The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965-1973

Place_Pub: Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1985. First? Edition. First? Printing. Hardcover. Very good/Good. 411, illus., maps, sources and bibliography, index, DJ somewhat worn and soiled: small edge tears/chips. Shelby L. Stanton is a noted military historian. During the conflict in Vietnam, he was commissioned as an infantry officer of the US Army and completed the Airborne, Ranger, and Special Forces Officer courses. His six years on active military duty included service throughout Southeast Asia, where he earned the Vietnam service and campaign medals. After being wounded in Laos, he was medically retired with the rank of captain. He is the author of Rangers at War; Rise and Fall of an American Army: US Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965-1973; and Vietnam Order of Battle. The first complete military history of the U.S. ground forces in the Vietnam War. It has been hailed by military publications as well as the New York Times as an absolutely essential addition to any complete Vietnam library. This is an honest book-one well worth reading. . . . Stanton has laid his claim to the historian's ranks by providing his reader with well-documented, interpretive assessments." -"Parameters" "The Vietnam War remains deep in the nation's consciousness. It is vital that we know exactly what happened there-and who made it happen. This book provides a complete account of American Army ground combat forces-who they were, how they got to the battlefield, and what they did there. Year by year, battlefield by battlefield, the narrative follows the war in extraordinary, gripping detail. Over the course of the decade, the changes in fighting and in the combat troops themselves are described and documented. "The Rise and Fall of an American Army" represents the first total battlefield history of Army ground forces in the Vietnam War, containing much previously unreleased archival material. It re-creates the feel of battle with dramatic precision.