The Tet Offensive started on January 30, 1968. This series of surprise attacks by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army was intended to trigger a popular uprising throughout South Vietnam. It failed to do so, and the communist forces faced serious tactical defeats throughout the following weeks. However, the ferocity of the campaign changed the political calculus for U.S. leaders. The anniversary of these mixed results represents a good opportunity to review some of the Vietnam War titles published in the AUSA Book Program.

Tet was not the first time the Viet Cong tried to deliver a knockout blow. Grab Their Belts to Fight Them: The Viet Cong's Big-Unit War Against the U.S., 1965-1966 by Warren Wilkins chronicles VC attempts to fight as traditional troops rather than guerrilla forces. And The Battle of Bong Son: Operation Masher/White Wing, 1966 by Kenneth P. White details an operation that coincided with an earlier Tet holiday, when the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) fought the North Vietnamese Army Sao Vang Division.

Operation Masher, like the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley two months earlier, was a successful proof of the airmobile concept of using helicopters to transport troops to the battlefield. In To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam, Tom A. Johnson recounts his time flying for the 1st Cav from June 1967 through June 1968. John D. Falcon similarly collects tales of attacking enemy positions and medevacing the wounded in The Freedom Shield: The 191st Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam.

Moving from airmobile to armored cavalry, Donald Snedeker provides two Vietnam War books for the program: an overarching history called The Blackhorse in Vietnam: The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam and Cambodia, 1966–1972, and a collection of war stories, Blackhorse Tales: Stories of 11th Armored Cavalry Troopers at War.

Other branches get their due, too. The 9th Infantry Division: Unparalleled and Unequaled by Ira A. Hunt, Jr., details the unit’s fight against the VC in the Mekong River delta. And Robert M. Gillespie turns to the secret joint-service aspects of the war with Black Ops Vietnam: The Operational History of MACVSOG.

The Book Program also features titles focused on later battles. A few months after the Tet Offensive, two NVA regiments attacked an isolated Special Forces camp near the DMZ; James McLeroy and Gregory Sanders tell the story in Bait: The Battle of Kham Duc. Several years later, the North Vietnamese launched the Easter Offensive of 1972, after most US troops had been withdrawn. In Kontum: The Battle the Save South Vietnam, Thomas P. McKenna offers the only in-depth account of this engagement late in the war.

Please visit www.ausa.org/books to order these and other titles in the AUSA Book Program. Use the promo code W25AUSA for select member discounts when purchasing directly through the publisher links.

Finally, AUSA’s coverage of the Vietnam War extends to the graphic novel world. Three titles in the Medal of Honor series focus on American heroes recognized for their actions in that conflict. Medal of Honor: Roger Donlon tells the story of the first recipient from the Vietnam War, as well as the first Special Forces recipient. Medal of Honor: Roy Benavidez recounts the remarkable story of another Green Beret legend. And Medal of Honor: Bruce Crandall highlights the helicopter pilot who flew again and again into enemy fire during the Battle of Ia Drang.