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Ripcord: Screaming Eagles under Siege, Vietnam 1970. By Keith W. Nolan. Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, 2000. ISBN 0-89141-642-0. Maps. Photographs. Glossary. Appendixes. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. 447. $29.95.
On 11 April 1970, the 101st Airborne Division established Firebase Ripcord near the Laotian border in Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam. The purpose of the firebase was to support a planned offensive into a major North Vietnamese base area near the northern edge of the remote A Shau Valley. The North Vietnamese Army reacted violently to this threat and committed superior forces to eliminate the firebase.
After building up strength around the objective, the NVA attacked Ripcord on I July 1970. Twenty-two days of ferocious combat on and around Ripcord finally resulted in the decision by...