James R Smither (76 results)

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Hardcover. Very good condition in slightly sun-faded dust jacket. ]. 289p.

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Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. A detailed account of the ill-fated 1970 Firebase Ripcord campaign, highlighting leadership failures and American withdrawal. The campaign around Firebase Ripcord in 1970 was the last major American offensive effort in the Vietnam War. It went badly and is now little known. Elements of the 101st Airborne Division tried to go back to the area where the Hamburger Hill battles had been fought the year before, but they never made it due to a combination of enemy resistance, lack of resources due to reduction in force under Vietnamization, and serious command problems. Ripcord base was supposed to provide a stepping stone for an incursion into the A Shau Valley, a major North Vietnamese staging and warehouse area in the northern part of South Vietnam. It took three attempts to establish the base due to a combination of bad planning, bad weather and enemy resistance. Once the base was established, the North Vietnamese gradually built up their forces in the area, effectively attacked surrounding units and bases, and eventually isolated it. Instead of simply disappearing as they had done in the past, they stepped up resistance and forced the Americans to abandon the campaign. In 1970, the Americans were unable to conduct the sort of campaign that they had previously launched. Instead of piling on to overwhelm the enemy, they chose to withdraw to avoid further casualties in an unpopular war. As the Americans were weakening, the North Vietnamese were getting stronger, and had learned much about how to deal with American superiority in firepower and mobility. Beyond that, the American system of rotating officers in and out of command assignments took place without any regard for the situation on the ground, with key commanders changing in the middle of the campaign and new arrivals having to orient themselves on the fly. At the higher levels of command, there was also competition for commands of combat units, as these were necessary for career officers to obtain their promotions. Several of the key leaders in the campaign, notably Lt. Col. Andre Lucas, commander of the battalion most heavily involved in the campaign, had little relevant experience, which proved costly to the men in the field, as well as to himself-he died just as his battalion abandoned the base. At lower levels, most of the officers and men in the campaign performed well, despite the increasing sense that they were risking their lives for no purpose. AUTHOR: James Smither is Professor of History at Grand Valley State University (PhD Brown University, 1989), and Director of Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project. He has conducted over 1,000 oral history interviews with military veterans, including over one hundred with veterans of the Ripcord campaign. He is co-editor of A Surgeon's Civil War: The Civil War Letters of Daniel M. Holt, M.D. and editor of Death and Life in the Big Red One. 4 maps, 25 photos Based on over 100 interviews with veterans;this is the first full critical account and analysis of the last American offensive effort in Vietnamthe failed Firebase Ripcord campaign in 1970. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…

Condition: New. Brand New.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. 72 pp. Edge and corner wear with a name in pencil on the right side of the front cover and a date stamp on the upper left of the front cover. Rattlesnake cover art by Gene Shortridge. This issue contains: Truly Western; Our Ghost Towns Today by Kenneth Roe; Ghost Camp by J. Michael Jenkinson; Sam's Youngest Boy by Frank X. Tolbert; The White Invader by Tom Bailey; Ornery and Low Down by James E. Harvey; Nana's People by James Kaywaykla as told to Eve Ball; Vacation for Gold by E. V. Reyner; Rainbow Cattle by Glenn R. Vernam; The Long Rio Grande by W. D. Smither; Guns of the Old West: Henry Rifle by Norman B. Wiltsey; Lucky Baldwin by E. C. Barney; Some People I Knew at the Crossroads by John W. DeVine; They Still Remember Jennie by Mike Clifford; Wild Old Days; The Colorful Horse Thief by Emily H. Lewis; I Trailed Black Jack Ketchum by Richard W. Sturges; Treasure Island by William Mahan; and Ambush on the Coquille by Orpha Collins; along with the usual features. Size: 4to. Gene Shortridge; (illustrator). Book.…

hardcover. Condition: Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority.

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Hardback or Cased Book. Condition: New. The End of the Rope: The Ripcord Campaign and American Disengagement in Vietnam. Book.

Hardback. Condition: New. The campaign around Firebase Ripcord in 1970 was the last major American offensive effort in the Vietnam War. It went badly and is now little known. Elements of the 101st Airborne Division tried to go back to the area where the Hamburger Hill battles had been fought the year before, but they never made it due to a combination of enemy resistance, lack of resources owing to a reduction in force under Vietnamization, and serious command problems.Ripcord was supposed to provide a stepping stone for an incursion into the A Shau Valley, a major North Vietnamese staging and warehouse area in the northern part of South Vietnam. It took three attempts to establish the base-the result of bad planning, bad weather, and enemy resistance. Once the base was established, the North Vietnamese gradually built up their forces in the area, effectively attacked surrounding units and bases, and eventually isolated it. Instead of simply disappearing as they had done in the past, they stepped up resistance and forced the Americans to abandon the campaign.In 1970, the Americans were unable to conduct the sort of campaign that they had previously launched. Instead of piling on to overwhelm the enemy, they chose to withdraw to avoid further casualties in an unpopular war. As the Americans were weakening, the North Vietnamese were getting stronger and had learned much about how to deal with American superiority in firepower and mobility. Beyond that, the American system of rotating officers in and out of command assignments took place without any regard for the situation on the ground, with key commanders changing in the middle of the campaign and new arrivals having to orient themselves on the fly. At the higher levels of command, there was also competition for commands of combat units, as these were necessary for career officers to obtain their promotions. Several of the key leaders in the campaign had little relevant experience, which proved costly to the men in the field. At lower levels, most of the officers and men in the campaign performed well, despite the increasing sense that they were risking their lives for no purpose.Based on over 100 interviews with veterans, this is the first complete critical account and analysis of the last American offensive effort in Vietnam-the failed Firebase Ripcord campaign in 1970.…

Condition: New.

Trade Paperback. Condition: Good.

Condition: New.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Daniel M. Holt, a successful country doctor in the upstate village of Newport, New York, accepted the position of assistant surgeon in the 121st New York Volunteer Army in August 1862. At age 42 when he was commissioned, he was the oldest member of the staff. But his experience served him well, as his regiment participated in nearly all the major campaigns in the eastern theater of the warCramptons Gap before Antietam, Fredericksburg, Salem Church, the Mine Run campaign, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, the 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign, and Appomattox.In A Surgeons Civil War, the educated and articulate Holt describes camp life, army politics, and the medical difficulties that he and his colleagues experienced. His reminiscences and letters provide an insiders look at medicine as practiced on the battlefield and offer occasional glimpses of the efficacy of Surgeon General William A. Hammonds reforms as they affected Holts regiment. He also comments on other subjects, including slavery and national events. Holt served until October 17, 1864 when ill health forced him to resign. Daniel M. Holt, a successful country doctor in the upstate village of Newport, New York, accepted the position of assistant surgeon in the 121st New York Volunteer Army in August 1862. In A Surgeon's Civil War, the educated and articulate Holt describes camp life, army politics, and the medical difficulties that he and his colleagues experienced. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. …

Hardback. Condition: New. The campaign around Firebase Ripcord in 1970 was the last major American offensive effort in the Vietnam War. It went badly and is now little known. Elements of the 101st Airborne Division tried to go back to the area where the Hamburger Hill battles had been fought the year before, but they never made it due to a combination of enemy resistance, lack of resources owing to a reduction in force under Vietnamization, and serious command problems.Ripcord was supposed to provide a stepping stone for an incursion into the A Shau Valley, a major North Vietnamese staging and warehouse area in the northern part of South Vietnam. It took three attempts to establish the base-the result of bad planning, bad weather, and enemy resistance. Once the base was established, the North Vietnamese gradually built up their forces in the area, effectively attacked surrounding units and bases, and eventually isolated it. Instead of simply disappearing as they had done in the past, they stepped up resistance and forced the Americans to abandon the campaign.In 1970, the Americans were unable to conduct the sort of campaign that they had previously launched. Instead of piling on to overwhelm the enemy, they chose to withdraw to avoid further casualties in an unpopular war. As the Americans were weakening, the North Vietnamese were getting stronger and had learned much about how to deal with American superiority in firepower and mobility. Beyond that, the American system of rotating officers in and out of command assignments took place without any regard for the situation on the ground, with key commanders changing in the middle of the campaign and new arrivals having to orient themselves on the fly. At the higher levels of command, there was also competition for commands of combat units, as these were necessary for career officers to obtain their promotions. Several of the key leaders in the campaign had little relevant experience, which proved costly to the men in the field. At lower levels, most of the officers and men in the campaign performed well, despite the increasing sense that they were risking their lives for no purpose.Based on over 100 interviews with veterans, this is the first complete critical account and analysis of the last American offensive effort in Vietnam-the failed Firebase Ripcord campaign in 1970.…

Condition: new.

Hardback. Condition: New. Joe Olexa enlisted in the US Army in December 1940, figuring that if he was going to be in a war, he might as well start training. Assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed "The Big Red One," he served in Company L of its 26th Infantry Regiment for the next four years. Along the way he trained with the division in maneuvers in the United States; shipped to England in 1942; landed at Oran, Algeria, in the Operation Torch landings of November 1942; and fought in Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. Olexa was one of the first group of enlistees that brought the division up to full strength in the buildup prior to Pearl Harbor, and was a sergeant by the time he went overseas. He served as a squad leader, platoon sergeant, and acting platoon leader, outlasting nearly all the men in his company. His memoir features accounts of unusual adventures in Tunisia when his battalion was detached from the rest of the division, and presents a detailed and intense account of his platoon's experiences at El Guettar. Later, Olexa became a "Sea Scout," going ashore on Sicily the night before the invasion to provide signals to guide landing craft onto the beach at Gela. After landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, Olexa was selected by his battalion commander to hunt snipers and lead patrols in addition to his usual duties, and he fought in Normandy until wounded in late June. He rejoined his company in mid-September 1944 and was heavily involved in the capture of Aachen in October. His memoir, originally composed in the late 1970s and expertly edited and annotated by James Smither, offers remarkable insights into the experiences of an ordinary soldier who found himself in truly extraordinary situations.…

Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. Joe Olexa enlisted in the US Army in December 1940, figuring that if he was going to be in a war, he might as well start training. Assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed The Big Red One, he served in Company L of its 26th Infantry Regiment for the next four years. Along the way he trained with the division in maneuvers in the United States; shipped to England in 1942; landed at Oran, Algeria, in the Operation Torch landings of November 1942; and fought in Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. Olexa was one of the first group of enlistees that brought the division up to full strength in the buildup prior to Pearl Harbor, and was a sergeant by the time he went overseas. He served as a squad leader, platoon sergeant, and acting platoon leader, outlasting nearly all the men in his company. His memoir features accounts of unusual adventures in Tunisia when his battalion was detached from the rest of the division, and presents a detailed and intense account of his platoons experiences at El Guettar. Later, Olexa became a Sea Scout, going ashore on Sicily the night before the invasion to provide signals to guide landing craft onto the beach at Gela. After landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, Olexa was selected by his battalion commander to hunt snipers and lead patrols in addition to his usual duties, and he fought in Normandy until wounded in late June. He rejoined his company in mid-September 1944 and was heavily involved in the capture of Aachen in October. His memoir, originally composed in the late 1970s and expertly edited and annotated by James Smither, offers remarkable insights into the experiences of an ordinary soldier who found himself in truly extraordinary situations. A memoir, originally composed in the late 1970s and expertly edited and annotated by James Smither, that offers remarkable insights into the experiences of an ordinary soldier who found himself in truly extraordinary situations. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…

HRD. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Condition: New. 2026. hardcover. . . . . .

Condition: New.

Condition: New.

Condition: New.

hardcover. Condition: New. Special order direct from the distributor.

Condition: New. 2026. hardcover. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Condition: very good, very good. First? Edition. First? Printing. 24 cm, 289, illus., maps, sticker residue on DJ. Holt was with the 121st New York Volunteers, and this unit was in most of the major campaigns in the eastern theater.