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Sign Here for Sacrifice: The Untold Story of the Third Battalion, 506th Airborne, Vietnam 1968
A hard-hitting history of the U.S. airborne unit who made a name for themselves in the unforgiving jungles of South Vietnam.
“It was easier killing than living.” Third Battalion 506th Airborne veteran
Drawing on interviews with veterans, many of whom have never gone on the record before, Ian Gardner follows up his epic trilogy about the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II with the story of the unit's reactivation at the height of the Vietnam War. This is the dramatic history of a band of brothers who served together in Vietnam and who against the odds lived up to the reputation of their World War II forefathers.
Brigadier General Salve Matheson's idea was to create an 800-strong battalion of airborne volunteers in the same legendary “Currahee” spirit that had defined the volunteers of 1942. The man he chose to lead them was John Geraci, who would mold this young brotherhood into a highly cohesive and motivated force.
In December 1967, the battalion was sent into the Central Highlands of Lam Dong Province. Geraci and his men began their Search and Destroy patrols, which coincided with the North Vietnamese build-up to the Tet Offensive and was a brutal introduction to the reality of a dirty, bloody war. Gardner reveals how it was here that the tenacious volunteers made their mark, just like their predecessors had done in Normandy, and the battalion was ultimately awarded a Valorous Unit Citation. This book shows how and why this unit was deserving of that award, recounting their daily sanguinary struggle in the face of a hostile environment and a determined enemy.
Through countless interviews and rare personal photographs, Sign Here for Sacrifice shows the action, leadership, humor and bravery displayed by these airborne warriors.
“It was easier killing than living.” Third Battalion 506th Airborne veteran
Drawing on interviews with veterans, many of whom have never gone on the record before, Ian Gardner follows up his epic trilogy about the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II with the story of the unit's reactivation at the height of the Vietnam War. This is the dramatic history of a band of brothers who served together in Vietnam and who against the odds lived up to the reputation of their World War II forefathers.
Brigadier General Salve Matheson's idea was to create an 800-strong battalion of airborne volunteers in the same legendary “Currahee” spirit that had defined the volunteers of 1942. The man he chose to lead them was John Geraci, who would mold this young brotherhood into a highly cohesive and motivated force.
In December 1967, the battalion was sent into the Central Highlands of Lam Dong Province. Geraci and his men began their Search and Destroy patrols, which coincided with the North Vietnamese build-up to the Tet Offensive and was a brutal introduction to the reality of a dirty, bloody war. Gardner reveals how it was here that the tenacious volunteers made their mark, just like their predecessors had done in Normandy, and the battalion was ultimately awarded a Valorous Unit Citation. This book shows how and why this unit was deserving of that award, recounting their daily sanguinary struggle in the face of a hostile environment and a determined enemy.
Through countless interviews and rare personal photographs, Sign Here for Sacrifice shows the action, leadership, humor and bravery displayed by these airborne warriors.
- GenresWarNonfictionAdult
304 pages, Hardcover
Published February 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 2, 2023
It's not often you find a book which is well-written, exquisitely researched, and respectful of its topics but also feel like a missed opportunity. Ian Gardner's Sing Here for Sacrifice is one those books. There is much to recommend it as he tells the story of the 3rd Battalion of the 506th Airborne in Vietnam, but there is also a few big problems which keeps it from truly becoming a "must read" book.
The good is consistently mixed with the bad. Gardner is able to distill and explain a combat experience in a way that nearly anyone can understand the mechanics of it. His prose is crisp and clear except when he starts to pour in military vernacular. I knew what it all meant from my own history and there is a list in the beginning of the book, but I imagine a lay reader would get very frustrated having to refer to an acronym list.
Gardner loves the soldiers he is writing about. His effort to give each man their due is obvious and heartening. He doesn't leave anyone's name out. This is also a huge problem. He tries to jam a lot of people into a book that is less than 300 people. It becomes nearly impossible to remember who is who as Gardner also will throw their nicknames into the mix. These men deserve their name in this book, but then the book needs to be longer or Gardner needed to focus on a smaller unit such as a platoon.
If I have to point to one thing which sank this book for me. Gardner spoke with many of the men in the story. However, there is very few quotes throughout the narrative. It feels like such a missed opportunity to hear directly from the people who were there and in their voice. I am sure Gardner made this choice for a reason because his respect for his subjects is clear, but it keeps the reader from getting to know the soldiers even more and understanding what makes them tick.
Ultimately, Gardner needed to choose either a high-level view of this unit and used less specificity on the personnel or choose a smaller part of the unit so he could laser focus on specific men. The combination of both along with the short length made the book feel rushed. That said, Gardner is a gifted writer with this type of book and with a few tweaks this could have easily been a 5 star book. I'll be on the lookout for his next release.
(This book was provided by the publisher.)
The good is consistently mixed with the bad. Gardner is able to distill and explain a combat experience in a way that nearly anyone can understand the mechanics of it. His prose is crisp and clear except when he starts to pour in military vernacular. I knew what it all meant from my own history and there is a list in the beginning of the book, but I imagine a lay reader would get very frustrated having to refer to an acronym list.
Gardner loves the soldiers he is writing about. His effort to give each man their due is obvious and heartening. He doesn't leave anyone's name out. This is also a huge problem. He tries to jam a lot of people into a book that is less than 300 people. It becomes nearly impossible to remember who is who as Gardner also will throw their nicknames into the mix. These men deserve their name in this book, but then the book needs to be longer or Gardner needed to focus on a smaller unit such as a platoon.
If I have to point to one thing which sank this book for me. Gardner spoke with many of the men in the story. However, there is very few quotes throughout the narrative. It feels like such a missed opportunity to hear directly from the people who were there and in their voice. I am sure Gardner made this choice for a reason because his respect for his subjects is clear, but it keeps the reader from getting to know the soldiers even more and understanding what makes them tick.
Ultimately, Gardner needed to choose either a high-level view of this unit and used less specificity on the personnel or choose a smaller part of the unit so he could laser focus on specific men. The combination of both along with the short length made the book feel rushed. That said, Gardner is a gifted writer with this type of book and with a few tweaks this could have easily been a 5 star book. I'll be on the lookout for his next release.
(This book was provided by the publisher.)
December 18, 2022
I have read a lot of books about the Vietnam war, maybe too many. Sign here for Sacrifice by Ian Gardner was not among the best. I found it rather boring. Some bits are really interesting but they are few and far apart, If you are curious about this conflict this book could be a place to start. I think it lacked some kind of flow, it's mostly a lot of dates and casualties stacked upon each other not so much in depth about the war or the people. Still I learned some new things but I actually wish I never tried this one. Still I thank Edelweiss, Macmillan and Osprey Publishing for giving me this advance copy.
September 11, 2023
Sign Here for Sacrifice is an account of the Third Battalion, 506th Airborne in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. The battalion has a storied history in their WWII roots. Reinstated several times since the 40s, the battalion went to Vietnam and was present at Phan Thiet during the Tet Offensive.
Author Ian Gardner has written five books, all of them about the operations of this battalion during WWII. This is the first book he's written about the Vietnam war. I consider myself relatively new to reading nonfiction for fun, and all of the war/military history books I've read have been about WWII, which is a topic that is very written about. I was interested in reading this book about American troops during Vietnam not only because I haven't read anything about the time period, but also because of my own family history--my grandfather did three tours in Vietnam. Unfortunately, I simply didn't like this book because I was not a fan of the way it was written. 1 star.
The book opens with a list of acronyms, which are used heavily throughout, a brief introduction that states that the book is not about the political beliefs surrounding America's involvement in the Vietnam war, and a timeline of chronological events about what led to the battalion's deployment.
The reason that I did not like this book was because I thought it was incredibly hard to follow. I found it to be a dry, impersonal account of short sub-chapters that were put together seemingly piecemeal, though that may be due to the fact that I started skimming early on. (Why did I continue to read if I wasn't gelling? Because I'm horribly stubborn.) When I was trying to think of a way to describe the writing style of this book, I kept thinking about that ADHD kid (ahem, me) who knows a fun fact and desperately wants to tell you what it is, so they slip it in here and there where it doesn't really fit and ends it with copious (!) exclamation (!) points (!). (For real, there were so many exclamation points throughout that were particularly bothersome??)
Furthermore, the book focuses on the battalion as a whole, which means there are a ton of people moving in and out as people are injured or killed, soldiers are promoted and rotated, and replacements are brought in. During this, Gardner doesn't stick to any one naming convention, and at any given time may refer to someone by his first name, last name, or nickname, which was doubly confusing given how many people we're trying to keep track of, and triply confusing as many of the names are similar. For instance, there's Mike (given name), "Mike" (nickname), and Mike (a Strike Force). Not to mention a ton of Johns and Joes and "Joes" and "Johns" and I was hopelessly lost.
Clearly I was not a good match for this book. While I had high hopes for it, I found it too distanced and dry, as I prefer a more personal narrative in nonfiction.
Author Ian Gardner has written five books, all of them about the operations of this battalion during WWII. This is the first book he's written about the Vietnam war. I consider myself relatively new to reading nonfiction for fun, and all of the war/military history books I've read have been about WWII, which is a topic that is very written about. I was interested in reading this book about American troops during Vietnam not only because I haven't read anything about the time period, but also because of my own family history--my grandfather did three tours in Vietnam. Unfortunately, I simply didn't like this book because I was not a fan of the way it was written. 1 star.
The book opens with a list of acronyms, which are used heavily throughout, a brief introduction that states that the book is not about the political beliefs surrounding America's involvement in the Vietnam war, and a timeline of chronological events about what led to the battalion's deployment.
The reason that I did not like this book was because I thought it was incredibly hard to follow. I found it to be a dry, impersonal account of short sub-chapters that were put together seemingly piecemeal, though that may be due to the fact that I started skimming early on. (Why did I continue to read if I wasn't gelling? Because I'm horribly stubborn.) When I was trying to think of a way to describe the writing style of this book, I kept thinking about that ADHD kid (ahem, me) who knows a fun fact and desperately wants to tell you what it is, so they slip it in here and there where it doesn't really fit and ends it with copious (!) exclamation (!) points (!). (For real, there were so many exclamation points throughout that were particularly bothersome??)
Furthermore, the book focuses on the battalion as a whole, which means there are a ton of people moving in and out as people are injured or killed, soldiers are promoted and rotated, and replacements are brought in. During this, Gardner doesn't stick to any one naming convention, and at any given time may refer to someone by his first name, last name, or nickname, which was doubly confusing given how many people we're trying to keep track of, and triply confusing as many of the names are similar. For instance, there's Mike (given name), "Mike" (nickname), and Mike (a Strike Force). Not to mention a ton of Johns and Joes and "Joes" and "Johns" and I was hopelessly lost.
Clearly I was not a good match for this book. While I had high hopes for it, I found it too distanced and dry, as I prefer a more personal narrative in nonfiction.
February 17, 2023
A terrific novel regarding the exploits and heroics of the men of the 503. The book covered both their history in Ww2 and then again in Vietnam. The story contains great first hand accounts and descriptions of the action this unit saw during the two wars. The hardships and sacrifices they endured during their service truly reflect the heroes they were. A great novel, well worth reading!
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
January 3, 2024
I’ve never read anything like this before. History isn’t my typical casual read. And truly, this wasn’t a casual read. It gripped my heart and struck through to my soul.
As a daughter of a Vietnam refugee and the wife of a soldier, this book felt far more personal than I could have anticipated. Multiple times, I found myself in tears over the devastation of battle after battle.
The one thing that makes this book so incredible is way the author humanizes the soldiers of the 3/506. In an age where we are truly so removed from the reality of war, we need the reminder of how real these stories are and how horrific the war really was. In these pages, we hear in detail how so many soldiers gave their lives, and we are called to remember—not to shield ourselves from the grim reality of war.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There are descriptions of injury and death that are so vivid… But without the shock of the very real violence that occurred during the Vietnam War, we can’t fully grasp what they experienced, and it makes it easy to dehumanize these men and remove ourselves from the idea of war.
This book was a sort of wake up call for me to dig into the less palatable parts of my own heritage. Even if it’s uncomfortable, it’s important. For my father’s sake, as well as for the sake of every soldier who shed blood on Vietnamese soil.
The only thing in this book that I didn’t not like was the interchange of first names, last names, and nicknames/call signs. It was hard to keep track of who was at the center of the action in each battle. But I don’t think that should keep anyone from picking up a copy of this book. This is a story that needs to be told.
As a daughter of a Vietnam refugee and the wife of a soldier, this book felt far more personal than I could have anticipated. Multiple times, I found myself in tears over the devastation of battle after battle.
The one thing that makes this book so incredible is way the author humanizes the soldiers of the 3/506. In an age where we are truly so removed from the reality of war, we need the reminder of how real these stories are and how horrific the war really was. In these pages, we hear in detail how so many soldiers gave their lives, and we are called to remember—not to shield ourselves from the grim reality of war.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There are descriptions of injury and death that are so vivid… But without the shock of the very real violence that occurred during the Vietnam War, we can’t fully grasp what they experienced, and it makes it easy to dehumanize these men and remove ourselves from the idea of war.
This book was a sort of wake up call for me to dig into the less palatable parts of my own heritage. Even if it’s uncomfortable, it’s important. For my father’s sake, as well as for the sake of every soldier who shed blood on Vietnamese soil.
The only thing in this book that I didn’t not like was the interchange of first names, last names, and nicknames/call signs. It was hard to keep track of who was at the center of the action in each battle. But I don’t think that should keep anyone from picking up a copy of this book. This is a story that needs to be told.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews