The First Battle: Operation Starlite and the Beginning of the Blood Debt in Vietnam

"[A] brief but well-told and well-researched account . . . a good description of early U.S. Marine deployments to Vietnam" (HistoryNet).

The First Battle is a graphic account of the Vietnam War's first major clash. On August 18, 1965, regiment fought regiment on the Van Tuong Peninsula near the new Marine base at Chu Lai. On the American side were three battalions of Marines under the command of Col. Oscar Peatross, a hero of two previous wars. His opponent was the 1st Viet Cong Regiment c...