Unheralded Victory: The Defeat of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, 1961-1973 [Hardcover]

Mark W. Woodruff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Along with a half million other young men, Mark Woodruff put his life on the line to serve his country in Vietnam. Like so many others, he returned home to find himself regarded not as a hero but as a humiliating reminder of the only war the United States ever lost. This Marine, however, is determined to set the record straight. Woodruff never wavers from the cold, hard facts in this riveting book. Battle by battle, Unheralded Victory provides incontrovertible proof that the United States won this war, from the vaunted 1968 Tet Offensive–in reality a shattering defeat that decimated the Viet Cong–to Linebacker II, the final knockout blow that forced North Vietnam to the table. Make no mistake: our warriors in Vietnam were victorious. It’s time America sat up and took notice.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a brave, compelling, and audaciously argued book that shows we are far from finished with the Vietnam War. -- Canberra Times, April 1, 2000

...a long overdue, factual review of the Vietnam War. It is the definitive book on the Vietnam War. It is a MUST..." -- Caltrap: The Official Newsletter of the 3rd Marine Div Assoc May/June 2000

...an extremely useful - and important - book. -- Marine Corps Gazette, May 2000

...an informative read that will stir your emotions and keep your interest. -- Leatherneck Magazine, March 2000

The evidence that Woodruff tables deserves debate. I would recommend it for anyone who teaches the Vietnam War. -- Melbourne Age, April 29, 2000

About the Author

Mark W. Woodruff enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 1967, serving in Vietnam with Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment from December 1967 to December 1968. After leaving the Marine Corps, he received his B.A. and M.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University in California. He is now a lieutenant commander in the Royal Australian Navy and a psychologist with the Vietnam Veterans Counseling Service in Perth, Australia. He is also the author of Foxtrot Ridge. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 338 pages
• Publisher: Vandamere Pr; First edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918339510
• ISBN-13: 978-0918339515
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #473,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Facts at last, December 16, 1999

By 

kevin howell (Jacksonville, N. C. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unheralded Victory: The Defeat of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, 1961-1973 (Hardcover)

Finally we have a book that pulls no punches and tells the facts about the War in Veit Nam truthfully. Woodruff explodes several myths perpetrated by Peace activists and communist propagandists concerning among other things, body counts, civilian casualties, American troop morale and fighting ability. His research is long and hard and complete. With access to files from Hanoi, Washington and Moscow he uncovers startling revelations and observations written and spoken by Communist military leaders who are just now coming forth with the truth. This book as a must read for everyone who wishes to find the truth about the American involvement in Veit Nam.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read a valuable shift in perspective, January 18, 2007

By 

Cpt Scott USA retired (HCMC, Viet Nam) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unheralded Victory: The Defeat of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, 1961-1973 (Mass Market Paperback)

Hello, I feel very strongly about this book. I feel quite inadequate to write a review of other peoples personal experiences in vietnam.

I served in Republic of vietnam from 1967 through 1969 as a Fresh butterbar(2nd Lt. then on as XO and revolving platoon leader(casualties for 2nd lts was always quite high) for the company i served with,then on as Platoon leader for a second tour then serving briefly as Co of company for a grand total of 3 days until i got wounded by mortar fire. While i feel this book is a bit too Right wing it Clearly shows a significant amount of popular media of that era and today is frankly nonsense.A fact that no one seems inclined to reinterpret. Many people don't like this book, because if doesn't fit into their very very simplistic broad general view of a very complex civil war(take a look at vietnamese history the vietnamese have fought a handful of civil wars and wars of conquest) involving two superpowers Selling their brand to the the world,Period, Vietnam just happened to manifest itself perfectly as the testing ground much to the pain of the vietnamese. it's coke or pepsi with a pistol to you head and thats that. The entire strategic goals of the vietnam war and the way it were fought were obviously completely flawed,I highly advise everyone to read "A bright shining lie" along with"dirty little secrets of the vietnam war" a bit of a cheesy title. and a bit simplistic but spot on with Facts about the conflict with only a very slight sense of favoritism towards the USA.the truth lies flat in the middle of these three books and is frankly much simpler than most would lead you to believe. I served in highly populated areas my first year in country, there was definently "accidental" death of civilians from all manner of reasons(out at night after curfew triggering ambushes,random artillery fire. It was dangerous to be a civilian in vietnam and they suffered greatly regardless of their political stance. my second year was spent mainly fighting NVA in terrain with almost no civilian population.This book should be taken with a grain of salt but there are many many facts in this book that highlight directly how much horse puckey and COMPLETE DISTORTION OF FACT was used for dramatic effect both then and now,I feel competent to say this as i am currently typing this from my home in vietnam, i speak vietnamese fluently am married to a vietnamese woman who's fathers side of the family was Viet Cong and her mothers ARVN.

Along with my unique experience as well as getting a real earful of communist propoganda most of the References the author makes towards Hanoi's Political and propaganda machine are easily found here in print by vietnamese publications.I strongly urge people truly interested in learning some amazing and not often ,if ever talked about facts to READ THIS BOOK. you probably won't like its point of view,(i had a real tough time swallowing alot of" a bright shining lie" but the author does make a very strong and factual arguement. So does this former marine.Get this book and the others and stop kidding yourself about how much you know about vietnam because you watched Platoon and Full Metal Jacket...

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why did it take so long to write the truth, April 15, 2001

By 

Ed Boyes (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unheralded Victory: The Defeat of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, 1961-1973 (Hardcover)

Woodruff's well researched book finally puts the correct perspective on the Vienam War. Unheralded Victory makes it clear that, by any yardstick of military activity, the Vietnam conflict was an endless series of crushing defeats for the North Vietnamese forces and a long, small action, hard fought victory for the US (and their allied) forces.

What escapes most observers of the Vietnam War is the distinction between winning the war and ending the war, something that Woodruff clarifies. He points out that while Westmoreland submitted plans for winning the conflict (the invasion of North Vietnam), this was totally unacceptable for political reasons, leaving only the ending of the war in the best available circumstances as the most realistic option.

In cataloging the allied victories, Woodruff draws into sharp relief just how ill-served the world's public was by the western press corps. A group of people who were in the main (and there were some notable exceptions), a self serving, self appointed tribe of freeloaders interested only in getting a good story, rather than telling the truth. Aiding the western press corps was the propaganda machinery of North Vietnam who must have viewed the western journalists as the best free advertising on the planet.

Unheralded Victory draws no specific conclusions as the right or wrong of supporting the government of South Vietnam. Many antiwar commentators gleefully point out that the Saigon regime was despostic, cruel, repressive, corrupt and undemocratic, while failing to acknowledge that the North Vietnam government was essentially the same. Additionally, the Saigon government's stated position was to be left alone to mismanage its own affairs, while North Vietnam's stated position was to invade the south by force of arms and mismanage the whole country - something it continuously denied during the conflict, claiming that the war in the south was due to local action.

The book itself relies exclusively on facts, documenting both the sacrifice and valour of the individual soldiers and the overall conduct of the war. It dispells the myths of fragging, combat refusals, drug abuse and most other icons of the antiwar factions. In place of these it demonstrates the war could not have been concluded in the sense of a clear cut victory, but that up until the last combat troops left the country, there was no question that the allied forces won every decisive engagement. This is what makes the book so readable - the bald statements of victory all speak for themselves. There is no 'stab in the back' concepts, no political rantings, no finger pointing, no revisionist history, just plain good old 'political theory' destroying facts.

It doesn't matter which side of the political fence you want to sit on, Unheralded Victory shows that something went on in Vietnam that was missed at the time (for whatever reason) and it is opportune to revisit the scene - not to rewrite history, but to try to understand why the glaringly obvious victory by the allies, and patent military failure of the North, was so badly misunderstood both then and now. Woodruff has done us a great service in presenting the truth as it was and in doing so highlights the price paid by those who fought and didn't come home.

A first class read.