Vietnam Combat: Firefights and Writing History

· Casemate
Ebook
288
Pages
Eligible
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About this ebook

An American soldier vividly recounts leading a platoon through the most chaotic and significant year of the Vietnam War.
In 1968, 1st Lieutenant Robin Bartlett was reassigned to the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). He suddenly found himself at the "repo-depo" in Bien Hoa. His unit had more helicopter support than any other in Vietnam. That meant immediate support was only minutes away. But It also meant that Bartlett's platoon could deploy at a moment's notice. And they did.
It was the worst of times to be a platoon leader in Vietnam, let alone a grunt serving in a combat unit. Beyond the brutality of combat, Bartlett faced a crisis of commitment as the war rapidly lost support both at home and among the soldiers he led. Fifty years later, Bartlett shares these harrowing experiences in a fast-moving, first-person narrative that shines a light on the horror, fear, anguish, and sometimes illogical humor of that war.

Finalist, 2023 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards

About the author

Promoted to 1st Lieutenant after only one year, Robin Bartlett, at 22 assumed the leadership of the 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Over the next seven months, he led a platoon on more than sixty air combat assaults and search and destroy missions. Robin Bartlett grew up in a military family. His grandfather, father and brother all attended West Point, but after thirteen elementary and middle schools and four high schools, he decided he'd had enough of the military. But in college, as the Vietnam War escalated and eighteen-year-olds were drafted daily, Bartlett joined his college's ROTC program and fell back into a familiar routine. Upon graduation as a Distinguished Military Graduate he volunteered for Infantry, Airborne, and Ranger training, and assignment to the 82d Airborne Division. He got everything he asked for...and more. Bartlett has spent most of his civilian career in the publishing field, marketing and selling textbooks, online journals, and medical databases. He worked for Prentice-Hall Publishers as a salesman and Marketing Director and for various publishers in sales, marketing, and editorial positions. He is a long-standing member of the Independent Book Publishing Association (IBPA) and was the Director of Education for the organization. Bartlett holds a BA degree in Comparative Literature from Claremont McKenna College in California and a master's degree in Media from Pace University in NYC. He has written numerous business publications and a previous professional book published by Dun & Bradstreet. He is the President of the NY/NJ Chapter of the 1st Cavalry Division Association, and a proud member of the 82d Airborne Division Association. He and his wife live in Norwood, New Jersey and have three sons none of whom have pursued military careers.

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