoa Local Force Co, VNM DRV VC N-10 Sapper Bn, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM DRV VM Viet Minh, VNM Duc Hoa, VNM Duc Hue, VNM French Indochina War (1946-1954), VNM Ha Tinh, VNM Hau Nghia Province, VNM Hiep Hoa, VNM Highway 1, VNM Highway 13 - Thunder Road, VNM Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam War), VNM III Corps (Vietnam War), VNM Loc Giang, VNM Loc Hung, VNM Muoi Lon, VNM Nghe An, VNM Parrots Beak, VNM Phu Hoa Corridor, VNM Phu Loi, VNM Phuoc Tuy Province, VNM Quang Tri, VNM Rach Nhum Creek, VNM Route 7, VNM Route 9, VNM RVN ARVN 25th ID, VNM RVN ARVN 3rd ID, VNM RVN ARVN 83rd Border Range Bn, VNM RVN ARVN Armed Propaganda Team, VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM RVN ARVN General Do Cao Tri, VNM RVN ARVN MSS Provincial Military Security Service, VNM RVN ARVN Province Intelligence Platoon, VNM RVN ARVN Provincial Interrogation Center, VNM RVN ARVN PSDF People's Self Defense Force, VNM RVN ARVN RF/PF 305th RF Bn (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN RF/PF 58th RF Group (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN RF/PF 773rd RF Co (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN RF/PF Regional Forces/Popular Forces (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN Vietnamese Rangers - Biet Dong Quan, VNM RVN Chieu Hoi Program/Force 66 - Luc Luong 66 (Vietnam War), VNM RVN Ngo Dinh Diem, VNM RVN Nguyen Van Thieu, VNM RVN RVNP Can Sat National Police, VNM RVN RVNP CSDB PRU Provincial Reconnaissance Units (Vietnam War), VNM RVN SVNAF South Vietnamese Air Force, VNM RVNP CSDB Can Sat Dac Biet Special Branch Police, VNM Saigon, VNM Saigon - Bay Hien Intersection, VNM Saigon - Ben Thanh Marketplace, VNM Saigon - Brinks Hotel, VNM Saigon - Brinks Hotel Bombing (1964), VNM Saigon - Cach Mang Blvd, VNM Saigon - Cong Ly St, VNM Saigon - Gia Long St, VNM Saigon - Independence Palace, VNM Saigon - Le Loi Blvd, VNM Saigon - MACV Headquarters (Vietnam War), VNM Saigon - Massachusetts BOQ (Vietnam War), VNM Saigon - Ngoc Huong restaurant, VNM Saigon - Nguyen Hue St, VNM Saigon - Tu Do Club Bombing, VNM Saigon - Tu Do St, VNM Saigon - Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, VNM Tan My, VNM Tan Son Nhut Air Base, VNM Tay Ninh Province, VNM Trang Bang, VNM Trung Lap, VNM US MACV Advisory Team 43 (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Advisory Teams (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV CORDS Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (1967-1975) (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Military Assistance Command Vietnam (Vietnam War), VNM US USA 3rd Field Hospital - Saigon (Vietnam War), VNM Vam Co Dong River, VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975), VNM Vung Tao, VNM Vung Tao - Cyrno's Restaurant Rating: ★★★★★ (5 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.ARVN.PRU, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Advisor, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Military Intelligence

Description: In a gripping memoir that reads like a spy novel, one man recounts his personal experience with Operation Phoenix, the program created to destroy the Vietcong’s shadow government, which thrived in the rural communities of South Vietnam.  

Stuart A. Herrington was an American intelligence advisor assigned to root out the enemy in the Hau Nghia province. His two-year mission to capture or kill Communist agents operating there was made all the more difficult by local officials who were reluctant to cooperate, villagers who were too scared to talk, and VC who would not go down without a fight. Herrington developed an unexpected but intense identification with the villagers in his jurisdiction–and learned the hard way that experiencing war was profoundly different from philosophizing about it in a seminar room.

Review: One of the best books on Vietnam that I've ever read. Published shortly after the fall of Saigon, the book has a timeliness that is readily apparent to the reader. The thoughts are fresh, the memories are crystal clear, and the painful mental wounds of the experience are sharp. This is a book about the Phoenix program that is 100% about everything BUT the phoenix program. There is very little mention of the PRU teams, and the author is brutally honest about his failure to actually get a phoenix program working in his area. Instead he uses a mix of other tools to attack the viet cong infrastructure and spends much of his time crafting his skills as an interrogator and on the military intelligence he is able to exploit from those discussions. The book is above all else, one of the best on ARVN/US relations at this level, on how to interrogate and exploit that info, and a really good look at the 72 Easter Offensive.