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Title details for Sign Here for Sacrifice by Ian Gardner - Available

Sign Here for Sacrifice

The Untold Story of the Third Battalion, 506th Airborne, Vietnam 1968

by Ian Gardner
Ian Porter
Audiobook
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A hard-hitting history of the U.S. airborne unit who made a name for themselves in the unforgiving jungles of South Vietnam.
"It was easier killing than living." Third Battalion 506th Airborne veteran
Drawing on interviews with veterans, many of whom have never gone on the record before, Ian Gardner follows up his epic trilogy about the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II with the story of the unit's reactivation at the height of the Vietnam War. This is the dramatic history of a band of brothers who served together in Vietnam and who against the odds lived up to the reputation of their World War II forefathers.
Brigadier General Salve Matheson's idea was to create an 800-strong battalion of airborne volunteers in the same legendary "Currahee" spirit that had defined the volunteers of 1942. The man he chose to lead them was John Geraci, who would mold this young brotherhood into a highly cohesive and motivated force.
In December 1967, the battalion was sent into the Central Highlands of Lam Dong Province. Geraci and his men began their Search and Destroy patrols, which coincided with the North Vietnamese build-up to the Tet Offensive and was a brutal introduction to the reality of a dirty, bloody war. Gardner reveals how it was here that the tenacious volunteers made their mark, just like their predecessors had done in Normandy, and the battalion was ultimately awarded a Valorous Unit Citation. This book shows how and why this unit was deserving of that award, recounting their daily sanguinary struggle in the face of a hostile environment and a determined enemy.
Through countless interviews, Sign Here for Sacrifice shows the action, leadership, humor and bravery displayed by these airborne warriors.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 2, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781472861672
      • File size: 352606 KB
      • Duration: 12:14:35

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 7, 2022
      Historian Gardner (Tonight We Die as Men) continues his series on the Third Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in this action-packed account of the unit’s tour-of-duty in Vietnam. Drawing on in-depth interviews, Gardner recounts how the unit was reactivated after WWII and sent to Vietnam in May 1967. The Currahees, as they were known, took part in many combat operations, including the battle for Phan Thiet during the 1968 Tet Offensive, and the bulk of the narrative consists of long, detailed depictions of firefights, search and destroy missions, and more. In admiring, sometimes breathless prose, Gardner captures the men in action: handed a grenade launcher by a wounded soldier, medic Tom “Swede” Lundgren “immediately put it to good use and obliterated the enemy machine gun with a volley of 40mm.” There are also scenes of terror and anguish, including the discovery of Lt. Dennis Kinnard’s “mangled remains” after he stepped on a howitzer shell “fitted with a cleverly designed bamboo pressure pad.” Though the steady drumbeat of missions grows monotonous, Gardner convincingly argues that the Vietnam Currahees “stood every inch as tall as their forebears in World War II.” This is a comprehensive history of one airborne infantry regiment’s Vietnam War.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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