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22 of 22 found the following review helpful:
The best Nov 11, 2009
By F. J. Brown
The historical treatment, general research, NVA content, ability to write well
make this absolutely the most comprehensive, best book on combat in RVN
I have read.
Read and understand mounted combat - bottom up -
as well the passion of command in combat
Former Chief of Armor and Cavalry US Army. Fellow Quarter Horse Commander in VietNam
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
COL Haponski Tells It Like It Was Oct 24, 2009
By Skip Bell
"One Hell of a Ride" is one hell of a book!
It combines the personal experience of the author with extensive research (including interviews with former Task Force members, after-action reports/lessons learned from the U.S. units and North Vietnamese Army units involved, and numerous books written on the Vietnam War).
COL Haponski's description of the large battles in which the Task Force participated is made more compelling by his dividing the engagements into time slices and looking at the events through both the U.S. forces and the North Vietnamese forces perspective. His inclusion of both historical facts and actions with the human feelings (fear, anger, confusion)that are part of combat combine to make a great read. He states that one of his reasons for writing this book was to tell the story of the Task Force soldiers -- who they were, what they did, how they lived (and, in some cases, died); he succeeds at this very well.
In addition, the author provides a unique historical perspective of the area of operations by discussing the experiences of the French, British, and Japanese soldiers who fought over that same terrain.
COL Haponski was a commander who genuinely cared about his troops and about the Vietnamese people, but understood that his mission as a combat unit commander was to close with and kill or capture the enemy. Much of the book is devoted to his resolution of the dichotomy of those conflicting requirements. He also provides an honest, courageous assessment of his higher headquarters (the 1st Infantry Division) including their employment of the combat power of the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, and their operational priorities.
This is an outstanding book; it is a well-written, well-researched, accurate portrayal of the life of soldiers who fought as armored cavalrymen in the Vietnam War. It is a must read for students of the history of the Vietnam War, and for the soldiers who were part of Task Force 1-4 Cavalry and for their families and friends.
18 of 19 found the following review helpful:
A book on a Vietnam Armored Unit and the enemies it faced destained to be a Classic!!! Buy It!!! It's one of a kind. Oct 11, 2009
By Gary J. Chenett
"gary j chenett"
I am a proud former Trooper who served with the Quarter Cav as a M-60 Machine Gunner on a Armored Personnel Carrier "APC" from mid Feb of 67 until mid Feb of 1968. I served with Bravo Troop (B Troop) on the #18 Infantry Track....
I was but a mechanized Specialized E-4 grunt but Colonel Hapanski whom I have met personally has went well over the top in the creation of this soon to be Classic Book on Vietnam.
Mark my words on this.
I doubt anyone will ever out do his work and to the present no one can touch the details and drama he has put into his piece of work.
I have read books on war from the American Indian Wars through almost every conflict we as Americans have experienced as well as books that have been written by members of our Allies in their wars and conflicts they experienced.
I love American and World History. So this book fit perfect on my Book shelves among my collection I have saved over almost 40 years.
This book is one that makes it's self stand out as one written in a way never before done.
It is just riveting as it takes you from 1945 when the French and Japanese rode herd over the Vietnamese until we took the reins and tried to do the same..
I knew Colonel Hapanski was going to write a book but never dreamed it would be The One major Book you want to be sure and read if you are truly interested in the true, grit, grime and death Troopers and our enemies faced daily during their tour of duty in The Nam!!!.
Colonel Hapanski served the year after I did,. He has taken readers into a entirely new prospective of books written about Vietnam and War overall.
He will present you both sides of the conflict, you will feel and be with the Commander of the Prestigious Quarter Cav (1st/4th Cav of The Big Red One)
(Colonel Hapanski ) and the the Commanders of the Viet Cong "VC" and the National Liberation Front "NVA" our enemies as they parley to defeat each other.
I am a avid reader of American and World History, this book is a one of a kind.
I have never been able to read in the same book what the leaders of two armies thought and plotted as they tried to destroy each other in such a decisive way.
This is a must buy if you want the "Real Story" of what being in The Nam with the ground war was like. For all concerned..
I was there and can assure you the research done for the publication of this incredible book is supported and researched throughly in every point spoken.
I have many favorite writers I have read over the years and they are incredible, Stephen Ambrose, the late Colonel David Hackworth and Rick Atkinson to name a few.
They are all terrific but pale as your turn each page in this book.
Hapanski has a style of writing I have never encountered, when his book arrived and I went through the contents before I started reading it. I felt like a person who had found a diamond in the rough.
Welcome Home Colonel
Thanks for telling the world what we in the 1st/4th Calvary ( The Quarter Cav) of the First Infantry Division experienced.( The Big Red One )and what our support units and our enemy also experienced with words written by their leaders themselves.
It's a keeper, I can promise you it's some of the best dollars you can spend on any book concerning Vietnam written. Bar None!!!!!!!
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
One Hell of a Read Oct 22, 2009
By g.w.
"wrapunzel"
by Wayne Witwicki
Colonel Haponski's tenure as Commanding Officer of the First Squadron, Fourth U.S. Cavalry coincided with the first six months of my tour in Vietnam. While this is an account of an armor unit in combat it is much more than "war stories." We were there not just to defeat the VC/NVA militarily, but also to help the Vietnamese people to self-determine their future as documented by the Colonel's interaction with local Vietnamese officials and the Army' pacification program with an historical perspective spanning decades from 1969 to 2005.
What I found enlightening is Colonel Haponski's research into the history of SE Asia and the area known as French Indochina - a federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam, and Cochinchina as well as Cambodia that was formed in 1887; adding Laos in 1893. The French fought in the same areas as the Quartercav did from 1945 to 1954. At the Geneva Convention, French Indochina was split into Laos, Cambodia, the People's Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).
This is also the story of Colonel Haponski's often-frustrated efforts to use armor offensively in what is commonly thought of as an infantry war. Seldom was he able to mass his armor and was usually tasked with infantry, artillery and other supporting units in his task force while commanding few of the units he was assigned to lead.
Operation Atlas Wedge is a large portion of this book. In combat there is so much going on everywhere at the same time and Colonel Haponski gives a detailed account of what he experienced (his intensity is absolutely riveting) where life and death is often a random flip of a coin.
Because of the nature of the conflict we were always surrounded and at times outnumbered, but never out-gunned. Only when they had an overwhelming advantage or were secure in their base areas did the VC/NVA gather in large numbers. The VC/NVA were quite proficient at attacking fixed positions such as their attack on March 28, 1969 of FSB Doc. Colonel Haponski tells of the extraordinary reconnoitering, planning and coordinating of the enemy only to be routed by the devastating firepower of an isolated armored cavalry platoon attacking the enemy's advancing troops, many of which were exposed out in the open.
In Vietnam, armored cavalry's greatest advantage was that of a mobile fortress and the enemy couldn't devise their tactics on the fly. Many of the large battles the1/4 Cav took part in from 1965 to 1970 were meeting engagements in which the VC/NVA weren't able to coordinate their strength. If their officers and/or NCOs were killed or wounded, the soldiers had no direction and simply melted away into their sanctuaries. Even there they weren't safe from attack as Colonel Haponski narrates in his sweep of March 30, 1969 into what we referred to as the VC/NVA R&R center in the Michelin Rubber Plantation. He was also able to thwart their plans later in May and June when they attempted to ambush convoys on Highway 13.
Although I took part in some of the events covered in Colonel Haponski's book, very often I had little knowledge of what was going on with our other units even when they were relatively close by. It seemed to me that something was always going on two klicks over there or yesterday and sometimes right after I had moved through an area. "One Hell of a Ride" fills in many blanks for me and accurately depicts the experience of the 1/4 Cav during the first half of 1969 in Vietnam.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Gut wrenching, yet soul cleansing for those of us who were there. Sep 24, 2009
By Michael T. Oconnor
"Vietnam Veteran"
Gut wrenching, yet soul cleansing for those of us who were there.
Factual history blended with the personal stories of those involved.
Learn what commanders and common soldiers, on both sides, were thinking and doing, before, during and after one of the largest battles in the Michelin Rubber Plantation.
Historians and non-fiction readers will find this book a most valuable reference.
Bill Haponski's emotional roller-coaster ride to find his extended family in Vietnam will leave you wanting to know more about this man.
Well done, Bill.
Michael T. O'Connor
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