Jungle Dragoon: The Memoir of an Armored Cav Platoon Leader in Vietnam
The latest of Presidio's superior military memoirs reports the Vietnam experience of a career armor officer whose first combat was as leader of a platoon of M-48 tanks with the 1st Infantry Division in 1966. Walker faced not only formidable obstacles of terrain and stubborn opposition well provided with antitank weapons but also his superiors' doubt that armor had a place in Vietnam, which was manifested by failures in logistical and personnel support. He tells the vivid, moving story of how his unit survived and vindicated armor, inflicting more damage than it suffered. He also pays tribute to the men under him, politely damns uncooperative superiors, and doesn't withhold respect for the capabilities of the enemy when fighting on terrain and at times of his choice. Walker's book, the first platoon-level account of tank combat in Vietnam, is likely to rank permanently high among junior leadership and military coming-of-age stories of the Vietnam generation.Roland Green