The year was 1965. Operation Rolling Thunder commenced with a thunderous presence overhead as it swept across the skies of North Vietnam, while the initial wave of U.S. ground troops touched down in the South. In the Ia Drang Valley, Americ…

Across Vietnam, American forces initiated extensive "search and destroy" campaigns; victory was increasingly defined not by land gained but by the number of enemy casualties. Amidst the brutal fighting on slopes like those of Hill 875, a gr…

As the sweeping Tet Offensive unfolded, catching the Americans off guard, enemy forces advanced. Around Khe Sanh and Pleiku, U.S. soldiers found themselves pinned down in sieges. A subsequent American counteroffensive was launched, but the …

The unrest of 1968 proved pivotal in Nixon’s rise to the presidency. American troop levels in Vietnam reached their highest point, and the draft intensified. Karl Marlantes weathered fierce fighting within the dense jungle on Hill 484, whil…

As American forces begin their pullout, training is underway to equip South Vietnamese troops to assume responsibility for the conflict. Gery Benedetti navigates the treacherous currents of the Mekong Delta. James Anderson guides his battal…

During one of the war’s closing engagements, Bob Clewell’s helicopter crew faced a relentless barrage of enemy fire. Joe Galloway made his way back to Vietnam, while in Washington, D.C., Barry Romo publicly cast aside his medals as an act o…