Last Men Out; The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam
New York: Free Press, 2011. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. x, 293, [1] pages. Map. Illustrations. Source Notes and Selected Bibliography. Index. Ink notation on fep. DJ is in a plastic sleeve. Bob Drury is the author/coauthor/editor of nine books. He has written for The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Men’s Journal, and GQ. Tom Clavin is the author or coauthor of sixteen books. He was the investigative features correspondent for Manhattan Magazine. Derived from a Kirkus review: An exciting, focused account of the bitter evacuation of the last Marines securing the U.S. embassy compound in Saigon on April 30, 1975. The Americans washed their bloody hands of the Vietnam War with the Paris Peace Accords of January 1973. The North Vietnamese Army broke the treaty by late 1974 and invaded its southern neighbor. Encircled by the North Vietnamese Army and the Vietcong by April 29, 1975, Saigon was braced for an invasion, with the North Vietnamese called for evacuation of all Americans. The airport had been operating nonstop during the preceding weeks to remove tens of thousands of high-risk South Vietnamese, civilian contractors as well as refugees and war brides . The only option for evacuation of the Americans was by helicopter. Drury and Clavin ably narrate this suspenseful saga, full of conflicting personalities including Sgt. Juan Valdez, who was in charge of the MSGs; and the intractable Ambassador Graham Martin, immovable and holding out for peace talks until ordered by presidential request to get out. A thrilling narrative of bravery, bravado and loss. More