Steel My Soliders' Hearts: The Hopeless to Hardcore Transformation of A U.S. Army, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Vietnam

New York: Rugged Land Books, 2002. First edition. FIrst edition/first printing [stated]. Hardcover. [14]. 4412 p. Illustrations. Endpaper maps. Glossary. "Steel My Soldiers' Hearts" is narrative nonfiction at its best--a tour de force of frontline combat action beginning the moment Hackworth's Huey lands in the Delta in January 1969 and ending shortly after he collects his eighth Purple Heart. Steel My Soldiers' Hearts is retired Colonel David Hackworth's account of his tour of duty in Vietnam commanding the 4/39th, an infantry battalion operating south of Saigon in the Mekong River delta. Poorly led (the previous commander had based the battalion in the middle of a mine field), with frightfully high casualties (40 percent during the six months prior to Hackworth's arrival), and fighting in the most dangerous of terrain, the 4/39th was a dispirited and demoralized group when Hackworth assumed command in January, 1969. Upon arrival, Hackworth fired many of the senior officers and then put the 4/39th through "Combat 101, " which made him so unpopular that at one point Hackworth was warned of a bounty some of his men had put out on him. Over the next five months, however, Hackworth would transform the 4/39 from "hopeless to hardcore, " dramatically reverse the casualty rate, score some spectacular victories over the Viet Cong, and earn the undying respect of his troops. Here's a gung ho and earthy firsthand account of the Vietnam War that fans of We Were Soldiers Once. Condition: Very good in very good dust jacket. Corners of several pages creased. Small stain at bottom edge.

Keywords: 39th Infantry, Tactics, 4/39th, Harcore Recondos, Insurgency, Sniper, Mekong Delta, War COrrespondent, Newsweek

ISBN: 9781590710029

[Book #65796]

Price: $37.50

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