Death in the a Shau Valley: L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-1970 [Mass Market Paperback]

Larry Chambers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1998

"The enemy had a single purpose: kill me and my teammates."  

Larry Chambers was still new to Vietnam in early 1969 when the LRRPs of the 101st Airborne Division became L Company, 75th (Rangers). But his unit's mission stayed the same: act as the eyes and ears of the 101st deep in the dreaded A Shau Valley--where the NVA ruled.

Relentless thick fog frequently made fighter bombers useless in the A Shau, and the enemy had furnished the nearby mountaintops with antiaircraft machine guns to protect the massive trail network that snaked through it. So, outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, the teams of L Company executed hundreds of courageous missions. Now, in this powerful personal record, Larry Chambers recaptures the experience of the war's most brutal on-the-job training, where the slightest noise or smallest error could bring sudden--and certain--death. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"The enemy had a single purpose: kill me and my teammates."  

Larry Chambers was still new to Vietnam in early 1969 when the LRRPs of the 101st Airborne Division became L Company, 75th (Rangers). But his unit's mission stayed the same: act as the eyes and ears of the 101st deep in the dreaded A Shau Valley--where the NVA ruled.

Relentless thick fog frequently made fighter bombers useless in the A Shau, and the enemy had furnished the nearby mountaintops with antiaircraft machine guns to protect the massive trail network that snaked through it. So, outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, the teams of L Company executed hundreds of courageous missions. Now, in this powerful personal record, Larry Chambers recaptures the experience of the war's most brutal on-the-job training, where the slightest noise or smallest error could bring sudden--and certain--death. . . .

About the Author

Larry Chambers spent fifteen months in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne as a LRP/Ranger. Among other awards and decorations, Chambers earned two Bronze Stars for valor, a Purple Heart, two Air Medals for valor, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry. He was with L Co., 75th Infantry (Ranger), and F Co., 58th (LRP), in Vietnam.

After returning home he earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Utah and graduated as a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. Chambers lives in Ojai, California. He is also the author of Recondo: LRRPs in the 101st Airborne.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books; 1st edition (September 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804115753
• ISBN-13: 978-0804115759
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.5 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > 20th Century
  • #21 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Military > Vietnam War
  • #65 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > General

More About the Author

Hi I'm Larry Chambers. Today I live in Ojai, California. I have two great and successful kids, Christin (27) is a singer, song writer and realty show producer and Logan (23) has a degree in Marine Biology UCSC and is a California State Beach Life Guard.

My first two books; Recondo and the First Time Investor pushed me in a new direction and launched a writing career that my teachers would have told me is impossible - once they stopped laughing. I was guy always distracted, inattentive, impatient, forgot his homework, and spelled words that looked more like turds.

But I beat the odds. I've written over 50 published books and hundreds and hundreds of magazine articles.

It wasn't until I was plopped down in the jungles of South Vietnam that I moved to 'the head of the class.' Distractibility, risk taking and impulsiveness were liabilities in school, became survival traits in combat. I would noticed things others overlooked, a blade of grass bent in the wrong direction or VC snot dripping from a tree leaf. Without being able to explain why, I'd knew when things were about to happen.

MILITARY BACKGROUND: served with F 58th Inf LRP and the originating L Co 75th Rangers 101st Abn ("Merrill's Marauders') company organized as the parent unit for the separate long-range reconnaissance patrol companies 1968-69.

AWARDS: Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, two Air Medals; Combat Infantryman's Badge; Parachute Badge; Army Commendation Medal; National Defense Metal, Good Conduct Metal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Vietnam Service and Vietnam Campaign Metal. Recondo Badge.

BACKGROUND: Corning High School, located in Northern Cal, where he played football, basketball, track and boxing. He spent the summers milking cows and delivering feed to neighboring ranches. Went to Shasta College during the summer worked in the Forest Service as a fire fighter. After Vietnam he moved to Utah and completed his Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees. A certified ski instructor he also taught skiing for the University of Utah. After graduation he became a stockbroker for EF Hutton & Co, started Hunter/Chambers Construction Company and Credibility Marketing a hi-bred marketing and writing service.

AFFILIATIONS: Vetrepreneur (magazine for military Veterans who own a business) Advisory board member for the Journal of Retirement Planning; Associate Editor for the Journal of Investing; Business and Economics columnist for the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Forum; Contributing editor for Investment Advisor magazine; and Wealth Manager; contributing editor Financial Planning, On Wall Street, Registered Representative, and on the editorial advisory board at Pension World magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not up to par, December 20, 2001

By 

Rockford Olsen (Ogden, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in the a Shau Valley: L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-1970 (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a Vietnam infantry veteran and served with the 101st Airborne Div during this same time period. Chambers first book, Recondo, was much more interesting and far more accurate. This effort seems to have come from an author who never felt the heat of combat, just heard the stories, I know however, that is not true in this case. His recollections bounce around so much I kept getting lost in the stories. While I was "only a leg" my company employed most all of the super sneeky tactics you macho LRRPs seem to have invented. I bought this book based on the author, my mistake.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Take on Chambers' DEATH IN THE A SHAU VALLEY, January 19, 2004

By 

Robert Gillingham (Uniontown, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in the a Shau Valley: L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-1970 (Mass Market Paperback)

This is Larry Chambers second book. I have not yet read his first, but absolutely will. You shouldn't come to Larry Chambers' Death in the A Shau Valley expecting to find the writing style of an experienced literary man. You will not find it. Instead, you will read the accounts of life in Nam as Chambers lived it, as Chambers the American soldier lived it. The chapters are often disjointed from a true chronology of events, but they do single out for telling what are obviously high points of memory. Some chapters are very short, because there is nothing else to say about the experience, others a bit longer. Some end abruptly because that is the way the experience ends. Others play out. However, within the entire book, you get a true picture of Chambers' life in Viet Nam. His humor comes through, as does his occasional envy at the softer life of some, and as does his sarcasm about the ineptness of some, as does his irreverence borne from a year on the firing line. You even get the true feelings of how the American soldier (LLRP, rear echelon, or in between) viewed the Vietnamese people. I will always remember Chambers telling of an incident that happened on his week's leave at Waikiki Beach--a little girl threw an object, and Chambers hit the sand. We generally know what this is all about, and Chambers' reaction. Death in the A Shau Valley is important reading if you want to get the sense and sensibilities of one man in Nam. As for me, I'm beginning Chambers' other book tonight.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Squared-away book, January 11, 2000

By 

Dave kranig (Park City, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in the a Shau Valley: L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-1970 (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a vetnam vet and have read almost every book on the subject over the past 20 years. I feel this is must reading for anyone who wants to experience what Nam was like. I can imagine it must be difficult to write a book that uses real life stories of many different soliders and their perosonal experience but it creates exciting reading from page one, to the end. Airborne all the way!