The Bridges of Vietnam: From the Journals of a U. S. Marine Intelligence Officer

As an intelligence officer during the Vietnam War, Fred L. Edwards, Jr., was instructed to visit every major ground unit in the country to search for intelligence sources—long range patrols, boats, electronic surveillance, and agent operations. “Edwards found time to keep a journal, an extremely well-written, sharply observed report of his adventures. Along with contemporary postscripts and a helpful historical chronology, that journal is a significant improvement on most Vietnam memoirs. It is the record of a Marine's on-the-job education.”—Proceedings "This book is built around Fred L. Edwards, Jr.'s journals, sent home during his first tour in Vietnam in 1966-67. His own research fits his individual experiences into a larger context, through Postscripts, extensive notes, and a comprehensive historical Chronology. The book is formatted so that the reader can move easily between the events in Vietnam in 1967-68 and the broader context as revealed through later research. The reader can thus move between Edwards' personal experiences in Vietnam and the larger historical forces that sent him there. As a piece of the puzzle of Vietnam, this book holds great significance to those who were there and for students of that war."--BOOK JACKET. A career Marine since the age of 17, Edwards, Jr. served as an intelligence officer in Vietnam, traveling regularly from Saigon to the Mekong Delta, to the Central Highlands, to the DMZ, visiting every major ground unit in the country. Edwards intersperses narrative built around letters he sent home during his 1966-67 tour, with subsequent research (set off by boldface type) about the war in a larger context. He appends a Vietnam War chronology, a listing of terms and acronyms, and four sketch maps indicating deployment and tactical zones, as well as a bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR In 1966, Fred L. Edwards Jr went to serve as an intelligence officer in Vietnam. This work is built around his journals, sent home during his first tour in Vietnam in 1966-67. His own research sets his individual experiences into a larger context, through postscripts, notes and a chronology. Book by Edwards, Fred L., Jr.