The 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, of the 1st Armored Division, deployed to Vietnam from Fort Hood, Texas, in August 1967. Search and Destroy covers the 1/1’s harrowing first year and a half of combat in the war’s toughest area of operations: I Corps. The book takes readers into the savage action at infamous places like Tam Ky, the Que Son Valley, the Pineapple Forest, Hill 34, and Cigar Island, chronicling General Westmoreland’s search-and-destroy war of attrition against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. Exploring the gray areas of guerrilla war, military historian Keith Nolan details moments of great compassion toward the Vietnamese, but also eruptions of My Lai-like violence, the grimmer aspects of the 1/1’s successes. Search and Destroy is a rare account of an exemplary fighting force in action, a dramatic close-up look at the Vietnam War.
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Military Review
[Search and Destroy] is a terrific book that tells the story of the 1-1st Cavalry Squadron...Like all of Nolan's books, this one tells its story from the first-hand accounts of the soldiers and junior officers who fought the war on the ground and from the extensive research of official Army records. Through interviews with dozens of 1-1st Cav veterans, Nolan tells it like it is, warts and all. There are accounts of breathtaking heroism, of leadership that ranges from superb and courageous to badly flawed, and disturbing accounts of atrocities and mindless violence against Vietnamese civilians...Vietnam veterans will enjoy this honest account of a cavalry squadron's experience during a difficult and challenging year of unrelenting combat.
About the Author
Keith W. Nolan studied the Vietnam War for twenty-five years and has published articles on the subject in Leatherneck, the Marine Corps Gazette, Proceedings, and Vietnam magazine. He is also the author of eleven Vietnam War combat histories, all of which have been Military Book Club selections.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SEARCH AND DESTROY: THE STORY OF AN ARMORED CAVALRY SQUADRON IN VIETNAM: 1-1 CAV, 1967-1968,
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This review is from: Search and Destroy: The Story of an Armored Cavalry Squadron in Vietnam: 1-1 Cav, 1967-1968 (Hardcover)
SEARCH ABD DESTROY: THE STORY OF AN ARMORED SQUADRON IN VIETNAM: 1-1 CAV, 1967-1968
KEITH W. NOLAN ZENITH PRESS, 2010 HARDCOVER, $30.00, PHOTOGRAPHS, MAPS, 448 PAGES, APPENDICES, NOTES, GLOSSARY, BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX Vietnam is generally considered a 'grunt's' war rather than a tanker's war, and this view is justified since the infantryman carried most of the combat burden in Vietnam. The mobility of armored cavalry formations, however, made them extremely valuable in Vietnam, especially during the latter phases of the war when the lessening number of combat troops made mobility highly ctitical. Early in the war, the upper echelons of the U.S. command structure actually believed that most of Vietnam was unsuitable for the use of armor, while armor officers themselves continued to think in terms of a classical tank war on the German plain against their Russian counterparts. The deployment of tanks and armored personnel carriers to Vietnam would help dispel both these reservations and this tactical mindset of those who actually served in Southeast Asia with cavalry units, though the bulk of U.S. armored hardware and doctrine remained oriented towards a war in Europe. Though the fears that armored units were completely unsuited for operations in Vietnam definitely proved unfounded, cavalry units did have to modify and improvise tactics and techniques in Vietnam. This was especially true in countering ambushes where the swift use of firepower was critical. Soon, however, U.S. commanders learned to use armor as a jack hammer to tear the enemy free from his sanctuaries. The rapid insertion of airmobile infantry behind enemy units being pushed by armor frequently resulted in the creation of a killing zone from which few enemy escaped. Mechanized infantry proved very useful too, on 'mounted' search and destroy operations. SEARCH AND DESTROY: THE STORY OF AN ARMORED CAVALRY SQUADRON IN VIETNAM: 1-1 CAV, 1967-1968 is the story of the 1st Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Regiment "The U.S. Army's Most Battle-Honored Unit", 1st Armored Division, which deployed to Vietnam from Fort Hood, Texas, in August, 1967. The 1-1 Cavalry, which went to battle with tanks, armored cavalry assault vehicles, armored mortar tracks, and mechanized infantry squads-with support from air-cavalry scouts and gunships-performed magnificently in some of the bloodiest engagements in I Corps, one of the war's toughest areas of operations. A typical 'search and destroy' mission executed by armored and mechanized infantry units was accomplished in three phases: first, isolation of the area by surrounding it with troops or placing elements in blocking positions across likely avenues of enemy escape; second, a mounted sweep through the area with tanks leading, to disrupt any organized resistance, to detonate mines and booby traps and third, to locate one or more thorough searches by dismounted personnel accompanied by tanks and APCs. The squadron was at its best during 1967-1968, at the height of General Westmoreland's war of attrition against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. Soldiers in the squadron earned one Medal of Honor, four Distinguished Service Crosses, and thousands of Silver Stars, Bronze Stars with 'V' device, and Purple Hearts, during savage engagements in places like Tam Ky, the Que Son Valley, the Pineapple Forest, Hill 34, Cigar Island, and Tien Phuoc. Also covered is the ugly side of these engagements: wresting the enemy's control from the village populations who in many cases aided the enemy brought out in some of the soldiers an ugly side of the war-violence and brutality. Well respected and acclaimed military historian of the Vietnam War Keith William Nolan's new book is a refreshing look at the American experience in Vietnam. Nolan's very important work is an outstanding read that highlights once again the cruel ironies of the U.S. Army in Vietnam. His book provides a valuable contribution toward our understanding of the Vietnam War and its veterans. In an ironic twist, one of the veterans in this book, Richard Brummett attended Marist College where he served on the college newspaper, The Circle. He went back to Vietnam as a combat correspondent in 1971 but prior to his return, he approached a number of the staff who turned him down. One of those students was Bill O'Reilly (who would later go on to fame on Fox Network News). Brummett was surprized at him turning down this chance to go to Vietnam as a correspondent since he was the only one that supported the war. This was Nolan's last book due to his untimely death in February, 2009 from lung cancer and he will be sorely missed within the Vietnam veterans community. Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard Orlando, Florida
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well Done,
By
This review is from: Search and Destroy: The Story of an Armored Cavalry Squadron in Vietnam: 1-1 Cav, 1967-1968 (Hardcover)
Search and Destroy: The Story of an Armored Cavalry Squadron in Vietnam: 1-1 Cav, 1967-1968 by Keith W. Nolan. The late Keith Nolan did an excellent job of telling the story of the 1-1 Cav, from January 1967 through the unit's deployment to Vietnam in August 1967 and follows it to December 1968. He takes the unit from their training at Fort Hood, Texas to South Vietnam.
The book is excellent. He does a very good job of telling their story without any sugar coating. I was both shocked and pleased that Mr. Nolan told it like it was. His describing the atrocities committed by the men of the 1/1 Cav as well as the random acts of violence committed by the young troopers upon civilians and enemy prisoners is eye-opening. I found it interesting when decorations and medals were discussed. The fact that some of the medal citations did not match the events of the time is revealing. It was also interesting to see that the higher the rank, the higher the medal was common. His telling of the two years following those deploying, getting wounded or killed in action as well as the replacements helps one get a feel of being there. Boyd's Bastards and the adventures of Alpha Troop could be a book all by themselves. The extended coverage of the Tet Offensive is riveting. You get a feel for the entire area of operations of the Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division) which had operational control of the 1/1 Cav. The battles in Tam Ky, the Que Son Valley, Pineapple Forest, Hill 34, Tien Phouc, and Cigar Island will keep you turning page after page. I found the fighting on Cigar Island insightful. The island was honey-combed with tunnels and spider-traps that ambushed the 1/1 Cav at every turn. It was amazing to read of the tunnels and the horrors of the hidden enemy. The inclusion of the appendixes in the book add both value, insight, and a memorial for those who served on the 1/1 Cav. Appendix A "Those Who Died" listed the casualties from their arrival to the unit's final departure in 1972. It shows the real human cost of war. His inclusion of My Lai in the chronology as events and the calendar dictated is appreciated. Because of 1/1 Cav being under the operation control of the Americal Division it is very appropriate to mention My Lai. I appreciate his the straight-forward manner of including those events. This is more than just a simple battle narrative or unit history. I believe Mr. Nolan made a major contribution to the history of the Vietnam War. It is a must addition to the library of any one with an interest in Vietnam, the Armored Calvary, the Tet Offensive, and would be a great resource because of the honesty of the atrocities inclusion to use as a reference work for case studies in leadership and ethics in combat. Well done.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where No Shadows Fall,
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This review is from: Search and Destroy: The Story of an Armored Cavalry Squadron in Vietnam: 1-1 Cav, 1967-1968 (Hardcover)
Keith Nolan ends his career as he began it, by writing military history from the bottom up. Barely eighteen years old (the average age of a combat soldier during the Vietnam War) when he wrote "Battle for Hue", the author continued to explore the horror, exhilaration, and bravery of men in combat by reducing the scale of action to its individual components. With the exception of S.L.A Marshall, he was the only author of Vietnam combat history who could take a reader where the action was and give him some real notion of what it was like to be where the metal meets the meat.
What strikes one who has read all of Nolan's other works on the war most, and which makes this volume more poignant, is the weariness that tends to permeate it. One can note the progression from his earliest works to his last, from the idealistic young patriot to the jaundiced view of middle-age. Unlike his previous histories, this volume describes a multitude of atrocities committed by the men of the 1/1 Cav. The random acts of violence (both small and large in scale) dealt out by young American soldiers upon civilians and enemy prisoners alike is not candycoated or ameliorated by trying to explain it away as "the simple horror of war." His view of the Vietnamese, both civilians caught in the middle of a brutal civil war and enemy troops fighting for the unification of their homeland has also tended to become more realistic and sympathetic. The comparisons made by individuals within the unit concerned with other units that were more closely controlled and which obeyed the rules of engagement, doing what little they could (considering the nature of the American way of war) to win a counterinsurgency conflict, are chilling. This combination of sometimes subtle changes in Nolan's personal viewpoint, which came through prominently in "House to House", has produced the most balanced work in the author's oeuvre, moving it beyond a simple battle narrative or unit history. Sadly, this will be Nolan's last work. But consolation can be found in the fact that his collected works have provided invaluable testimony by and a deeper understanding of the motivations and actions of individual American soldiers in that still most controversial of American conflicts. May we meet again in the place where no shadows fall.
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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