They played such an important role during the entire US involvement in Vietnam. We hope this book gives not only the returning Rats some pease, but also the loved ones of those who didn't.

It is Christmas in Vietnam, 1968.

As a 20-year-old gunboat captain and certified U.S. Navy diver in the Mekong Delta, the author was responsible for both the vessel and the lives of its crew.

Following the Tet Offensive, a shift in U.S. naval strategy in 1967-1968 saw young men fresh out of high school policing the canals and tributaries of South Vietnam aboard PBRs (patrol boat, riverine)--unarmored yet heavily armed and highly ...

I highly recommend the book..." Mike Paluda, Michigan COLONEL, USA, RET. "Rolly Kidder has delivered a brilliant chronicle of the Vietnam conflict with which many may not be familiar.

And when the jungle suddenly erupted in the chaos of battle, the platoon leader was the Cong’s first target. Mekong First Light is at times horrific, heartrending, and heroic, but is always brutally honest.

A U. S. Naval story never told, complete with declassified maps from the Office of Naval Intelligence, and illuminating pictures of Saigon and archaic areas of the Delta taken by the author forty - six years ago, a depiction of "old Saigon" ...

This is the story of the peoples and cultures of the great river, from these obscure beginnings to the emergence of today’s independent nations.

An advisor to the South Vietnamese Navy Mobile Riverine Forces in 1970-1971, U.S. Navy Commander Richard Kirtley was tasked with helping implement Nixon's policy of "Vietnamization"--the rapid drawdown of U.S. troops to bring an abortive ...

This edition has been updated to include a new postscript by the author and more than thirty full-color illustrations by the expedition’s artist. “The highest of high adventure . . . [Osborne’s] documentation is flawless.” —The ...