Vietnam Diary - by Richard Tregaskis (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A vivid eyewitness account of US troops fighting in the Vietnam War by the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and journalist.

"This is the real war in South Vietnam, as reported by a master." --Chicago Tribune

After World War II, US President Harry S. Truman vowed to contain communism. When conflict began in Vietnam in 1955, the challenge of keeping that vow increased. If Vietnam fell to communism, it was believed the rest of Asia would follow. American troops increased their presence in the region in the early 1960s, and in October 1962, war correspondent Richard Tregaskis joined them for four months to document their efforts.

In Vietnam Diary, Tregaskis chronicles the daily lives of American troops serving in the Vietnam War. He takes readers to the heart of what it was like to fight this vicious new kind of war, one that required novel techniques to combat the region's wily guerilla forces. Tregaskis is there in battle, sharing in the dangers. He follows along on missions with Marine helicopters and Army Hueys, and with the ground-pounders hiking through the fiercely embattled Delta area. He even accompanies Special Forces training troops resisting communist forces in the high jungles. Amid all the action, Tregaskis forges friendships with many of the troops as they open up about their experiences since the beginning of the war.

First published in 1963, Vietnam Diary is essential reading for those interested in the history of the Vietnam War and the lives of the soldiers who served in the conflict. With this classic of the war, Tregaskis honors those troops and shows why he was one of America's most knowledgeable and experienced war correspondents of the era.

"Richard Tregaskis is indestructible, imperishable; Vietnam Diary proves it. . . . A vital addition." --MacKinlay Kantor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist

"An intimate and unadorned account of what so many of our career soldiers and draftees . . . [went] through day by day over there, this can be wholeheartedly recommended." --Kirkus Reviews

Review Quotes

"Mr. Tregaskis has written a lot of diaries and witnessed a lot of warfare in the past twenty-odd years. If this book isn't up to Guadalcanal Diary and some of his others for stirring true-life adventure, well, the fault may not be entirely his own; Vietnam is a tedious, frustrating kind of war, especially for the 14,000 Americans involved in it. He was there from early October, 1962, to early January, 1963, and in those months he had an enormous amount of experience: flying with Army and Marine Corps helicopters and Vietnamese fighter planes, and slogging around in the rice paddies and jungles with the Arvins (Vietnamese infantry). . . . As an intimate and unadorned account of what so many of our career soldiers and draftees (quite possibly you will know one of the hundreds mentioned by name) are going through day by day over there, this can be wholeheartedly recommended." --Kirkus Reviews, 1963

About the Author

Richard Tregaskis (1916-1973) was a journalist and award-winning author best known for Guadalcanal Diary (1943), his bestselling chronicle of the US Marine Corps invasion of the Solomon Islands during World War II. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Tregaskis graduated from Harvard University and reported for the Boston American before joining the International News Service. Assigned to cover the Pacific Fleet operations after Pearl Harbor, he was one of only two reporters to land with the Marines on Guadalcanal Island. His dramatic account of the campaign was adapted into a popular film and became required reading for all Marine Corps officer candidates. Invasion Diary (1944) vividly recounts the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy and Tregaskis's brush with death when a chunk of German shrapnel pierced his skull. Vietnam Diary (1963) documents the increased involvement of U.S. troops in the conflict between North and South Vietnam and was awarded the Overseas Press Club's George Polk Award. Tregaskis's other honors include the Purple Heart and the International News Service Medal of Honor for Heroic Devotion to Duty. He traveled the world many times over, and wrote about subjects as varied as the first space ship (X-15 Diary, 1961), John F. Kennedy's heroism during World War II (John F. Kennedy and PT-109, 1962), and the great Hawaiian king Kamehameha I (Warrior King, 1973). On August 15, 1973, Tregaskis suffered a fatal heart attack while swimming near his home in Hawaii. After a traditional Hawaiian funeral, his ashes were scattered in the waters off Waikiki Beach.