Fighting Viet Cong in the Rung Sat : Memoir of a Combat Advisor in Vietnam, 1968-1969

The Vietnam War was not going well in 1968. The January Tet Offensive--a tactical defeat but strategic victory for North Vietnam--showed the U.S. military and the American public that the enemy remained determined, no nearer defeat. Americans grew war weary while politicians and military leaders could not agree on how to win or how to withdraw. Between combat tours, the author served as a U.S. Army company commander--a job he came to despise. Experiencing what he perceived as a degradation in the Army's senior command, he resigned his commission. Yet he needed money to complete graduate school and volunteered to return to Vietnam as a combat advisor. This memoir describes his participation in the fiercest fighting of the war, on the Cambodian border, where he almost died of hookworm and was shot in a night operation. In Saigon to recuperate, he was tasked with creating an advisory team to train South Vietnamese commandos to conduct raids in the swamps south of Saigon, the Rung Sat Special Zone. For seven months they were successful, with Worthington receiving seven combat decorations.ISBN : 9781476679419 "The Vietnam War was not going well in 1968. The January Tet Offensive--a tactical defeat but strategic victory for North Vietnam--showed the U.S. military and the American public that after years of fighting, the enemy remained determined, no nearer defeat. Americans grew war weary and soured on their government's involvement while politicians and top military leaders could not agree on how to win or how to withdraw. Between combat tours, Bob Worthington served as a U.S. Army company commander--a job he came to despise. Experiencing what he perceived as a degradation in the Army's senior command, he resigned his commission. Yet he needed money to complete graduate school and volunteered to return to Vietnam as a combat advisor. Worthington's memoir describes his participation in the fiercest fighting of the war, on the Cambodian border, where he almost died of hookworm and was shot in a night operation. Assigned to Saigon to recuperate, he was tasked with creating an advisor team to train South Vietnamese commandos to conduct raids in the swamps south of Saigon, the Rung Sat Special Zone. For seven months they were successful, with Worthington receiving four combat awards"-- Provided by publisher Cover Acknowledgments Preface 1. Cambodian Border, November 1968, Second Tour 2. January 1967, Back Home from First Vietnam Tour 3. Moving into Fort Benning 4. Basic Combat Training Company Commander 5. Vietnam, Second Time Around 6. Combat Flying in Vietnam: Low and Slow 7. Flight to Bao Trai 8. District Senior Advisor at Trang Bang 9. Combat Operations in Trang Bang 10. Overnight Operations in Trang Bang 11. Dying in the Morgue 12. More Combat Around Trang Bang 13. Firefly Missions 14. Being Promoted for Doing a Good Job as DSA 15. Duty in Saigon: What a Way to Fight a War 16. Moving to the Rung Sat Special Zone 17. Training RF Company 117 for Commando Raids 18. Combat Operations Against the Viet Cong 19. Attack on a Major Viet Cong Base Camp 20. R&R in Hawaii 21. Chieu Hoi 22. Sailors and Hand Grenades 23. Leaving Vietnam 24. Leaving Active Duty Epilogue Bob Worthington Military History Index Describes the author’s participation in the fiercest fighting of the Vietnam War, on the Cambodian border, where he almost died of Hookworm and was shot in a night operation. Assigned to Saigon to recuperate, he was tasked with creating an advisor team to train South Vietnamese commandos to conduct raids in the swamps south of Saigon.