A Shau Valor ─ American Combat Operations in the Valley of Death, 1963-1971

Throughout the Vietnam War, one focal point persisted where the Viet Cong guerrillas and ARVN were not a major factor, but where the trained professionals of the North Vietnamese and U.S. armies repeatedly fought head-to-head. A Shau Valor is a thoroughly documented study of nine years of American combat operations encompassing the crucial frontier valley and a 15-mile radius around it—the most deadly killing ground of the entire Vietnam War.

Beginning in 1963 Special Forces A-teams established camps along the valley floor, followed by a number of top-secret Project Delta reconnaissance missions through 1967. Then, U.S. Army and Marine Corps maneuver battalions engaged in a series of sometimes controversial thrusts into the A Shau designed to disrupt NVA infiltrations and to kill enemy soldiers, part of what came to be known as Westmoreland’s “war of attrition.”

The various campaigns included Operation Pirous in 1967, 1968’s Operations Delaware and Somerset Plain, 1969’s Operations Dewey Canyon, Massachusetts Striker, and Apache Snow—which included the infamous battle for Hamburger Hill—culminating with Operation Texas Star and the vicious fight for and humiliating evacuation of Fire Support Base Ripcord in the summer of 1970, the last major U.S. battle of the war.

By 1971 the fighting had once again shifted to the realm of small Special Forces reconnaissance teams assigned to the ultra-secret Studies and Observations Group—SOG. Other works have focused on individual battles or units, but A Shau Valor is the first to study the nine-year campaign—for all its courage and sacrifice—chronologically and within the context of other historical, political and cultural events.

REVIEWS

Colonel Thomas Yarborough spent his time in the air over the A Shau Valley, but he has detailed knowledge of what took place on the ground. He insightfully covers the infantryman's hardships, difficulties, and physical price paid. Thanks to his extensive research, study, and personal knowledge,Tom describes the nine-year war in the A Shau in riveting detail. This book is a "must read" for all interested in why we did not close and win that war.
Wesley L. Fox, Colonel USMC (Ret), Medal of Honor recipient and author of Marine Rifleman: Forty-Three Years in the Corps


“Covers eight years of military action in chronological, episodic fashion in this detailed military history. The A Shau Valley, located about 25 miles south of the Vietnamese city of Hue and near the border with Laos, was a main entry route into South Vietnam for North Vietnamese forces on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Widely known as the ‘Valley of Death,’ this area was the site of many vicious engagements between the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S. Military. . . . Yarborough’s volume is the first that looks solely at fighting in the A Shau during virtually the entire conflict.”
Publisher's Weekly


Tom Yarborough provides a gripping, fast paced, page-turning account of America's finest warriors who fought in and above the most strategically important terrain in Vietnam. A masterful blend of history, national strategy, and warrior ethos which simultaneously highlights leadership attributes at every level. A must read for all warriors, scholars, and students of leadership. Additionally, it is a great tribute to the warriors who fought, and those who died, in the A Shau Valley.
General H. Hugh Shelton, U.S. Army (Ret), A Shau veteran, 14th Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and author of Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior



There is such a great deal we still don't know about some of the theaters of the Vietnam War - Yarborough writes as though he were there when it happened, such is the vividness with which he recounts some of the events...
Books Monthly UK