Description
Book SynopsisLurps is the revised edition of the memoir of a juvenile delinquent who drops out of ninth grade to chase his dream of military service. After volunteering for Vietnam, he joins the elite U.S. Army LRRP / Rangersâsmall, heavily armed long-range reconnaissance teams that patrol deep in enemy-held territory.
Trade ReviewDr. Robert C. Ankony has written a fascinating, highly readable memoir of his distinguished military career. Following him from the decision to join the Army at 17 through the difficult task of becoming a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, we experience some of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War... By giving the work a sense of immediacy that many autobiographies lack, this approach allows the reader to live the experiences as Ankony remembers them. But the book is more than a combat diary; it also contains frank discussions, from a soldier's perspective, about the turbulent political and social aspects of the war. These elements combine to make the book a unique addition to the growing field of Vietnam literature... The book is not, however, about [Ankony's] own heroism so much as what his service meant, as well as a tribute to those men who helped make him who he is. A pleasure to read, Lurps is among the best war diaries available. -- Jason Foster * Vietnam *
From a blue-collar neighborhood in southwest Detroit to the badlands of northern I Corps, Ankony's memoir is a vivid and unusually honest tale of one man's journey to war in South Vietnam and back... From his remarkable eyewitness account of the North Vietnamese attack on Quang Tri City during the 1968 Tet Offensive to his description of the equipment and skills a soldier in Vietnam needed to survive, [Ankony] has given us an highly readable tale that is sure to entertain and inform anyone who has an interest in the war. -- Dr. Erik B. Villard, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Washington, D.C.
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Childhood Chapter 2 Basic Combat Training Chapter 3 Advanced Individual Training Chapter 4 Airborne School Chapter 5 Rigger School Chapter 6 A Decision Chapter 7 Vietnam Chapter 8 First Cavalry Division Chapter 9 Transfer to LRRPs Chapter 10 LZ English Chapter 11 Move North Chapter 12 Tet Chapter 13 First Patrol Chapter 14 Learning the Ropes Chapter 15 Contact Chapter 16 Luck Chapter 17 Khe Sanh Chapter 18 A Shau Chapter 19 Recondo School Chapter 20 Hong Kong Chapter 21 Patrols as Team Leader Chapter 22 Patrolling On Chapter 23 Twenty-second and Last Patrol Chapter 24 Going Home
