Vietnam Combat

Firefights and Writing History

By: Robin Bartlett

Narrated by: Chris Monteiro

The year 1968 was arguably the most significant year of the war. It was the height of the American involvement, and because officer casualties had been so great after the Tet Offensive of January 1968, all prior officer assignments were canceled.

1st Lieutenant Robin Bartlett suddenly found himself at the "repo-depo" in Bien Hoa reassigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. The unit had more helicopter support than any other unit in Vietnam. Immediate support from artillery, helicopter gunships, and ARA was only minutes away to support a firefight. Wounded troops could be medevaced even in dense jungle using "jungle penetrators." It also meant that Bartlett's platoon could deploy through helicopter combat assaults into hot LZs (landing zones) at a moment's notice if an enemy force had been spotted. And they did.

It was with extreme anxiety that Bartlett made his way to join his battalion and company—it was the worst of times to be a platoon leader in Vietnam. Bartlett also had to cope with personal issues of commitment to a war that was rapidly losing support not only back home but among the soldiers he was leading. Fifty years later, Bartlett's vivid combat experiences are brought to light in a fast-moving, well-written, first-person narrative expressing the horror, fear, anguish, and sometimes illogical humor of that war.

©2023 Robin Bartlett (P)2023 Tantor

Great First Person Account Of The Vietnam War

Interesting and very well written account of the Vietnam War from the point of view of a Platoon leader.

The book is full of details about the daily life of soldiers, their struggles, pastimes and encounters with the enemy.

There are also some funny anecdotes that make the whole book much more enjoyable.

accuracy per my own experience

I liked it all except the mispronunciation of Phouc Vihn. we did not pronounce it with such a vulgar slant.

The first person commentary and honesty exhibited. Welcome home my brother.

See above. Mistakenly put opinion in lieu of title. But that says it all. And yes? I was there also.

Excellent "boots on the ground" perspective.

This is an excellent "boots on the ground" perspective of a platoon leader in the war. It is very well written, and contains all aspects of the war- horrifying, humorous, and the seemingly trivial but fascinating issues soldiers faced. The narration is off in the introduction, but picks up quickly in the rest of the book.

financial disaster

it probably cost $620,000 to kill each enemy. Had we contributed the total cost of the war to a willing recipient, we could have saved 58,000+ lives.