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Search and Destroy: The Story of an Armored Cavalry Squadron in Vietnam: 1-1 Cav, 1967-1968

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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

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.

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.

Keith Nolan's final work, "Search and Destroy", is the story of the 1st Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Regiment, First Armored Division, during their deployment to Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. Told through the eyes of the soldiers, this is the gritty story of the brave men who fought in one of the most contested regions of Vietnam.

The first chapter of the book covers the preparations of the soldiers at Fort Hood. Along with introducing the readers to the officers and NCOs who would lead the men in combat, Nolan takes the opportunity to establish additional background information, such as the organization of the unit and the vehicles the men would use. The author also provides a perspective on the social problems raging across America at the time, and how those tensions seeped into the unit getting ready for combat.

Readers looking for action won't be disappointed. Using the men's stories as the basis of the book, Nolan follows the men from their first contact in August 1967, through the departure of the last men in December 1968. In a surprising move, chose not to whitewash the actions of the men. Along with describing the heroic actions of the men, Nolan also shares with readers some of the less-than-honorable things that happened. I found it refreshing that the author chose to tell the whole story.

The story is supplemented with graphics depicting vehicle silhouettes, and charts of the operation areas; and numerous black and white photographs. Nolan completes the story with an epilogue telling the readers what happened to the men after the war.

This is one of the best unit combat unit histories I have read, and I highly recommend it to any reader interested in the Vietnam War. I am Nolan was an incredibly talented historian, and I am disappointed this is his final work.

I was there during much of what is described in this book (Feb - Nov 1968) and can attest to much of what is presented. (On the 13th page of pictures showing captured weapons with Captain Roessler and Maj. Lundquist, I am the "unidentified trooper" in the picture. I was the Captain's Artillery Forward Observer and later the Squadron Artillery Liaison Officer. Nolan does an excellent job of capturing the good, the bad, and the ugly of in this story as it actually happened.

I really want to say that this book is great last book by Mr Nolan. I have always enjoyed his books. Even if it showed a bad light about the US Military and the way it fought the war. He NEVER put his social or political views in his books. He was just the medium for the Vets to tell thier hard stories to. I will truelly miss him and the way tells a story. I can not think of any other author at this time who can tell it the way the vet tells it.
The book is a little differant this time around. The notes at the begining show what changes are made. But it still has the same hard hitting direct veteran stories that make Nolan's books outstanding and enjoyable reading.I have most of his books and I reread all of them. It comes across to me as "Saving Private Ryan" in book form but much better.
For this book I really enjoyed it and it now wants me to look for more info and books on 1/1 Cav and the 23rd ID. It is not for the faint of heart, some of the stories are are to read even for a veteran like me. BUT THE STORIES MUST BE TOLD. Many of Nolan's other books cover actions of the 23rd ID. I'm just saying that give this book a try and see what you think. If you enjoy it and have never read any of Mr Nolan's give them a try.

SEARCH & DESTROY: THE STORY OF AN ARMORED CALVARY SQUADRON IN VIET NAM comes from a military historian and author who spent most of 20 years researching and writing about the battles waged by thousands of American troops during the Vietnam War. A year and a half after his death, Keith Nolan's final survey has finally been released, and is a 'must' for any military history library focusing on Vietnam.

"Search and Destroy" is an historical compilation of places, persons and events chronicled between 1967 and 1968 about the 1st Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored division which first deployed to Viet Nam from Fort Hood Texas in August of 1967. The Novel was written by Keith W. Nolan an American military historian (1964 - 2009). Mr. Nolan is the author of eleven additional books that chronicle the Viet Nam war period.

The book is narrated by Mr. Nolan who quotes from extensive document research and interviews with the soldiers (dragoons) of the 1-1Cavalry. The writing is straight forward and events are organized chronologically.

Keith Nolan's introduction to his book reminds the reader of the national burden, now mostly forgotten after forty years that the United States assumed to assuage the "Domino Theory" of communist domination of Indochina as first expressed by President Eisenhower in a 1954 news conference. This burden translated to a staggering death toll; an estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians, 1.1 million North Vietnamese troops, 200 thousand South Vietnamese Troops, and 58 thousand U.S. Troops. While the determination and heroism of American troops is what is most often repeated, Nolan finds in his chronicle that there was a different reality at ground level that "smudged" that picture around the edges.

Armored units fighting in Vietnam by early 1967 included one armored cavalry regiment, six mechanized infantry battalions, four armored cavalry squadrons, two tank battalions, an air cavalry squadron, and five separate ground cavalry troops and it was apparent that armored units of all types were proving far more useful in combat than had previously been thought possible. Contrary to established doctrine, armored units in Vietnam were being used to maintain pressure against the enemy in conjunction with envelopment by airmobile infantry. Moreover, tanks and APC's frequently preceded rather than followed dismounted infantry through the jungle, where they broke trail, destroyed antipersonnel mines, and disrupted enemy defenses. Operation CEDER FALLS and JUNCTION CITY were the preludes to combined arms operations in Vietnam that confirmed the effectiveness of armored units. (Extracts from Army history Vietnam mounted).

Vietnam was a whole new kind of war for the United States, both morally and objectively. As the collective will of the American political system faded, the leadership fretted with how to disengage with honor. On the ground, the troops became further disenfranchised from the mission to win the hearts and minds of the people. It became problematic for the troops to distinguish the enemy; and so everyone was suspect. Atrocities followed as in the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968 and those that Nolan chronicles in his novel.

Nolan brings the personalities, plights and fears of the soldiers of 1-1 Cavalry to the reader. He details those killed and those that survived. He has us relive the futile effort of medical staff to provide medical attention to the local population of the poor; women, children and elderly devastated by the fighting and who were victims of both the Americans and the North Vietnamese. He details the medals given to soldiers and allows that some were deserved, others may not have been, and some were provided only to advance a career. Nolan touches briefly on the prisoners of war drawing a decided distinction between the care given by the U.S. to its prisoners as opposed to the sad death of First Sergeant Williams, captured by the North Vietnamese just after the Tet offensive. Finally, Nolan touches on the disillusionment of soldiers returning home, wounded, tired and disrespected by their countrymen as in this exchange between an arriving Lieutenant and the crowd: "How many babies you have to burn to get those ribbons?"

As to the domino effect - today as capitalism makes inroads in Vietnam; one would hardly suspect that Communists won the war in 1975 realizing Ho Chi Minh's lifelong dream - so it is of each return trip by Richard Brummett as Nolan shows us in the novel.

This was a very interesting, easy to read, historical novel and one I would highly recommend to readers.

I found this book too detailed with military terms, with no personality. I thought this book was very boring, and would givee it a poor review.