Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Days of Valor: An Inside Account of the Bloodiest Six Months of the Vietnam War
    Unavailable
    Days of Valor: An Inside Account of the Bloodiest Six Months of the Vietnam War
    Unavailable
    Days of Valor: An Inside Account of the Bloodiest Six Months of the Vietnam War
    Ebook416 pages7 hours

    Days of Valor: An Inside Account of the Bloodiest Six Months of the Vietnam War

    By Robert Tonsetic

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A nonstop maelstrom of combat action, leaving the reader nearly breathless by the end. The human courage and carnage described in these pages resonates through the centuries, from Borodino to the Bulge, but the focus here is on the Vietnam War, and a unique unit formed to take part at its height.

    The 199th Light Infantry Brigade was created from three U.S. infantry battalions of long lineage, as a fast reaction force for the U.S. to place in Indochina. As the book begins, in December 1967, the brigade has been in Vietnam for a year, and many of its battered 12-month men are returning home. This is timely, as the Communists seem to be in a lull, and the brigade commander, in order to whet his new soldiers to combat, requests a transfer to a more active sector, just above Saigon. Through January the battalions scour the sector, finding increasing enemy strength, NVA personel now mixed within Viet Cong units. But the enemy is lying low, and a truce has even been declared for the Vietnamese New Year, the holiday called Tet.

    On January 30, 1968, the storm breaks loose, as Saigon and nearly every provincial capital in the country is overrun by VC and NVA, bursting in unexpected strength from their base camps. In these battles we learn the most intimate details of combat, as the Communists fight with rockets, mortars, Chinese claymores, mines, machine guns and AK-47s. The battles evolve into an enemy favoring the cloak of night, the jungle—both urban and natural—and subterranean fortifications, against U.S. forces favoring direct confrontational battle supported by air and artillery. When the lines are only 25 yards apart, however, there is little way to distinguish between the firepower or courage of the assailants and the defenders, or even who is who at any given moment, as both sides have the other in direct sight.
    Many of the vividly described figures in this book do not make it to the end. The narrative is jarring, because even though the author was a company commander during these battles, he has based this work upon objective research including countless interviews with other soldiers of the 199th LIB. The result is that everything we once heard about Vietnam is laid bare in this book through actual experience, as U.S. troops go head-to-head at close-range against their counterparts, perhaps the most stubborn foe in our history.

    Days of Valor covers the height of the Vietnam War, from the nervous period just before Tet, through the defeat of that offensive, to the highly underwritten yet equally bloody NVA counteroffensive launched in May 1968.

    The book ends with a brief note about the 199th LIB being deactivated in spring 1970, furling its colors after suffering 753 dead and some 5,000 wounded. The brigade had only been a temporary creation, designed for one purpose. Though its heroism is now a matter of history, it should remain a source of pride for all Americans. This fascinating book will help to remind us.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCasemate
    Release dateJan 31, 2007
    ISBN9781612000343
    Unavailable
    Days of Valor: An Inside Account of the Bloodiest Six Months of the Vietnam War
    Author

    Robert Tonsetic

    Robert Tonsetic was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in English Literature in 1964. Upon graduation, he entered the US Army as an infantry second lieutenant. After completing Special Forces training in 1966, he served a tour in Thailand with the 46th Special Forces Company. He was subsequently assigned to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam, serving as a rifle company commander during the Tet and May Offensives of 1968. In 1970, he returned to Vietnam as a senior advisor to South Vietnamese Ranger and Airborne battalions. His decorations for his wartime service include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star for Valor. He retired from the Army at the rank of Colonel in 1991, after completing a three year assignment as a faculty member at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. Upon his return to the US, Robert earned a Doctorate in Education, and was employed at the University of Central Florida as a staff member and adjunct professor. He currently lives with his wife, Polly, on Maryland's eastern shore.

    Related to Days of Valor

    Related ebooks

    Wars & Military For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Reviews

      Aug 28, 2018

      Reviews
      7 min read

    • Article

      War’s Endgame

      Apr 25, 2023

      War’s Endgame
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Iron Commander

      Jan 10, 2023

      The Iron Commander
      5 min read

    • Article

      Fighting For Attention

      Sep 28, 2023

      I really enjoyed the interview with Matt McDowell regarding sportswashing and the ways in which sport has been used to promote propaganda and shape public opinion (The Conversation, October). It reminded me of the joint WCW (World Championship Wrestl

      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘Carnage Infernal’

      Oct 4, 2022

      ‘Carnage Infernal’
      8 min read

    • Article

      Another Round in the Battle Over Vietnam

      Sep 5, 2017

      There are two Vietnam wars, and the second is still going 40 years after the first ended. The United States fought the first one from 1959 to 1975 in the jungles, villages and airspace of Indochina. The second is the war over how that war, the first

      4 min read

    • Article

      Selfless Service

      Oct 11, 2022

      Selfless Service
      5 min read

    • Article

      Plenty of Fight Left

      Aug 18, 2020

      Plenty of Fight Left
      8 min read

    • Article

      Reviews

      Nov 26, 2020

      Reviews
      6 min read

    • Article

      Why D-day Matters

      May 1, 2019

      Why D-day Matters
      5 min read

    • Article

      Fighting For Recognition

      Dec 30, 2021

      Fighting For Recognition
      5 min read

    • Article

      Multifaceted Diamond

      Jun 25, 2019

      Multifaceted Diamond
      6 min read

    • Article

      Rebellion Denouement

      Jan 22, 2019

      Rebellion Denouement
      8 min read

    • Article

      Mail Back From The Deep

      Aug 9, 2022

      Mail Back From The Deep
      6 min read

    • Article

      Co-opted Culture

      Jul 27, 2021

      Co-opted Culture
      5 min read

    • Article

      Plucking The Bloom Of Youth

      Jul 18, 2023

      Plucking The Bloom Of Youth
      10 min read

    Reviews for Days of Valor

    4.5/5

    4 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words