Customer Reviews

Dak to: America's Sky Soldiers in South Vietnam's Central Highlands

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is one of the best volumes about a desperate, bloody battle during the Vietnam War. Fought between the veteran paratroopers of the 173d Airborne Brigade and North Vietnamese Regulars in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in late 1967, the author demonstrates through graphic prose and primary evidence just how savage and vicious the fighting in Vietnam was. This legendary fight took place almost immediately before the TET offensive of January 1968 and ruined some of the NVA units that were to take part in that offensive and helped ruin the chances for the Comminists to gain victory. Victory in this fight came at a heavy cost, and this book chronicles just how savage and desperate, and how heart-breaking the American losses were.

For me personally, this book means much, as my brother was a company commander in the 2d Battalion of the 503d infantry, one of the four infantry battalions of the 173d Airborne Brigade, and he was killed in action leading his company on Hill 875.

This book is as good as We Were Soldiers Once And Young, and it is one of the best books I have read on the war in Vietnam. It shows the courage and skill of outnumbered Americans who fought, died, and never quit-something that never really came out of the general media coverage of that unpopular war.

This volume is highly recommended and the author is to be congratulated for he has told a story of high valor and much suffering, and of the ongoing skill of the American soldier doing his duty, appreciated or not, in foreign lands fighting and defeating a skilled and determined enemy.

Virtute et Valore

I flew door gunner for 4th Aviation's Gambler Guns over Hill 875 and surrounding hills that November 1967. This account by E. Murphy re-lives all of the fears and saddness I felt for those Air Borne men. I remember being served Thanksgiving dinner on the chopper while re-arming and how after one bite I couldn't eat because we needed to get back out there for those troopers. Every Thanksgiving I honor their memory with a prayer. I will never forget the sacrifice of these brave men and neither will you after you have read Dak To by Edward Murphy.

As a sister whose brother fought in the battles of Dak To, and did not return, this gave me insight into the hell he must have endured. When you lose a family member in a war in a far away land you spend night after night trying to imagine what war must be like for them. This book was a real peek into the nightmare that so many of our prescious boys lived in. Thanks to Edward Murphy who took the time to tell the "real story".

This book was fabulous, my brother was the FNG written about. It was the first I ever knew about his experiences in Vietnam and I knew he was wonderful, but I never imagined the experience he and the other soldiers had. For whatever reason, he never discussed his tour with us and after reading this book I know why. It is just so much to bear for so many, so young. They really were heroes. A must read for anyone interested in the Vietnam war.

I was enthralled by this account.I was in Viet nam in 1968. What happened to the 173rd at Dak To was known mythically, although the details were not. I was in the area several months after the battle. Besides the rugged terrain, it was the most fortified area I ever saw in Viet Nam. It seemed no more than several hundred yards between bunker lines in the jungle. It was frightening to think of the damage that could have been done to my unit if they had been manned. The book describes firefights that happened before the battle that were reminicient of my own experiences. But, once the assault on hill 875 begins I found it imposible to put the book down. It is a gripping depiction of events. This is the best description of actual combat in Viet Nam that I have ever read. This has to stand along side DISPATCHES and 365 DAYS as one of the true classics to come out of that war.

I was there during that time, I was over head in the helicopters with the 335th Assault Heli CO. This book is a good example of some of the sorry leadership we had in VN. The part where a Colonel in the rear refuses artillery support for a platoon who is about to be over ran. Most field grade officers were in the field for 6 months so they could get thier CIB and then on to a staff position. Short of actually being out in the field and haveing the smell in you nose, this is one of the best books for finding out what it was like being out on patrols and how the NVA operated. I have read several books on VN and most of them are so intent on telling of just the blood and guts parts that the reader gets miss lead as to what actually is going on. Mr. Murphy does an out standing job of telling it like it was on the ground, mabe some day I will collaberate on the same subject, only from an overhead point of view. I spent 3 tours incountry and I can asure you that Dak To was as bad as it gets for combat. The men of the 173rd can be proud of thier actions. If I had my way I would make this book required reading at the Staff Officers Course and require all OCS candates to read and study it

Very well written account of the major battles of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the Dak To area near the Cambodian-Laotian-Vietnamese borders. Murphy interviewed a number of survivors of those battles and used after-action reports. His research and writing bring those battles to life. That's the "good news" and the "bad news". The battle scenes are quite graphically portrayed. The book is very reminiscent of WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE, AND YOUNG, except it covers several significant battles between June and December of 1967. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

i was with the 2/1 cav in the central highlands at that time. the way it was written, was riviting,real life drama. my unit was mentioned in the book, noting the day i was wounded. my unit did not face the hardships of the BRAVE 173rd. god bless the memory of those that died. rocky

I have read over 125 books on the Vietnam War. This was the very first book I read and it is AWESOME!! It reads like a novel although it's more like an order of battle for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, or the "Third Herd" as most vets refer to it. It is very descriptive and brings the reader the into the fights. From the search and destroy patrols around Dak To to the battle on hill 875 this book covers them all including names and quotes from enlisted soldiers who were there-- not just from officers and after action reports. Anyone with a dsire to learn more about 'Nam should read this one!

THIS WAS A HEART WRENCHING STORY OF THE 173rd AB IN 1967. WHAT THESE POOR SOLDIERS HAD TO ENDURE IN THE II CORPS AO, ALMOST BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES. IT REMINDED ME OF TRAGEDIES OF THE FRENCH(STREET WITHOUT JOY by BERNARD B. FALL) AND THE MARINES IN JULY 1967 (OPERATION BUFFALO by KEITH NOLAN).I'VE READ THE BOOK TWICE ALREADY AND HAVE HAD THE NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HOTLY CONTESTED CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND THE UNITS INVOLVED THERE. I'VE BEEN READING MILITARY HISTORY FOR 35 YEARS AND IT'S BOOKS LIKE "DAK TO" THAT LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION ABOUT THE MEN AT WAR AND THE SO MANY LIVES TAKEN BEFORE THEIR TIME. THANK YOU ALL THAT SERVICED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. THE ONLY DRAWBACK I FOUND WITH THIS BOOK(AS WITH SO MANY BOOKS ON MILITARY HISTORY) IS THE LACK OF MAPS WITH THE HILL BATTLES. I ENDED UP RESEARCHING VIET NAM MAPS OF THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS TO UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN THAT THE 173rd AB FOUGHT IN. THANK YOU EDWARD F.MURPHY FOR THIS WELL WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE SKY SOLDIERS.