Customer Reviews

Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970

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I've read most of Keith William Nolan's books, provided source information on two of them, and was a key participant in the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord. This obvious bias aside, "Ripcord" is Nolan's best and most comprehensive Vietnam battle history.

Nolan is a master at telling the soldier's part in the 23-day siege of this remote rain forest mountain redoubt near the A Shau Valley. But it's not just a story about the hardship and heroism of combat soldiers. He unravels and clearly presents the challenges (and frustrations) of command from the division level down to leadership at the squad and platoon level.

The Battle of FSB Ripcord was a complex and deadly affair. One of two book-end battles of the Vietnam War--the other was the airmobile action by the 1st Cavalry Division at Ia Drang Valley in 1965--Ripcord pitted airmobile troopers of the 3d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division against North Vietnamese regulars that had surrounded the fire base in division strength. Nolan pulls no punches in describing the action.

Quoting 1st Lt. Fred Edwards of the 326th Engineer Battalion, Nolan writes: "I was returning to Ripcord when I realized that the firebase was no longer an earthy brown, but almost black. Mortar rounds had exploded on virtually every square foot of the hill, charring it into a gray-black heap. It looked evil, malevolent. When the helicopter landed, it was like being dropped into an absolute hellhole."

Ripcord was more costly than the division action at Dong Ap Bia (Hamburger Hill) the year prior. Because the Screaming Eagle withdrawal from the base succeeded magnificently and did not turn into a rout, the action went largely unreported at the time. Thus, many participants in the battle had little idea of the depth or scope of the overall combat in which they were so intimately involved. Nolan's book does a great service to all these men by clarifying what went on and the contributions they made individually and collectively to the division's efforts.

Like most American military historians Nolan is more qualitative than quantitative, more gut-level than analytical in his recounting of events. Analytical comparisons can help with perspective. At the start of the siege the average bomb tonage from air strikes against enemy positions was less than 5 tons per day; but on the last three days the bomb tonage climbed from 104 tons to 154 tons. Eighty-four fighter-bomber sorites engaged the enemy in a 12-hour period on the final day. In the midst of this cauldron of fire soldiers from both sides fought, died and struggled for their very survival. Few came away unscathed.

This book is a must for any serious student of the Vietnam War, and will be a worthy addition to the bookshelves of military history buffs everywhere.

As a print journalist, I've used my position at times to tell the stories of veterans who might not otherwise be heard.

I'll never forget my reaction when I walked into the newsroom one day in May and our managing editor said someone had left a new book about Vietnam on my desk.

It was "Ripcord." A local man who survived the battle wanted to publicize the book and the Fire Support Base Ripcord Association's upcoming 30th anniversary reunion.

As an avid amateur Vietnam historian, I immediately realized I was looking at the answer to a prayer.

One of the first books I ever read about the war was also one of the best - John Del Vecchio's novel "The 13th Valley," a fictional account of the 101st Airborne's lonely struggle in I Corps near the end of America's ground combat role in Vietnam.For the next decade and a half, I searched in vain for more substantial information about what happened in western I Corps while the world's attention was focused on the Cambodia invasion and the Kent State shootings.

One look at the full title - "Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970" - and I realized Nolan had delivered the goods for me.

For a journalist, there's nothing like realizing you have a chance to write about a subject of tremendous personal interest - in this case, the fact that someone finally told the long-overdue story of a hugely important but virtually unknown battle in this most misunderstood of wars.

Others have said the 1965 battle for the Ia Drang Valley and the 1970 Ripcord siege are the "bookends" that define the beginning and the effective end of the American grunt's Vietnam experience. It could also be said that Joe Galloway's "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young" and "Ripcord" are appropriate literary "bookends" that chronicle these important battles and vividly illustrate how the daily struggle of the grunt changed over those fateful five years.

"Ripcord" will eventually prove an indispensable volume toward understanding the military history of America's Southeast Asia experience.

Dang! This is one helluva battle history. Right on the money, accurate and with plenty of action to go around. If there's a better story out there about the Vietnam War, let me know ... I'll buy you a beer.

Keith Nolan is in top form ... best book he's done yet, and he's done a lot.

So what's it all about? Ripcord was the last big battle of the war involving purely American forces. Lam Son 719 came the next year ... featured ARVN and U.S. forces. You want guts and glory? This is it! A division of North Vietnamese regulars surround Fire Base Ripcord on the northeast rim of the dreaded A Shau Valley, put it under siege, and prepare to make a ground assault. U.S. airmobile troopers of the 101st fight back, but are committed piecemeal to the action. No one knows what's really going on until the last fateful days of the battle. By then it's too late.

Courage? It's here in spades. Medal of Honor awardee Lt. Col. Andre Lucas is killed on the final day. He's a hero worth remembering. So is the Battle of FSB Ripcord ... so is this book.

Read it. Remember those who fell there.

As a former member of the 101st Airborne stationed in the northern province of Vietnam (I Corps) in 1970-1971, I read Mr. Nolan's account with extreme interest. The July 1970 siege at Firebase Ripcord was indeed the last great battle of the Vietnam War for American forces and one of the bloodiest of the entire conflict. The author spares no one in his quest for the truth concerning this event, but lets the reader ultimately decide as to who was truly responsible for this full-fledged military disaster. Yet even through the manic chaos of this bitter struggle, Nolan goes out of his way to recognize the astounding bravery and heroism demonstrated by the "Screaming Eagles" under the most dire circumstances. The Vietnam War is usually glossed over in little more than half a page in today's high school and college history books. For anyone who desires further knowledge of the war, Mr. Nolan's well-researched work would be a great place to start. His eyewitness resources not only gives readers a thorough understanding of the horrors of war, but nearly places them in the line of fire. Hopefully, this book will also put to rest the common view that nothing of any consequence happened in Vietnam after 1969. Because of Mr. Nolan's efforts, the epic and memorable battle that was "Ripcord" will be remembered.

This book is an excellent study of the siege at Ripcord. Mr. Nolan lets the participants tell the story without the intrusions that so often interfere with the accuracy of historical monographs. In the future, when scholars have the knowledge, insight, and emotional distance to start writing comprehensive histories of the Vietnam Conflict, Mr. Nolan's works will be in every bibliography.

The book debunks many of the myths surrounding the final years of the war. First, he demonstrates that the troops on the ground were not shirkers, but fought with bravery and purpose - even though every KIA knew, at the moment of his death, that the battle and the war would not be won. Second, he demonstrates that the military leadership had lost all direction by 1970. After years of complaining that the enemy would not stand and fight, they got their chance for a pitched battle at Ripcord. Ultimately they ran away - bowing to outside pressures -leaving the enemy to hold the field and wasting the lives of many brave soldiers.

Mr. Nolan is also surprisingly frank in describing the assessments that the participants made of each other. Even the battalion commander, who received the Medal of Honor, is portrayed as a complex figure with strengths and weakness, and not as some sort of comic book hero.

If you don't have time to read the whole book, read "Part Seven: The Storm". It is the author's best prose and tells the story of the most poignant part of a very poignant event.

For thirty years I have been waiting for this book. At the time of the battle, I knew that Ripcord was a big deal. Since then, I've read books and watched documentaries on Vietnam. Only the "The Thirteenth Valley" even vaguely addressed this battle. I want to thank Mr. Nolan for resurrecting this nearly forgotten tragedy.

The only piece now missing from the Ripcord saga is the prespective of the NVA. Hopefully, that information will be forthcoming before the last Ripcord survivor dies.

I began reading Keith Nolan's latest book hoping to fit together all the pieces of the Ripcord puzzle. Mr. Nolan's exhaustive research has indeed provided a logical thread linking the most important aspects of the engagement. More importantly, he has been able to let us see the personal and professional forces that weighed on the key participants. The refreshing candor of higher echelon commanders receives due attention so that readers can appreciate the agonizing choices they faced and the infuriating restrictions under which they worked. We see how logical and well-intentioned orders originating at the highest levels of command become incomprehensible when forced upon those actually carrying out the orders. The real strength of this book, however, must be the glimpse of life and death on Ripcord and its hills.

The grunt is by far the most compelling focus of Nolan's work. I am grateful for being provided with the "big picture" and a better understanding of the ebb and flow of this battle ... but I am most grateful for a deeper insight into the infantry soldier's world. Many authors struggle to elicit authentic respect and admiration for soldiers of our most unpopular war, but Nolan has nailed it. Readers will be humbled with deep admiration for these courageous infantrymen. Few among us are worthy of their company.

Keith William Nolan has done it again. As one of the premier historian's of the war, he has again captured the spirit and the confusion of the moment. Wasn't that what the Vietnam War represented to the American People?

As one who was there; on Ripcord and in and around Camp Evans, I can assure the reader that the confusion and loss of perspective experienced by the man on the ground was real and ever present.

Nolan's deliberate style of short flashbacks interspaced with knowledge and speculation of what was happening at the highest levels of command gives any reader, a disturbing flashback of a the military mind of the 1960's. The 'punch my ticket' attitude of officers has all but disappeared since them. Veterans be warned - more than a tear or choked up comment will come from this reading.

Most reader's will instantly realize that a pretty picture of battle, command, and the Commanders will not emerge. It could very well be that the Ripcord experience coupled with the Hamburger Hill experience the preceeding year was a major marker for the turn in American military attitudes towards the use of technology and away from the use of ground forces.

The bravery of the Infantryman has never been presented better. Nolan's first hand interviews along with stellar research take you there. It's not a place where the reader will want to stay long, but it's a place that they will always remember.

This is a story that has only been whispered about for 30 years - now the truth is out. Thank you Keith William Nolan.

This is no easy read. As stated by others, the book does not flow as easily as others like "We were soldiers once... (another excellent book). It jumps back and forth, puts you in the middle of the jungle here and there with different line commanders. Maps are essentially non-existent. Often you feel lost for a while. It gets and stays confusing, just like the action it describes. You often have little sense of the big picture and the "why" of certain actions, probably just like those on the scene felt at the time (and since?). There are few simple ways to describe what is in this book. Things are complex. Yes there are a few in the book that are just like the movies: courageous, loyal, and highly competent soldiers. And yes, like other accounts of the vietnam war, you cannot escape without PROFOUND respect and admiration for the combat soldiers who consistently fought for each other with unbelievable bravery, tenacity, and selflessness. That IS the biggest message of this book. But the other message here, and one that Nolan allows the reader to discover, is one of complexity and contradictions. Commanders were both personally courageous, and also at times reckless and incompetent, sometimes at the SAME time. Lives were lost or crippled because of it. You see the effect of ego and career ambition on unit effectiveness. You see the embarrassing manipulation (by some) of military medals and honors for personal ego, symbolism, and evasion of a true accounting of military command effectiveness. Finally, you see the devestating effect on the line soldier when confidence is lost in higher command. Clearly time and events as complex as this cannot be portrayed in a book like this with total accuracy. But this book, is the first I have read, that shows just how difficult combat and command can be, particularly when ridiculous restrictions are placed on the military by politicians. In many ways this is a disturbing book. I will read it again.

This book is one of the very best accounts of combat I have ever read. This book is as good as "We Were Soldiers Once and Young". I wish everyone that has ever been told that "we lost the war in Vietnam because the politicians made us fight it with one had tied behind our back" would read this book. It shows that the war was not lost because of lack of effort on our part. Our soldiers fought bravely and valiantly and their efforts are just now starting to be recognized by the general public. The North Vietnamese Army were a brave and determined foe and were willing to fight to the last man. When you read about the type of firepower they were willing to wade through and would keep coming at you, you soon realize that they were willing to accept losses that we could not comprehend nor stomach politically. Short of genocide, there was no way for the United States to win the Vietnam war.
This book carries my highest recommendation.

I was one of the guys on Ripcord during the events described in Mr. Nolan's book and I can't describe how I feel having read his account. Thank you, Mr. Nolan, for writing this account and bringing to the public the story of what happened. Even for someone who lived through it, the account is confusing, jumping back and forth from one company and one engagement to another. It must be very difficult for someone who wasn't there to visualize what was going on. Too many B's and C's and 501st's and 506th's thrown together in a seemingly haphazard array. Having said that, I'll add that such a confusing account, while it makes understanding difficult, accurately mirrors how most of us felt at the time. We didn't understand what was happening or why either. If this book did nothing else for me, it gave me the 'big picture' and finally after all these years, helped me understand the crises and horror felt by the commanders who led us. I'd always felt that they didn't care - a common sentiment among the grunts and other enlisted men. Now I have some peace knowing that the command decisions that seemed so uncaring at the time, were made in large by men battling political pressures that undermined their own abilities to conduct the operation. Gone is my anger, replaced by a new respect and empathy for officers who did the best they could to balance demands for results against a military heirarchy which denied them the men and options necessary to guarantee success.

Mr. Nolan, if you ever revise this book, perhaps you could include some diagrams or other visual aids to help readers better visualize the brigade structure and the flow of the battle. But whether you ever do that or not, thank you again for recording what happened during the most terrifying months of my own, and many other men's, lives.