Into Cambodia, 1970: Spring Campaign, Summer Offensive

Chapter 5-7 regarding Fire Support Illingsworth was so accurate. I was there on 1 April 1970 with A Troop 1/11 ACR. I thought about my experience, and the book read as if I was writing down from my own memory. The accounts came to life! email: [email protected]

I was recently advised to buy this book since I participated in the Cambodian Invasion in 1970 with the 25th Infantry Div. As I read the preface I noticed my name as a credit. I looked thru some old correspondence and found several wonderful letters from Mr. Nolan. As someone who has not been a grunt, he is the next best thing. He tells the story from the grunt's eye view. I found from reading this excellent book that our CO was relieved of duty, not to mention an excellent description of our officers. The sections on the 1ST CAV are unreal ! Mr. Nolan is accomplished at using the veterans own words and emotions to make you feel as if you were in the firefight. I cannot say enough good things about this author and his books. If your interest is the Vietnam War, his books are a must read. Keith, if you read this,drop me an email at [email protected]. Thanks Keith, you are one of us !

By far the most accurate account I have read about the 2/12 Cavalry Squadron during the periods prior, during and after our incursion into Cambodia. As the Communications Officer for the Battalion under both LTC Iverson and then LTC Ianni, I personally experienced the differences in command techniques described by the author. Mr. Nolan's approach of telling history through the eyes of the soldiers and officers accurately portrays the events and the difficult command decisions of the period. Thirty years after, this book helps me to vividly recall images of all the participants. LTCs Iverson and Ianni fought different battles, each requiring different styles of command. Each commander approached their challenges as they thought appropriate. Many former soldiers, myself included, are alive today because they were our commanders. Thank you, Keith Nolan for your exellent book.

This book is first and foremost a recounting of the Cambodian campaign from the perspective of those who fought it. It is far more than a history, however. In Mr. Nolan's own words, it's a tribute to the thousands of American soldiers whose courage and dedication to their comrades has been overlooked amidst the political furor that the incursion generated. His material comes from the soldiers themselves. It is an unflinching view of war by those who fought it. The book reveals two important aspects of the campaign often overlooked by other historians of the period. The first is that the US Army was saddled with an impossible mission in mid-1970 when this operation took place. Combat units were already being withdrawn from Vietnam in accordance with Nixon's Vietnamization policy. Even so, the Army leadership was tasked with continuing combat operations with the knowledge that every American casualty could, and perhaps, should be looked upon as an unnecessary sacrifice. This created terrific moral and professional dilemas within the Army seldom realized by those outside the military that reached down to the lowest levels of leadership: sergeants, lieutenants, and captains as well as their commanders. The second point is derived from the first; that the Army rallied around itself. Soldiers of all ranks developed an intense caring for their fellow comrades-in-arms. Ironically, these intense feelings of being their brother's keeper would play out in vastly different ways in different units. Mr. Nolan has captured this moral dimension of war at ground level that few others have been able to perceive. What then emerges is the heart-rendering courage and honorable self-sacrifice made by soldiers of all ranks that has been largely overshadowed by the controversies surrounding this operation as well the politically charged contemporaneous reporting of it.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning what really went on in Cambodia. Mr. Nolan has done an outstanding job of collecting the data and presenting it in a factual and concise manner.