“THE MEN WHO SACRIFICED FOR THEIR COUNTRY ARE RIGHTFULLY HERALDED . . . 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.”–ParametersThe 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. “Stanton’s writing . . . gives the reader a terrifying graphic description of combat in the many mini-environments of Vietnam.”–The New York Times“[A] MOVING, IMPORTANT BOOK.”–St. Louis Post-DispatchFrom the Paperback edition.

"Shelby Stanton has emerged as the leading military historian on the war in Southest Asia."COL. CHARLES B. MacDONALDAuthor of COMPANY COMMANDER and A TIME FOR TRUMPETSOne of the toughest and most challenging jobs in Vietnam was to be a U.S. Army Ranger running Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. The LRRPs took volunteers only, and training was designed to weed out all but the best. What emerged was an elite outfit of warriors in the finest sense of the word. Now Shelby Stanton, renowned military authority on the war in Southeast Asia, presents the first and only definitive history of the LRRPs and the U.S. Army Rangers in Vietnam. They''re all here: the Screaming Eagle Patrollers, Cochise Raiders, Charlie Rangers, Cobra Lightning Patrollers, and more.From the Paperback edition.

This is a monumental, encyclopaedic work of immense detail concerning US Army and allied forces that fought in the Vietnam War from 1962 through 1973. Extensive lists of units provide a record of every Army unit that served in Vietnam, down to and include separate companies, and also include US Army aviation and riverine units. Shoulder patches and distinctive unit insignia of all divisions and battalions. Extensive maps portray unit locations at each six-month interval. The title includes photographs and descriptions of all major types of equipment employed in the conflict.

“THE MEN WHO SACRIFICED FOR THEIR COUNTRY ARE RIGHTFULLY HERALDED . . . 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.”–ParametersThe 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. “Stanton’s writing . . . gives the reader a terrifying graphic description of combat in the many mini-environments of Vietnam.”–The New York Times“[A] MOVING, IMPORTANT BOOK.”–St. Louis Post-DispatchFrom the Paperback edition.

"Shelby Stanton has emerged as the leading military historian on the war in Southest Asia."COL. CHARLES B. MacDONALDAuthor of COMPANY COMMANDER and A TIME FOR TRUMPETSOne of the toughest and most challenging jobs in Vietnam was to be a U.S. Army Ranger running Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. The LRRPs took volunteers only, and training was designed to weed out all but the best. What emerged was an elite outfit of warriors in the finest sense of the word. Now Shelby Stanton, renowned military authority on the war in Southeast Asia, presents the first and only definitive history of the LRRPs and the U.S. Army Rangers in Vietnam. They''re all here: the Screaming Eagle Patrollers, Cochise Raiders, Charlie Rangers, Cobra Lightning Patrollers, and more.From the Paperback edition.

This is a monumental, encyclopaedic work of immense detail concerning US Army and allied forces that fought in the Vietnam War from 1962 through 1973. Extensive lists of units provide a record of every Army unit that served in Vietnam, down to and include separate companies, and also include US Army aviation and riverine units. Shoulder patches and distinctive unit insignia of all divisions and battalions. Extensive maps portray unit locations at each six-month interval. The title includes photographs and descriptions of all major types of equipment employed in the conflict.