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One Hell of a Ride: Inside an Armored Cavalry Task Force in Vietnam by
Colonel William C. Haponski
February 15, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Book
Goes Inside Both Enemy and Friendly Forces in Vietnam Combat
Combatant
Books, a Florida small press, has published One Hell of a Ride: Inside an
Armored Cavalry Task Force in Vietnam by retired Army Colonel William C.
Haponski, the task force commander.
Lieutenant
General Frederic J. Brown (Ret), former Chief of Armor and Cavalry US Army, and
an armored cavalry task force commander himself in Vietnam, said on Amazon.com,
"The historical treatment, general research, NVA content, and ability to write
well make this absolutely the most comprehensive, best book on combat in
Vietnam I have read."
Against the
backdrop of the full range of Indochina Wars 1945-1975, Haponski chronicles the
dark and dangerous days in the III Corps area north of Saigon, presenting a
microcosm of the entire Vietnam War.
His
research base consisted of over 13,000 pages of combat records from National
Archives, translations of enemy histories by a retired CIA officer, hundreds of
testimonies from combatants, and his own extensive journals, letters,
audiotapes, photos and films, and secondary sources, especially those revealing
the area and enemy.
In
the foreword to the book, General of the Army Jean Delaunay, a former Chief of
Staff of the French Army, acclaimed it as "a magnificent work for future
generations."
The
story, always focusing on the critical area north of Saigon, moves from French
colonial experiences in Indochina into
massive involvement of American forces. Then Haponski takes the reader
inside the action as his task force conducts relatively quiet pacification
operations which suddenly erupt into violent combat against regiments of two
NVA divisions. The book continues with Vietnamese battles in this area after
withdrawal of American forces in 1972 to the fall of Saigon in 1975. Finally,
Haponski presents the post-Vietnam experience of returning to the scenes of
battle and finding the little Vietnamese girl he loved, the same age as his own
daughter, now a grown woman with a family.
Alternating
slices of short time periods, some as brief as a minute or two taken from the
records, he uniquely presents the major combat actions from both viewpoints as
enemy and friendly forces are trying to destroy one another.
Brigadier
General John "Doc" Bahnsen, author of American Warrior, said,
"Bill Haponski describes the gut wrenching human side of the Vietnam
battlefield in living color as only a caring combat commander can."
Renowned
military historian Lewis Sorley, author of A Better War, said, "This
authoritative account is destined to become an instant classic of small unit
warfare."
Haponski
is a 1956 graduate of West Point, and was awarded five medals for valor in
Vietnam, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Vietnamese
Cross of Gallantry.
He resides in Florida with his wife of 54 years, Sandra, where he is
working on additional books on the Indochina Wars.
Click here to purchase One Hell of a Ride at Amazon.com.
Contact the author:
William C.
Haponski, Ph D
combatant@combatantbooks .com
352-259-1045
Contact the publisher:
Combatant Books 8284 SE 176th
Lawson Loop
The Villages, FL
32162
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