In Black Hawk Down, the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once & Young, the fighting lasted three days. In The Village, one Marine squad fought for 495 days—half of them died.
Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day
It is an amazing book - a USMC squad operating with a small local militia and the realities of living in a village amongst a people whose loyalties are divided. If you are into Vietnam Skirmish level gaming this book is a goldmine of scenarios and a 5 star must read.
The author served as a USMC Captain in Vietnam from 1966-68, later worked for RAND and became the Assistance Secretary for Defense in the Reagan administration. He is a prolific writer and has toured Iraq and Afghanistan several times over the past decade. I had the honour of meeting him this week when he spent a few hours with my small class discussing anything and everything, after which he signed my copy of the Village. An inspiring individual.
Thanks for the post, this is right up my street. I'm straight onto amazon!
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