Richard Tregaskis

Vietnam Diary

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The first definitive eyewitness account of the combat in Vietnam, this unforgettable, vividly illustrated report records the story of the 14,000 Americans fighting in a new kind of war. Written by one of the most knowledgeable and experienced of America's war correspondents,Vietnam Diary shows how we developed new techniques for resisting wily guerrilla forces. Roaming the whole of war-torn Vietnam, Tregaskis takes his readers on the tense U.S. missions-with the Marine helicopters and the Army HU1B's (Hueys); with the ground pounders on the embattled Delta area, the fiercest battlefield of Vietnam; then to the Special Forces, men chosen for the job of training Montagnard troops to resist Communists in the high jungles. Mr. Tregaskis tells the stirring human story of American fighting men deeply committed to their jobs-the Captain who says: "You have to feel that it's a personal problem-that if they go under, we go under;" the wounded American advisor who deserted the hospital to rejoin his unit; the father of five killed on his first mission the day before Christmas; the advisor who wouldn't take leave because he loved his wife and feared he would go astray in Saigon. And the dramatic battle reports cover the massive efforts of the Vietnamese troops to whom the Americans are leaders and advisors. "Mr. Tregaskis has written a lot of diaries and witnessed a lot of warfare in the past twenty-odd years. If this book isn't up to Guadalcanal Diary and some of his others for stirring true-life adventure, well, the fault may not be entirely his own; Vietnam is a tedious, frustrating kind of war, especially for the 14,000 Americans involved in it. He was there from early October, 1962, to early January, 1963, and in those months he had an enormous amount of experience: flying with Army and Marine Corps helicopters and Vietnamese fighter planes, and slogging around in the rice paddies and jungles with the Arvins (Vietnamese infantry). As an intimate and unadorned account of what so many of our career soldiers and draftees (quite possibly you will know one of the hundreds mentioned by name) are going through day by day over there, this can be wholeheartedly recommended." -Kirkus Reviews, 1963.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: JMFDEA PRESS
• Seitenzahl: 598
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. November 2021
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 32mm
• Gewicht: 854g
• ISBN-13: 9781956695052
• ISBN-10: 1956695052
• Artikelnr.: 62921817

Autorenporträt

After graduating from Harvard cum laude in 1938, Richard Tregaskis was a journalist and a staff member of the International Service. RT was anxious to get to the heart of the action to be able to tell the heart stories of the valiant men putting their lives on the line for our country. He was sent as a correspondent to cover operations of the Pacific Fleet at the outbreak of World War II. His experiences in the South Pacific became his first book. He wrote about war in a unique way and Guadalcanal Diary earned him a permanent spot in American literature and set the genre of war correspondence. It continues to be essential reading by U.S. military personnel. Tregaskis was also in the European theatre following the Allies of the invasion of Italy. While there he was hit by German shrapnel. A piece went through his helmet and head and out the other side of his helmet. After learning how to speak and use his right hand again, he continued writing. In short time, came Invasion Diary and Stronger Than Fear. In 1947 he journeyed for two years around the world. He spent most of that time observing the Nationalist-Communist war in China, from which he barely escaped. From those amazing experiences came Seven Leagues to Paradise, Last Plane to Shanghai, and China Bomb: A Novel. RT was compelled to write about the dangers of indirect insurgencies, and why they are successful. Since WWII, we had constant emerging enemies who brought new kinds of war. Tregaskis wrote about all of them. RT felt compelled to pen X-15 Diary: The Story of America's First Space Ship, which describes the full story of the X-15 hypersonic manned rocket ship, first of its kind in the race to space. There are the many stories of the men and women who worked tirelessly in this great chapter of American history. Vietnam Diary, another seminal war correspondence book, was the first definitive eyewitness account of this new style of guerrilla combat. Tregaskis was on the frontlines for four months to share the compelling stories of courageous men fighting in these vicious battles. Due to his special skills and extensive travel in Vietnam, RT was contracted to write about one of the largest war-time construction efforts in history. His book, Building the Bases The History of Construction in Southeast Asia was an incredible undertaking which only he, with his talent and expertise, could write. Amidst writing for motion pictures and television, RT delved into fictional biographies. Warrior King: Hawaii's Kamehameha the Great was created out of his love of Hawaii after he made it his home. It is an exceptional historical story of the legendary leader of the Hawaiian Islands. RT left behind a halfway finished love story, The Secret of the Taj, about Mumtaz Mahal who inspired the creation of the Taj Mahal. It was out of his passionate love of his wife, Moana, and their assignments to India, that this manuscript came to fruition. In 1964, Richard Tregaskis was awarded the George Polk Award for reporting under hazardous conditions for the book that became Vietnam Diary. The helmet he wore in 1943 in Italy when a shell fragment pierced through it and into his skull is on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, along with a copy of Invasion Diary. Although RT had challenges with Type I diabetes, he never complained and it never stopped him from telling the important stories of the times as they were happening. During his life Richard Tregaskis clambered in and out of jeeps, fighters, bombers, trucks, and choppers while carrying his pack and notebook into the battles of nine wars. He was a special war correspondent who was able to sense the problems of the men on the front lines, while having an extraordinary ability to understand the strategy of war.