The First Battle is a graphic account of the first major clash
of the Vietnam War. 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
Colonel Oscar Peatross, a hero of two previous wars. His opponent
was the 1st Viet Cong Regiment commanded by Nguyen Dinh Trong, a
veteran of many fights against the French and the South Vietnamese.
Codenamed Operation Starlite, this action was a resounding success
for the Marines and its result was cause for great optimism about
America''s future in Vietnam. Those expecting a book about Americans
in battle will not be disappointed by the detailed descriptions of
how the fight unfolded. Marine participants from private to colonel
were interviewed during the book''s research phase. The battle is
seen from the mud level, by those who were at the point of the
spear. But this is not just another war story told exclusively from
the American side. In researching the book, the author talked with
and walked the battlefield with men who fought with the 1st Viet
Cong Regiment. All were accomplished combat veterans years before
the U.S. entry into the war. The reader is planted squarely in
America in 1965, the year that truly began the long American
involvement. Operation Starlite sent the Vietnam War into the
headlines across the nation and into the minds of Americans, where
it took up residence for more than a decade. Starlite was the first
step in Vietnam''s becoming America''s tar baby. The subtitle of the
book is: "Operation Starlite and the Beginning of the Blood Debt in
Vietnam". Blood debt, han tu in Vietnamese, can mean revenge, debt
of honor, or blood owed for blood spilled. The Blood Debt came into
Vietnamese usage early in the war with the United States. With this
battle, the Johnson Administration began compiling its own Blood
Debt, this one to the American people. The book also looks at the
ongoing conflict between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines about
the methodology of the Vietnam War. With decades of experience with
insurrection and rebellion, the Marines were institutionally
oriented to base the struggle on pacification of the population.
The Army, on the other hand, having largely trained to meet the
Soviet Army on the plains of Germany, opted for search-and-destroy
missions against Communist main force units. The history of the
Vietnam War is littered with many "what ifs."
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