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Books written about "The
Battle of Ripcord" |
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Keith Nolan's Book
"RIPCORD -
Screaming Eagles Under Siege"
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Books by Keith Nolan
Ripcord
Battle for Saigon
Sappers in the Wire
A Hundred Miles of Bad Road
The Magnificent Bastards
Operation Buffalo
Into Cambodia
Into Laos
Death Valley
Battle for Hue
House to House
Dragoon
Search and Destroy
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Reviews |
Keith Nolan’s
research, his comprehension of the political
as well as the military actions, his careful
concern for those who were there, and, most
of all, his writing, are superb. Indeed,
I’ve never read a better account of a
battle, and I’ve never been prouder of the
American fighting man, nor more scornful of
his political and high ranking military
leaders. To those who want to know what it
was like to be a grunt in Vietnam, I
recommend Ripcord without stint or
reservation.-
Stephen E. Ambrose |
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A
compelling book, and ultimately an edifying
one which illustrates the valor of the
American fighting solider during the
withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam.-
Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore, USA (Ret.), author
of We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young. |
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To Order this Book
Please order the book through The Ripcord Association. All profits
will go to the Association. By buying the books thru the
Association, you save money!
 Specify how many paperbacks @ $7.00 and how many hardcover @
$27.00 are desired and send the check made out to "Ripcord
Association" to:
Lee Widjeskog
493 Stillman Ave
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
For more info, please e-mail Lee Widjeskog
leewidjeskog@ripcordassociation.com
Include your name and address where to ship the books, your phone
number and allow 10 days for delivery.
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Gen Ben Harrison's New Book about The Battle of
Ripcord
"Hell On A Hilltop"
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HELL ON A HILLTOP
As
ten-to-one outnumbered 101st Airborne troopers fought regular NVA
units from four hill tops just east of the A Shau Valley for four
months in 1970.
Book Description
Instead of backing away from the fight, the North Vietnamese mortar,
recoilless rifle, heavy machine gun, sapper and regular infantry
attacks increased. The last offensive around Ripcord was starting to
look like the last stand. Unwilling to keep American soldiers at
high risk at this stage of the war; Ripcord was evacuated on 23
July. The battle went unnoticed for 30 years until Keith Nolan’s
book, RIPCORD, was published. As powerful and gripping as was the
story of great leadership and courageous fighting by our soldiers,
the magnitude of the enemy force still remained unknown. The author,
the 3rd Brigade commander during the siege and evacuation, made
trips to Vietnam in 2001 and 2004 and interviewed the 324B Division
Commander whose first-ever division sole mission, was to destroy
Firebase Ripcord. The full story is now told.
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To Order this Book
Please order the book through The Ripcord Association. All profits
will go to the Association. By buying the books thru the
Association, you save money!
Specify how many paperbacks @ $19.95 and how many hardcover @
$29.95 are desired and send the check made out to "Ripcord
Association" to:
Lee Widjeskog
493 Stillman Ave
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
For more info, please e-mail Lee Widjeskog
leewidjeskog@ripcordassociation.com
Include your name and address where to ship the books, your phone
number and allow 10 days for delivery.
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I have just
finished reading MG (ret.) Ben Harrison’s book “Hell on a Hill
Top” sub “America’s Last Major Battle in Viet Nam” sub. sub.
(The 324B Division surrounds the 101st Airborne’s
Currahee Battalion). For those of you who haven’t read it, you
may find it interesting. Two of our classmates are mentioned by
name. Bill Bradley was the 3rd Bde CO for most of the
Ripcord Operation. It began in March of 1970 and ended with the
evacuation from the hill on 23rd July 1970. Tom Aaron
who was a BN CO is also mentioned. Others with whom you may have
served were Andre Lucas “54- a friend of Eddie Partains- 2/506
BN Co who won the Medal of Honor posthumously, General (ret.)
John Hennessey and LTG (ret) Sid Berry. During the planning
phase of the operation, Harrison stated that Bill had a question
about the adequacy of the force planned for the operation, but
was told by General Hennessey that the operation would take
place as planned. During this period, I was the BN CO of the
2/11 (155s), which had one battery on Ripcord, and for part of
the time I was the Acting Division Artillery Commander (Stan Fye
“50 replaced me). Prior to the actual occupation of Ripcord, and
shortly after the evacuation of Firebase Henderson. Bill was
replaced as BDE CO by then Colonel Harrison.
General
Harrison reported that three Congressional Medals of Honor and
five Distinguished Service Crosses were earned during the
operations. We had 250 KIA including Andre and one of my battery
COs. LT Kalsu -the only pro athlete to be killed in Viet Nam. He
had been an NFL rookie of the year and could have avoided
service in Viet Nam, however he chose to serve in Viet Nam.
After a month
of ambushes, attacks, incoming to include artillery, etc. we had
a real disaster. A Chinook helicopter loaded with ammo was shot
down on the base. It landed right in the middle of the 105mm
battery (2/319 commanded by Bill Walker “52). The impact set off
a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the six 105s.
Fortunately, my 155s were not damaged. Due to continued intense
incoming, increasing causalities and loss of the 105s, Sid Berry
(acting Division CO- General Hennessey was on leave), ordered
evacuation of the firebase.. All things considered, the
evacuation was carried out in good fashion.
Joe Sites |
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Hell On A Hill Top: America’s Last Major Battle In Vietnam
By Major General Benjamin L. Harrison
iUniverse Press
John M. Del Vecchio
Over the past quarter century I have been asked to
review, comment upon, or edit, literally hundreds of Viet
Nam-related books and manuscripts. To my chagrin, for reasons of
time or family or sloth, I have only read and respond to about half.
My apologies to those authors to whom I did not respond. All that I
have read—novels, histories, short stories and poems—have had some
merit. Some were superb—well written, enlightening, touching mind,
heart and soul. Ben Harrison’s Hell On A Hill Top falls into
this category. It is truly an impressive and epic work of historical
significance.
Hill Top--with the inclusion of data and anecdotes from
North Viet Namese histories and documents, and Harrison’s first
person interviews of PAVN (NVA) commanders--presents the full
picture ~ the whats, whys, whos and hows ~ not only of the battle
for Firebase Ripcord, but for much more. The book gives us an
understanding of the skirmishes, the battle, the supporting units,
logistics and politics, all in the perspective of the Cold War era.
In doing so, the Commander of the Third Brigade, 101st
Airborne Division (Airmobile), has given meaning to the sacrifices
of many.
The Prologue alone is a fascinating tale of how Ben Harrison
uncovered the story from the North Viet Namese side. The body of the
text explores and exposes the intricate interweaving of various
elements, producing amazing revelations: for example, the summer
1970 battles—Ripcord, Barnett, O’Reilly, etc.—were, to the NVA,
strikes to pre-empt Lam Son 719 (the Laos Incursion by the ARVN of
February 1971). NVA commanders explained to Harrison that they had
learned of the plans to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail via intelligence
leaks from Saigon in June of 1970. [Harrison is somewhat skeptical
of the communist accounts; but in the years after the war, a number
of NVA high officials have repeatedly stated that had the Trail been
successfully cut, the North could not have prosecuted its war
against the South. The HCM Trail-cutting operation was Hanoi’s
greatest fear. In 1965 General William Westmoreland first proposed
the operation to cut the Trail across Route 9 to Thailand (the York
Strategy). He proposed it again every year for the next three years,
and every year it was blocked by US politicians. Mini-Tet and the
battle for Kham Duc Special Forces camp (May 1968), are earlier
point-counterpoints in this same strategic play. The strategy was
finally approved under General Creighton Abrams when the ARVN was
allowed to make the attempt in 1971.]
Other revelations: Ripcord, from it’s opening, “…had a major impact
on the enemy… disrupted the orderly flow of supplies and
reinforcements down the Ho Chi Minh Trail… [it’s] artillery firing
into the Trail complex, the Air Force had placed a Directional
Beacon on Ripcord, and the Navy and Marines had installed a Tactical
Aircraft Antenna for ‘beacon bombing’ in the A Shau Valley, the
Warehouse Area…” (pg 66)
The success of the US/ARVN counter-offensives at Tet and mini-Tet
1968 caused Hanoi to revert its war strategy back to the ‘protracted
struggle’ (guerilla warfare stage) in most of South Viet Nam. But by
early 1970 the NVA had re-manned and refitted units in northern I
Corps to the point of waging division-sized, conventional offensive
campaigns. Harrison delineates all enemy units involved in these
battles.
“’…the number of Chinese in North Vietnam in 1967… between 60,000
and 100,000… In all, China sent 327,000 uniformed troops…’ Chinese
historian Chen Jian wrote, ‘Although Beijing’s support many have
fallen short of Hanoi’s expectations, without this support, the
history, even the outcome, of the Vietnam War might have been
different.’” And: “’…at the height of the War, the Soviet Union had
some 55,000 ‘Advisors’ in North Vietnam…’ According to classified
reports from the Soviet Embassy in Hanoi, their aid amounted to over
$582 million US dollars in 1968….’” (pg 186-7)
On meaning and tactical/strategic success (much of this is lacking
in earlier Ripcord books): “…the price the North Vietnamese paid
during the siege of Ripcord from at least eight infantry battalions,
four artillery battalions, four 120mm mortar companies, one
anti-aircraft battalion, one sapper battalion (reinforced)… was a
minimum of 2400 killed and several thousand more wounded…” “…Ripcord
stands as a monument of success… a very major contributor to the [NVA’s]
second offensive of the war (the Nguyen Hue or Easter
Offensive) being delayed until March 1972… Without the success of
Ripcord, that offensive would have been advanced a full year…” (pg
216)
If one had any criticism of Hill Top it might be that much of
the work is a compilation of PAVN and US/ARVN documents presented
verbatim. This is a wonderful and authoritative history, but, at
times, difficult reading. Hill Top is best when Harrison uses
his own voice to describe and/or explain actions. That being noted,
I personal would like to thank Ben Harrison for enlightening—for
casting light upon, and bringing meaning to—the battles of Texas
Star.
John M.
Del Vecchio
del_vecchio74@yahoo.com
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Hell on a Hill Top: America’s Last Major Battle in Vietnam.
Major General Benjamin L. Harrison, iUniverse, Inc., Lincoln,
Nebraska. 2004.
Considering all that has been written about the Vietnam
War in the last thirty years it would seem that the subject has been
covered completely. Not so. Benjamin Harrison’s Hell on a Hill
Top breaks new ground—and does it in an unusual way.
Fought from March to July 1970, the Battle for Firebase
“Ripcord” was the war’s last big clash between U.S. and North
Vietnamese troops. But until now it has been essentially forgotten.
Overshadowed by the incursion into Cambodia that May,
and coming in the midst of the withdrawal of U.S. combat units from
Vietnam, the combat raging around “Ripcord” fell into the cracks of
history. Harrison’s book rescues the battle from obscurity,
restoring it to its rightful place in the storied annals of the 101st
Airborne Division.
Elements of the division’s 3rd Brigade, which
then-Colonel Harrison commanded, precipitated the long slugfest.
Americans carved out positions on key terrain near the A Shau
Valley, endangering the all-important North Vietnamese supply lines
into the south. Enemy commanders could not tolerate that threat to
their operational freedom of action. They reacted violently,
igniting months of bitter fighting.
Ben Harrison tells the story of the prolonged struggle
in clear, crisp prose, giving full credit to the heroism of the men
and the professionalism of the units engaged there. If that had
been all he accomplished with this book, he would have made a most
valuable addition to the history of the Vietnam War. But he did
much more.
Hell on a Hill Top is a rarity among battle studies—it paints
a vivid combat scene from the perspective of both antagonists.
Harrison conducted extensive research into the enemy side, to
include personally interviewing North Vietnamese veterans of the
fierce encounter. Thus, the reader enjoys a multi-dimensional
appreciation of the action. (As an aside, how Harrison managed to
get the other side of the story is itself a fascinating tale of
perseverance, intrigue, and human nature. Especially gripping is
the account of his meeting in 2004 at a remote site in Vietnam with
his opposite number.)
For a ripping good read, don’t miss this riveting
account of the fight for “Ripcord.”
Dave R. Palmer
Lieutenant General
(retired), U S Army
Author of Summons
of the Trumpet
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RIPCORD REVISITED ( Hell On A Hill Top)
A book review by
Sidney B. Berry, Lieutenant General, U.S.Army,
Retired
By reporting the North Vietnamese side of the March-July 1970 battle
for Fire Support Base Ripcord plus his own perspective as
responsible brigade commander, Major General Ben Harrison's HELL
ON A HILL TOP, America's Last Major Battle in Vietnam,
published in 2004, adds welcome dimension to Keith Nolan's
RIPCORD, published in 2000. Taken together, these two superb
books record the battle for the jungled mountain called Ripcord and
illuminate the courage and tenacity of the soldiers that fought on
opposing sides of the hill. Harrison's distinguished career as Army
Aviator enables him to highlight with rare understanding the vital
role of Army Aviation and Aviation Crews during the Ripcord
campaign.
The two book's sub-titles are illuminating. Nolan's book, based
primarily on American sources, highlights Screaming Eagles Under
Siege, Vietnam 1970. Harrison's book, incorporating previously
unavailable Communist Vietnamese sources, highlights The 324B
Division Surrounds the 101st Airborne's Currahee
Battalion.
Both authors bring special credentials to their research and
writing. Nolan is a noted chronicler of the Vietnam War at the
tactical level and author of a dozen books about that war.
Harrison commanded the Screaming Eagles 3rd Brigade
during the final month of the battle for Fire Support Base Ripcord
and planned and directed the American withdrawal from the base on 23
July 1970. As true for every participant in the March-July 1970
battle for Ripcord, Harrison can never forget the soul-searing
events of those days, the courage of the soldiers, the human tragedy
involved, and the pain of withdrawal under enemy pressure.
Afterwards, Ben Harrison has devoted himself to learning more about
the circumstances of the battle and to honoring those who fought,
bled, and died in the battle for Ripcord.
Knowing that full understanding of the Ripcord battle's significance
required knowledge of the enemy's perspective, Harrison determined
to learn what the opposing Communist North Vietnamese commander
knew, thought, and intended during March-July 1970. He researched
US records, interviewed Ripcord veterans and other knowledgeable
officials, and gained access to a number of Communist North
Vietnamese records. Most importantly, Harrison visited Vietnam in
2001 and 2004, where he interviewed North Vietnamese commanders who
fought to seize Fire Support Base Ripcord and failed.
What Harrison learned provides remarkable insight into the enemy's
strategy and tactics during their March-July 1970 campaign to
destroy the Americans operating on and around Fire Support Base
Ripcord, the mountain peak that towered 927 meters above the
surrounding jungle and stood eye-to-eye with nearby enemy-held
mountains. Harrison's findings illuminate the magnificence of the
performance of duty of the young American soldiers who fought the
Ripcord campaign and the dogged determination of the opposing enemy
soldiers .
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For the Screaming Eagles, the last full American division in Viet
Nam, operating from Fire Support Base Ripcord was essential to
defending South Vietnam's heavily-populated coastal region against
Communist seizure and a base from which to launch a projected attack
into the A Shau Valley alongside Laos to interrupt the Communist Ho
Chi Minh Trail.
For the Communist North Vietnamese, eliminating American control of
Ripcord was essential to defending their main supply route to
Communist forces in South Vietnam, the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail
that passed through the nearby A Shau Valley and to extending their
drive to seize control of the South Vietnamese coastal area and its
population.
Seizure of Ripcord was so critical to North Vietnam's strategy for
seizing all of South Vietnam that the Communist High Command
assigned its 324B Division sole mission of seizing Ripcord and
destroying its garrison. The command reinforced the 324B Division
with a fourth regiment and a sapper battalion and assigned its 304B
Division in a supporting role. Although fighting for Ripcord
commenced in March 1970, it was on 1 July 1970 that North Vietnamese
324B Division launched its final attack to destroy American units
operating in the jungle around Ripcord and to seize the base itself.
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On 23 June 1970 Colonel Ben Harrison assumed command of the 3rd
Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), the brigade
in whose area of operations Ripcord was located.
On 1 July 1970, the day that the 324B Division began its attack to
seize Ripcord, Brigadier General Sid Berry joined the Screaming
Eagles as Assistant Division Commander (Operations).
On 15 July 1970 Major General John Hennessey, the
Division Commander, departed for a well-earned three week leave and
left Brigadier General Berry in command of the 101st
Airborne Division.
Both Berry and Harrison were veterans of previous tours of duty in
Vietnam. Berry had spent a year as senior advisor to commanding
general of a Vietnamese infantry division and eight months
commanding a brigade in the US 1st Infantry Division, the
Big Red One. Harrison had spent a year commanding an aviation
battalion that often supported the US 1st Infantry
Division. Although both officers were native Mississippians, they
had never met. Neither Berry nor Harrison foresaw coming events.
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According to official North Vietnamese military records acquired by
Harrison: At exactly 6:00 AM on 1 July [1970] the 324B
Division Command Post issued the "open fire" order to all
sectors...More than 70 American troops were killed in our attack by
fire. [In fact, no Americans were killed on Ripcord on 1 July,
although 15 artillerymen received minor wounds while delivering
counter battery fire.] Thus began the final battle for Ripcord that
ended with the Screaming Eagle withdrawal twenty-two days later.
Harrison's interviews of opposing commanders and analysis of
official records on both sides in the Ripcord battle, buttressed by
his personal knowledge, reveal that: (1) the Communist North
Vietnamese were determined to take Ripcord regardless of the cost in
human life; (2) attacking Communist strength was greater than our
intelligence reported or than we realized at the time of battle; (3)
our Infantry units fighting in the mountains around Ripcord and
their supporting firepower provided by artillery, armed helicopters,
and fixed-wing aircraft inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and
virtually destroyed eight of nine enemy battalions.
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July 1970 proceeded with painful slowness. As battle intensified,
Infantry fighting around Ripcord and enemy bombardment of the base
itself wrought a growing number of American casualties. Serious
questions arose in the mind of the 101st Airborne
Division's Acting Commander. Is holding Ripcord essential? If so,
for what purpose? For how long? When does the human cost of
holding Ripcord become unbearable? If we decide to withdraw, how?
18 July was beginning of the end. At about 1:30 PM a North
Vietnamese12.7mm machine gun shot down a CH-47 helicopter carrying a
sling load of ammunition to resupply the 105mm artillery battery
atop Ripcord. The aircraft crashed directly onto the ammo bunker
and spilled burning JP-4 aviation fuel down into the ammo dump,
setting off over 400 rounds of artillery ammunition. It was as if
an active volcano had exploded or that Hell had blown its top. The
fire and explosions continued for more than eight hours and rendered
six tubes of 105mm artillery destroyed or unusable; their firepower
was irreplaceable. One aircraft crew member died, and four more
were wounded in the helicopter crash.
Events of 21 July hastened Screaming Eagle decision-making. Company
D, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry got into
serious trouble, and Company D, 2nd Battalion, 506th
Infantry went to its rescue. A heavy salvo of 82mm mortar rounds
fell on the 155mm artillery atop Ripcord wounding seven and killing
two artillerymen, including the acting battery commander. That
afternoon Company A, 2nd Battalion, 506th
Infantry tapped into an enemy telephone line and discovered that an
enemy division had four regiments surrounding Ripcord on the north,
south, east, and west. This new information confirmed the acting
division commander's growing instinct that it was time to withdraw
from Ripcord.
Early 22 July BG Berry informed Colonel Harrison that we would
withdraw from Ripcord on the next day, and together they commenced
the necessary planning for the dangerous operation. During that
night, Company A, 2/506th Infantry fought for its life.
The 23 July 1970 withdrawal from Ripcord and extraction from the
bush of hard-pressed Company A, 2/506th Infantry was entirely by
helicopter--eloquent testimony to the effectiveness of Army Aviation
and to the dedication, skill, and courage of Army Aviators and their
crews. The withdrawal prolonged the lives and limbs of countless
American and North Vietnamese soldiers who would have been wounded,
maimed, and killed had the battle for Ripcord continued.
In May 2004 Ben Harrison asked the former commander of 324B
Division, What would you have done if we had not evacuated Firebase
Ripcord? I still had one [of nine] battalion left,
replied General Doi. Both sides paid a heavy price for Ripcord.
...................................................................................................
Ben Harrison's HELL ON A HILL TOP rounds off our understanding of
the battle for Ripcord during March-July 1970, America's Last
Major Battle in Vietnam. The author's drive, determination, and
tenacity in acquiring access to Communist North Vietnamese records
and in gaining interviews with opposing commanders are the same
qualities that made him an effective brigade commander during the
last stage of the battle for Ripcord. Most of all, Harrison's
dedication to telling the full story of Ripcord reflects his rare
understanding of and enduring love for the soldiers he commanded and
with whom he will serve as long as he lives.
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A review by Col (Ret)
Lewis Sorley,
Distinguished history professor and honored author:
"This authentic first-hand account of 1970 battles in the A Shau
provides valuable insight into the difficult tasks facing those
American forces then remaining in Vietnam as the unilateral U.S.
withdrawal inexorably proceeded. The author's persistence and
diligence in overcoming many obstacles to develop some of the enemy
perspective on this encounter provides another useful dimension."
Lewis Sorley, Author of "A Better War"
Professor Sorley also said:
"Your technique of alternating what the
enemy side had to say with data from U.S. sources and your own
commentary was very effective.
"The included accounts from several helicopter crewmen were among
the most arresting I have read."
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