This book does not try to make a political statement by addressing the issues surrounding America’s involvement in Vietnam. Instead, this is every soldier’s personal story of that horrific battle code named X-ray. The story is described for the reader in an hour-by-hour account of the four-day battle by hundreds of different soldiers. Collectively these soldiers’s gave an account of all points of view. Interviews include medics, infantrymen, helicopter pilots, officers, sergeants, reporters, and even the enemy.

The book opens with a brief description of the training the soldiers of the 1st battalion 7th Calvary received before leaving the United States. The training consisted of an intense fourteen-month program designed to prepare the solider for a new warfare tactic, called airmobile warfare. Prior to the Vietnam War, the use of the helicopter had been limited to transporting t

In the summer of 1963 the war escalated to include widespread bombing of communist forces. By the time of Kennedy’s death America would have 16,000 ‘advisors’ in the country. Kennedy was assassinated in Nov. of 1963. The following day his successor Lyndon Johnson declared "I am not going to lose Vietnam. I am not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went”. On March 8th 1965 the first units of Marines went ashore at Danang, the first officially recognized U.S. troops had entered the fray. It is important to remember that the leaders at this time thought they were doing the right thing. After all they were stopping communism, preventing the dreaded “Domino Effect”.

By noon two NVA regiments were in place to attack the LZ. B-Company had moved through the jungle and contact was made with the NVA forces. B-Company was now cut-off from the rest off the 2nd platoon. At the LZ A-Company has now been inserted to help B-Company. As A-Company approached B-Companies position they saw the NVA moving around to flank B-Companies position, so they crossed a dry creek to cut off any NVA from flanking B-Companies position (www.nvo.org/vv98/other/010031.htm, 2001.).

It was not uncommon for “several hundred thousand” (Gitlin, 1989) young adults to gather, mostly peacefully, at various locations such as Washington, D.C. Most of these people were just caught up in the moment, feeling the way of the times, and being fanatical about what they felt was right. They were very sick of the numerous wars that America was fighting on others behalf, especially ones that they viewed as morally wrong. This was supported by the push for the government to return the young soldiers back to their homes and distrust of governmental policies.

The French were overrun at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 after over 50 years of colonial rule. Eisenhower’s advisors after calculating the forces necessary to win the war were perceptive enough to convince him to keep the U.S. out of the Indochina war. President Kennedy was not as fortunate in the advice he received from the JCS and civilian advisors. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara’s reliance on numbers and the lack of a Vietnam policy contributed to the ill advice Kennedy received. On May 10, 1961 the JCS went on record as recommending a military solution to the crisis in Vietnam. The effort to persuade Kennedy into using troops continued until his death. It has been suggested using declassified documents that General Taylor and General Harkin deliberately misled the President with falsified reports about U.S. military progress in South Vietnam.

In late September 1965 the 1st Cavalry Division shipped out of Ft. Benning, GA and into its Base Camp at An Khe in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. In late October of 1965 the troops of 1st brigade were sent into battle after a large North Vietnamese force attacked the Plei Me Special Forces camp. The enemy was fought off and in early November 3rd Brigade replaced the 1stBrigade. After three days of no contact during patrols, Hal Moore’s 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was ordered to make an assault in the Ia Drang Valley. His mission: “Find and kill the enemy” (www.lzxray.com 2002).

It was a bloody battle, both sides suffered heavy causalities. The 1st battalion went into battle with approximately five hundred and fifty men. In the first three days during X-ray seventy-eight Americans lost their lives, one hundred and twenty one were wounded with zero MIA. The enemy lost eight

Some topics in this essay:
Vietnam War, Lt Herrik's, Bay Pigs, Vietnam Instead, B-Company A-Company, Washington DC, Cong Battalion, Special Forces, Nixon” Troy, Robert McNamara’s, vietnam war, 1st battalion, wwwnvoorg/vv98/other/010031htm 2001, 1st battalion 7th, battalion 7th, battalion battle, b-companies position, 1st battalion battle, 2nd platoon, south vietnam, washington dc, antiwar movement, battalion 7th calvary, ho chi minh, landing zone x-ray,