Book description
In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam in what
became known as the Easter Offensive. Almost all of the American
forces had already withdrawn from Vietnam except for a small group of
American advisers to the South Vietnamese armed forces. The 23rd ARVN
Infantry Division and its American advisers were sent to defend the
provincial capital of Kontum in the Central Highlands. They were
surrounded and attacked by three enemy divisions with heavy artillery
and tanks but, with the help of air power, managed to successfully
defend Kontum and prevent South Vietnam from being cut in half and defeated.
Although much has been written about the Vietnam War, little of it
addresses either the Easter Offensive or the Battle of Kontum. In
Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam, Thomas P. McKenna fills this
gap, offering the only in-depth account available of this violent
engagement. McKenna, a U. S. infantry lieutenant colonel assigned as a
military adviser to the 23rd Division, participated in the battle of
Kontum and combines his personal experiences with years of interviews
and research from primary sources to describe the events leading up to
the invasion and the battle itself.
Kontum sheds new light on the actions of U. S. advisers in combat
during the Vietnam War. McKenna's book is not only an essential
historical resource for America's most controversial war but a
personal story of valor and survival.
""Thomas McKenna's fine work is an important addition to
our knowledge of advisors and those they advised, during a critical
period of the war... In a balanced and detailed account McKenna tells
it like it was." -- Journal of Military History" --
Thomas P. McKenna, Lt. Col., USA (Ret.), served as a military
adviser to the Army of South Vietnam and has published articles on
military history in Vietnam, Military Officer, and Military Heritage
magazines. He lives in Stowe, Vermont.
