Fire in the Hole - Mike Guardia

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Résumé :
Paving the road to Hell...one kill zone at a time. In the Vietnam War, few units were more essential-or more overlooked-than the US Army's combat engineers. Operating in some of the most hazardous terrain in Southeast Asia, they cleared roads, built fortifications, set obstacles, detonated explosives, and reinforced fighting positions-all while facing the constant threat of ambush, mines, and enemy fire. On August 25, 1966, during a route-clearing mission in support of Operation AMARILLO, Specialist Dan Crowley and his demolition team from Charlie Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, found themselves thrust into a major battle. Along Highway 16, an American patrol had been surrounded by the Viet Cong. In the scramble to save them, Charlie Company was thrown into a hastily-assembled rescue force. The fight that followed would be remembered as the Battle of Bong Trang. Fire in the Hole presents a detailed, ground-level account of Charlie Company's 1965-66 deployment to the Republic of Vietnam. Drawing on extensive interviews with four veterans-Dan Crowley, Larry Blair, Chuck Humphrey, and Jay Franz-this book offers a rare and deeply personal look at the combat engineer's role in Vietnam. Inside these pages you'll witness:Road-clearing missions under constant threat Mines, booby traps, and sudden explosions that reshaped the land-and the men Close-quarters firefights where engineers became frontline soldiers The grit, nerve, and loyalty that held Charlie Company together. Raw, immediate, and impeccably-researched, Fire in the Hole is a ground-level journey into the world of America's combat engineers-ordinary men thrust into extraordinary danger, shaping the battlefield one blast at a time....

Sommaire:
Combat Engineers. The Unsung Heroes of Vietnam. August 25, 1966. Specialist Dan Crowley was among the handful of demolition experts assigned to a route clearing mission in support of Operation AMARILLO. His equipment load was the same as it had been numerous times before: a Claymore mine, TNT, C-4 explosives, blasting caps, time fuse, det cord, eighteen rounds for his M-79 grenade launcher, two hand grenades, and his Colt .45. But this would be no ordinary mission. The Viet Cong had just surrounded an American patrol along Highway 16. Crowley's outfit - Charlie Company, 1st Engineer Battalion - was among the smattering of units thrown together for this impromptu relief force. History would call it the Battle of Bong Trang. In a war dominated by airmobile infantry, the combat engineers played a critical role in shaping America's battlefield victories. They built obstacles, dug defensive positions, set landmines, performed various types of demolition, and could fight as infantry whenever ordered. Fire in the Hole tells the story of Charlie Company, 1st Engineer Battalion during their deployment to the Republic of Vietnam in 1965-66. Told from the perspective of four Charlie Company veterans - Dan Crowley, Larry Blair, Chuck Humphrey, and Jay Franz - this book provides an intimate, no-holds-barred account of the combat engineers in Vietnam....