The Hump: The 1st Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry, in the First Major Battle of the Vietnam War

by Al Conetto

Overview

Operation Hump, the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, took place November 5-9, 1965, in South Vietnam's War Zone D. Known as "The Hump," it would change the nature of the war, escalating it from a hit-and-run guerrilla conflict to a bloody contest between Communist main force units and American commands of battalion size or larger.

This memoir of an Operation Hump survivor begins with the sequence of events leading up to the battle, from the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Drawing on official Army documents and the recollections of fellow combatants, the author not only describes the battle in detail but explains the war's basis in fabrications at the highest levels of the U.S. government. His experiences with PTSD after the war and his eventual return to Vietnam in the 1990s are included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476622057
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	10/03/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	360,448
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Al Conetto spent more than five years on active duty including 17 months in Vietnam. He left the Army as a captain and is now retired and lives in Walla Walla, Washington.
Al Conetto spent more than five years on active duty including 17 months in Vietnam. He left the Army as a captain and is now retired and lives in Walla Walla, Washington.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Prologue
1. The Road to War
2. 173d Airborne Brigade
3. 5–7 November 1965
4. 8 November 1965 0800–1200
5. 8 November 1965 1200–2400
6. 9–12 November 1965
7. The Ia Drang Valley
8. Afterthought
9. Back to ’Nam
10. Back in ’Nam
11. Lessons Learned
12. Big & Rich
13. PTSD
Appendix 1. The Medal of Honor
Appendix 2. Where Are They Now?
Appendix 3. Key Personnel
Appendix 4. Combat After Action Report
Appendix 5. Presidential Unit Citation
Appendix 6. Glossary
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Author’s Service Record
Index

Editorial Reviews

Fifty years after the first major battle of the Vietnam war, an extraordinary account of the operation finally appears in print by one of the offices engaged in the fight. Rarely does any rendering of battle weave such a detailed picture as seen through the eyes of a large array of the participants....vivid accounts...Conetto has elegantly achieved his purpose of paying ‘tribute to the hundreds of young paratroopers’...a compelling story...an exceptional view of the battle as it unfolded...[Conetto’s] research, diligence in tracking down participants, and relentless scholarship are all worthy of great praise”—Infantry; “an interesting and important work on an otherwise obscure battle during the Vietnam War. Conetto’s prose is fluid and engrossing”—H-Net Reviews.

From the Publisher