.
.
by Michael O. Fallon.
Hardback (7.2×9.9 inches). 465 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Defending a Reconnaissance Marines’ OP Vietnam 1969-70
Hill 119 sat about 25km southwest of Da Nang and overlooked Go Noi Island, a hotbed of VC and highway for the North Vietnamese Army into South Vietnam and the Da Nang area. The Marines stuck a platoon on that hill to observe and report enemy movements.
Escalation improved the lookout to an outpost, complete with bunkers, trenches, and a tower. Spotted enemy brought down artillery barrages and air bombing. Patrols looked to disrupt VC and NVA activities.
As the author commanded the OP at times, you get excellent explanations of day-to-day actions. Admittedly, the first 50 pages or so are a repetitive accounting of sighting reports and calling in airstrikes and artillery strikes. But when you get through that section and OP responsibilities are expanded, you’ll be rewarded with a riveting account of patrolling, ambushes, booby-traps, and repelling attacks.
Patrols were often made up of six men for prisoner snatch or ambush. A bomb damage assessment patrol was usually nine men. Appendix 3 explains patrol compositions and duties. The book is filled with skirmish possibilities.
You’ll learn about every VC and NVA trick to escape detection and mitigate US attacks. The US never really cleared the island for long, even when they brought in bulldozers and leveled half the island.
A couple typos: “spilt” (p219) should be split and “report into” (p316) should be report to.
The book contains 15 black and white photos, 50 color photos, and 24 black and white maps. I can see a modeler making the OP for the tabletop.
If you want a captivating book about small units in Vietnam, this is it. I should say captivating after the first 50 or so pages. Once I got past those pages, I read this book until the wee hours of the morning. Superb.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
