Voices of Courage: The Battle for Khe Sanh, Vietnam

by Ronald J. Drez, Douglas Brinkley

VOICES OF COURAGE tells the story of one of the most heroic efforts in American military history--a 77-day struggle for the remote Khe Sanh combat base in 1968, during which 6,000 perilously isolated marines withstood the onslaught of a superior enemy force. Drawing on a vast archive of recorded interviews and written material collected over the past 20 years by Ronald J. Drez and the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans, VOICES OF COURAGE features a narrative written by Drez and Douglas Brinkley that interweaves testimonials from the soldiers into a gripping account of every aspect of the battle. The book also includes two audio CDs--120 minutes of recordings in total--that allow readers to hear expanded accounts from the veterans in their own voices, introduced by acclaimed screen actor Stephen Lang.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent summary of the Battle of Khe Sanh starting with the Hill Fights of 1967 and to the end of the battle in April 1968. It comes with 2 CDs of interviews of Marines that were there. I was at Khe Sanh twice, but not during the battle. First in Aug-Sep 68 with the 4th Marines - when they went back to the Khe Sanh area to conduct patrols. I have a picture of me taken with Hills 950 and 1015 in the background. Then a few years ago I went back to Vietnam with my wife and retraced the entire area in I Corps that I was in in 1968-69. We visited the Vietnamese Khe Sanh Museum on site and I took a picture of me holding the picture of me in 1968 with the same two hills in the background. Of course the Curator claimed the NVA won the battle. I offered to send him books on the battle which I did. This was one of the 5 books I sent to him which he thanked me for. I told him that book authors in the US didn't have to have government approval to publish. And in fact this book is very critical of the President and Secretary of Defense.

Even though I knew a lot about the battle, I learned many things from this book that I didn't know - like the fact that US forces knocked out 7 tanks at Lang Vei special forces camp. For anyone interested in the Vietnam War this would be an excellent book to add to your reading list.

Ron

[John Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

4/18/19: it is about 3:30 in the morning. I'm up and wide awake. I finished this book last night. I found it well-written, illuminating about the actual events and facts of the siege of Khe Sahn, and unique in its inclusion of the CD recordings of interviews of many of the heroic survivors of this ferocious and nightmarish battle.

I am, right now, not able to write a review of the book. My nerves are just a little too raw. My wife said she had to leave the bed due to my yelling and ranting in my sleep. I don't remember!

I have to just let this book ruminate in my head for a while. I'll write something later.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! I recommend reading/following along with the supplied CD's they really bring this book to life! One of the most intriguing portions of the CD's comes I believe in the second CD or maybe toward the end of the first; is an audio recording of one of the many NVA artillery barrages. Highly recommend!

[Mark Levandoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a gritty, down in the trench view of the battle,man to man. From the opening moves until the aftermath the overall strategies and results are explained in simple terms. B&W photos with captions are throughout the book. The few maps given cover the area in question(but I believe you can never have enough maps or diagrams). There are two audio discs that are included which give soldiers accounts of the phases of the battle given in the book chapters. Worth the read.

[Ian Major · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and easy to read. Well summed up in this quotation:

'The men who fought at Khe Sanh were both the big winners and the big losers. They met Giap's forces and virtually annihilated them, only to have their efforts ignored by their president, the press, the television reporters, and the American people. Their great victory at Khe Sanh and during Tet was spun into defeat and stalemate. This book is an attempt to set things straight, and is dedicated to all who fought in our nation's longest, most controversial war, and never lost a battle.'