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Zusatztext “A RICH BLEND OF COMMAND STRATEGY AND HEROIC INDIVIDUAL EXPLOITS . . . An interesting and highly readable account of Marine Corps infantry operations in South Vietnam [that] perfectly captures the spirit of the gallant men who fought the battles and took the casualties.” —GEN RAYMOND G. DAVIS! USMC (Ret.) Former commanding general of the 3d Marine Division in Vietnam (1968-69) From their early days in 1965 when the order of the day was to drive the insurgent Viet Cong from the villages around Da Nang to the final! dramatic evacuation of Saigon ten years later! Semper Fi—Vietnam relates the whole gutsy! glorious saga of the Marines in Vietnam in stark! riveting detail. “A compelling and in-depth history of the Marine Corps ground campaigns in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975. This dramatic account of the principle USMA combat engagements in that long and bitter struggle provides a vivid look at the campaigns that is written primarily from the perspective of the troops who fought them. . . . Covers the campaigns and engagements . . . in considerable and meticulous detail.” — Sea Power Informationen zum Autor Edward F. Murphy Klappentext From their early days in 1965 when the order of the day was to drive the insurgent Viet Cong from the villages around Da Nang to the final, dramatic evacuation of Saigon ten years later, Semper Fi—Vietnam relates the whole gutsy, glorious saga of the Marines in Vietnam in stark, riveting detail. Acclimating to their strange new surroundings occupied the Marines' first few weeks in South Vietnam. . . . Throughout the day, peasants dressed in pajama-like clothing and sporting conical hats worked the paddies behind the heaving water buffalo. . . . If daytime scenes appeared bucolic, the arrival of sunset quickly changed that perception. Gunfire and explosions erupted at dusk. Marines nervously watched bright tracers cut colorful swaths across the night sky. From distant bamboo thickets, mortar shells flew skyward to crash in the paddies. The Marines were learning that the war in South Vietnam was unlike anything for which they'd been trained. Chapter One 1965 At 0545 on 8 March 1965, the four ships of the U.S. Navy's Amphibious Task Force 76, the Mount McKinley, Henrico, Union, and Vancouver, steamed into the harbor of Da Nang, South Vietnam. Slicing through four-foot-high waves, the vessels moved into position three thousand meters offshore. A raspy, clanging sound challenged the morning air as four heavy anchors pulled thick chain links to the bay's bottom. The eyes of hundreds of anxious U.S. Marines crowding the ships' railings peered through the haze of a light drizzle, furtively searching for a glimpse of the distant shoreline. Rear Admiral Don W. Wulzen, the task force commander aboard the Mount McKinley, ordered at 0600, "Land the landing force!" H hour was 0800. The well-armed Marines moved into position to begin the ship-to-shore movement. As they clambered down rope nets slung over the ship's steel sides, the weather suddenly worsened. The waiting landing craft bounced dangerously on the building waves. Mooring lines snapped under the strain. Soon the harbor's surface teemed with white-capped swells stretching to ten feet in height. At 0730 Admiral Wulzen ordered the landing postponed one hour so that larger, heavier, more stable landing craft could be brought into position. Once they were lashed securely alongside the transports, the troops resumed climbing down the treacherous nets. The loaded vessels moved into position for the run to the beaches. Many of the young men crouching nervously in the bobbing craft had fathers and uncles who had made landings on Pacific Ocean islands during World War II, just two decades earlier. These assaults had been deadly affairs. Enemy artillery ...
