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A Hundred Miles of Bad Road: An Armored Cavalryman in Vietnam 1967-68
A riveting, gut-wrenching account of the lives of the young American soldiers whose courage was forged by the pitched battles of the Tet Offensive.-Al Santoli.
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 23, 2008
I wanted to put my father's experiences in Vietnam into a context I could understand and better appreciate. A Hundred Miles of Bad Road helped me to do exactly that.
Dwight Birdwell is a proud Native American who left his home in Oklahoma to join the US Army as a Tanker during the Vietnam War.
You join Birdwell during some of the most heroic actions along the most dangerous Main Supply Route (MSR) in Vietnam, the infamous Highway One.
As his platoon escorts supply convoys and conducts route clearance, they comeunder constant attack by Vietcong and Communist North Vietnamese forces.
Twice, Birdwell is decorated for Valor, earning the Silver Star twice, and the Bronze Star. He also recieved the Purple Heart for the injuries he sustained.
One of the most incredible passages in the book tells the story of the commander of a disabled tank on Highway One sacrificing himself so his wingmen can displace to avoid punishing RPG fire. mortally wounded, the Tank Commander blazes away on his .50 Cal machine gun until he runs out of ammunition, then switched to his M16 rifle. He suceeded in supressing the entire enemy force until Air Support arrived and napalmed the whole treeline.
Dwight Birdwell is a proud Native American who left his home in Oklahoma to join the US Army as a Tanker during the Vietnam War.
You join Birdwell during some of the most heroic actions along the most dangerous Main Supply Route (MSR) in Vietnam, the infamous Highway One.
As his platoon escorts supply convoys and conducts route clearance, they comeunder constant attack by Vietcong and Communist North Vietnamese forces.
Twice, Birdwell is decorated for Valor, earning the Silver Star twice, and the Bronze Star. He also recieved the Purple Heart for the injuries he sustained.
One of the most incredible passages in the book tells the story of the commander of a disabled tank on Highway One sacrificing himself so his wingmen can displace to avoid punishing RPG fire. mortally wounded, the Tank Commander blazes away on his .50 Cal machine gun until he runs out of ammunition, then switched to his M16 rifle. He suceeded in supressing the entire enemy force until Air Support arrived and napalmed the whole treeline.
June 13, 2025
Wow. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Read this as part of an internship where I had to do research on Birdwell. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the way Birdwell tells stories is incredible. He speaks raw and real and doesn't shy away from his own mistakes or regrets. But you can also see that he was, ultimately, a good man, more compassionate for the Vietnamese than many soldiers could say they were. This is such an important perspective in our view of the Vietnam Conflict. We see what it was like to not be the well-off white man, how it felt to see the Vietnamese undergoing the hardships that Birdwell's people did. He relates the slaughter of Native Americans to that of the Vietnamese in such poignant ways. Incredible piece of literature and very informative to the lived experiences of war. The exciting, the terrifying, the boring, and the ugly.
November 14, 2020
I have long been a fan of William Keith Nolan's books. This one was a memoir based on the experience of Dwight Birdwell who gets top billing as the author of the book. It is an action packed account of his tour of duty as a tanker with the 3/4 Cavalry in 1967 and 1968. It starts with his actions in the Tet Offensive and winds down with his disillusionment toward the end of his tour. If you want to understand how things were from the pen of someone who was there, this is the book.
It is an older book, but one of the best I have read this year.
It is an older book, but one of the best I have read this year.
June 4, 2018
Psychologically insightful, but also incredibly self honest it is a remarkable memoir. Clear detail that brings a dark war to life. Not an easy read but very worthwhile for conveying not only the experience of war but the distinctive nature of the Vietnam one.
February 23, 2020
A Vietnam war story written by a "tanker" about his tour of duty before and after the Tet offensive.
January 21, 2012
I'd highly recommend this book for those interested in the Vietnam war. Nolan paints a colorful yet grim picture of the conflicts that Birdwell endured during his 1 year of service as a tank cavalryman during the Vietnam war, including his many conflicts not only with the viet-cong army but rowdy fellow servicemen and higher officers. The book started off a little slow for me and seeing as i normally have an aversion to non-fiction (e.g. biographies and the like) went into it thinking this was going to be a boring ride. However, it started to pick up later and became interesting. Nolan does such a good job writing the scenarios that it almost feels like an action novel instead of a bio. So much so i can't help but feel a few parts may have been spiced up to make the subject more heroic and noble yet humbled for the readers entertainment. It also seemed a bit far-fetched that the guy was 'almost' killed so many times, about 5 or so, that even he didn't believe it. I didn't live it so skepticism aside, Birdwell had a real adventure over-seas and I for one am glad he was able to share his story with the rest of us. I salute him and those who fought for our freedom, win or lose.
August 14, 2008
A friend lent me a copy of this as I was starting to read up on armoured warfare (tho' I tend to focus on pre-WW2/WW2 stuff, particularly German armour), and it was quite a treat.
The book paints a really grim picture of what those in armour went through while serving in Vietnam.
The events narrated by the author, such as defending an airfield while under constant fire or watching fellow crewmen getting blown out of an APC as it is hit by an RPG, tend to stick in one's head for a while.
The book paints a really grim picture of what those in armour went through while serving in Vietnam.
The events narrated by the author, such as defending an airfield while under constant fire or watching fellow crewmen getting blown out of an APC as it is hit by an RPG, tend to stick in one's head for a while.
October 18, 2016
This is an excellent book covering the experience of Dwight W. Birdwell as an armored Calveryman in Viet Nam from 1967 - 1968. It is Dwight's viewpoint of serving in a line company during the Viet Nam War. It gives a sense of the interaction between soldiers from many backgrounds and their reaction to combat and the Viet Nam people. The narrative is a raw and and honest evaluation of the soldiers emotions and the effect on their combat performance and later transition to civilian life.
May 31, 2016
A very personal account of a tanker during a year of Vietnam. The stories are very poignant and offer an insight into a part of the war that is not often talked about, Armour operations. The book reads very easy and with a good mix of humor and serious.
October 22, 2009
The Vietnam War through the eyes of a tanker.
This is a real deal struggle over 215 pages of surviving Vietnam in a RPG magnet.
This is a real deal struggle over 215 pages of surviving Vietnam in a RPG magnet.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews