Under Fire with ARVN Infantry: Memoir of a Combat Advisor in Vietnam, 1966-1967

by Bob Worthington

 From 1945 to 1973, more than 100,000 members of the U.S. military were advisors in Vietnam. Of these, 66,399 were combat advisors. Eleven were awarded the Medal of Honor, 378 were killed and 1393 were wounded. Combat advisors lived and fought with South Vietnamese combat units, advising on tactics and weapons and liaising with local U.S. military support.
Bob Worthington’s first tour (1966–1967) began with training at the Army Special Warfare School in unconventional warfare, Vietnamese culture and customs, advisor responsibilities and Vietnamese language. Once in-country, he acted as senior advisor to infantry defense forces and then an infantry mobile rapid reaction force.
Worthington worked alongside ARVN forces, staging operations against Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army units, and coordinated actions with the U.S. Marines. He describes a night helicopter assault by a 320-man ARVN battalion against a 1,200-man NVA regiment. On another night, the Vietcong ceased fire while Worthington arranged a Marine helicopter to medevac a wounded baby.

373 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2018

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Worthington was my boss at Fort Polk's Mental Hygiene Clinic in 1974-75. During that time I came to respect him as a psychologist who taught me all I ever knew about psychology- enough to assure my future career as a counselor with my local mental health clinic and eventually with the VA. After my Army career ended in 2008 I met him again and was privileged to co-present a lecture on comparing the Vietnam War with the Iraq War at the Vietnam War Symposium at Texas Tech University at Lubbock, TX. What a joy to be reunited but my mild, one tour, combat experience was dwarfed by his vast experience in Lebanon and two tours in Vietnam. His book, Under Fire with ARVN Infantry is engaging, detailed, honest, and reflects the observations of an Infantry officer, a psychologist, and an imperfect human being. Either his memory is photographic or he took copious notes! Each operation was described in almost an after action report style with added human interest observations. For example, he writes about the horror of the sights and smells of a napalm battle aftermath and notes: "Wars do not stop for such human responses, so we continued our advance on the hill."
Bob correctly identifies one of the causes of PTSD - the inability to respond emotionally at the time - unfortunately, the response hits the combat veteran much later and sometimes out of the blue. It is clear to me now why he was such an effective psychologist - because he experienced first hand what his soldiers were going through - or worse. And yet, his compassion for the weak among us never made him seem detached from the pain his patients were going through. He later would become a pioneer in PTSD treatment and conducted thorough interviews of every Vietnam POW. Dr. Bob Worthington is a quiet warrior whose life of service and courage has impacted the military and psychology in everlasting ways.

[June Mendell]

Very interesting read. Excellent writing and keeps one wondering what is next.

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review


Bob Worthington’s Under Fire with ARVN Infantry: Memoir of a Combat Advisor in Vietnam 196 – 1967 is a must-read memoir for those seeking to understand America’s involvement with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam at the tactical level during the early war years. Written with humility, honesty, and keen self-reflection, Worthington’s writing is absent much of the bravado or exaggeration found in many military memoirs. Instead, readers will find an honest assessment of American and South Vietnamese soldiers as Worthington saw them at the company and battalion level. His later life as a psychologist and journalism professor is evident in the writing and analysis present.

Review by Tim Heck (May 2020)