What do you think?
Rate this book
Nine Days in May: The Battles of the 4th Infantry Division on the Cambodian Border, 1967
Moving through the jungle near the Cambodian border on May 18, 1967, a company of American infantry observed three North Vietnamese Army regulars, AK-47s slung over their shoulders, walking down a well-worn trail in the rugged Central Highlands. Startled by shouts of “Lai day, lai day” (“Come here, come here”), the three men dropped their packs and fled. The company commander, a young lieutenant, sent a platoon down the trail to investigate. Those few men soon found themselves outnumbered, surrounded, and fighting for their lives. Their first desperate moments marked the beginning of a series of bloody battles that lasted more than a week, one that survivors would later call “the nine days in May border battles.”
Nine Days in May is the first full account of these bitterly contested battles. Part of Operation Francis Marion, they took place in the Ia Tchar Valley and the remote jungle west of Pleiku. Fought between three American battalions and two North Vietnamese Army regiments, this prolonged, deadly encounter was one of the largest, most savage actions seen by elements of the storied 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. Drawing on interviews with the participants, Warren K. Wilkins recreates the vicious fighting in gripping detail.
This is a story of extraordinary courage and sacrifice displayed in a series of battles that were fought and won within the context of a broader, intractable strategic stalemate. When the guns finally fell silent, an unheralded American brigade received a Presidential Unit Citation and earned three of the twelve Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam.
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2017
35 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 7, 2017
In deciding to read this book, I must admit a personal connection to it. My father, while not directly involved, was on its periphery. He was assigned to the Division Artillery and was one of the division fire support coordinators during this time period. He says he was speaking to these guys all thru the battles.
Mr. Wilkins has produced an extremely well researched look the 4th Infantry Division's (4ID) war in the central highlands, specifically the Ia Tchar Valley on the Cambodian border. He uses personal accounts and official documents well and the picture he paints is one of both dedication (on both sides) and futility and is in many ways disturbing.
The story starts out with a lost platoon. I’ve read that every Civil War battle has a peach orchard, a sunken lane and corn/wheat field. It seems that every Viet Nam battle has an American lost platoon (plt). In this case it is the 4th plt of B Company 1/8 Infantry. They come across 3 NVA (North Viet Namese Army) soldiers on a trail and start chasing them and get so far ahead of the rest of the company that when they trip the inevitable ambush they are cut off and spend the rest of the day fighting for their lives. Unfortunately for most of the members of the platoon it is a fight that they lose. During this fight, the first of 3 Medal of Honors (MOH) awarded to members of the 1/8 INF for actions in this valley is earned when the Plt ldr, SFC Bruce Grandstaff, realizes he is about to be overrun calls artillery in on his own position - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_A.... The rest of B Co is also in a fight for its life against what is later learned to be a reinforced bn of NVA regulars. The other two MOHs are earned a couple of days later when the awardees throw themselves on grenades. All three are posthumous. When contact is made A Co 1/8 INF, which is also patrolling in the area and is supposed to be close enough to support B Co as needed, is ordered to go to their aid. The jungle and terrain are so difficult that A Co doesn’t arrive until dusk some 5 hours later and the battle has died down. They are immediately ordered to find the missing platoon. What follows is some of the most difficult reading of the book. As the company moves forward under the lights of flares dropped from orbiting aircraft, the scene is positively eerie. At the time they don’t find any survivors, but the next morning they go out again and find the platoon or what is left of it. They recover 7 severely wounded soldiers out of the 29 members of the PLT. They are also ordered to police the battlefield. That is a polite way to say recover the bodies/body parts. After "policing the battle field" it is determined one man is missing. It is later discovered that he was captured and roughly a year later killed trying to escape. Some of this section is almost stomach turning. The next 8 days are basically rinse and repeat. In spite the 1 Bde being awarded a Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), this engagement was not a brigade or even battalion (bn) sized fight. It was a series of 1 or 2 American companies in prepared defensive positions fighting off a bn or more of the NVA mainly at night. As an American battalion is fought out, it is replaced by the next one up. This happens three times and all three battalions in the Bde eventually fight in the valley. The battle ends when the NVA decides they've had enough and slip back across the border into Cambodia. American policy at the time prevents the US troops from following them and completing the destruction of the NVA division.
One of the topics that is well covered is the frustration that the use of C&C helicopters had for the Bn commanders (cdr). All three of the commanders said that they would rather have been on the ground with their people. In one case, one the commanders did spend the night with his people. That happened to be the only night that there was a 3 company Night Defensive Position and the NVA chose not to attack. On the other hand, the company commanders were grateful for them, because it kept the Bn Cdrs out of their hair while they were trying to fight their battle. According to the Co Cdrs on the ground the best thing the Bn Cdrs could do was keep higher off their radio frequencies and command nets.
Another topic is the respect the Americans had for the NVA. It seems that every account the author cites mentions their professionalism, discipline and tactical knowledge. They were uniformed, well-armed and tenacious. This is best illustrated in the accounts by members of the 3/12 Infantry who had been in the Lowlands chasing VC and this was their first exposure to the NVA. When they referred to the NVA with a nickname it was Mr. Charles and not Charley.
Most of the men of the three bns had joined the 4th before it deployed to Viet Nam in the summer of 1966. Those men who deployed with the division where known as Originals. And as at Ia Drang 18 mths earlier were due to rotate home soon. In addition to their Viet Nam experiences the author looks at their training at Ft. Lewis, Washington and their previous 10 months in country.
About the only problem I had with the narrative is that sometimes Mr. Wilkins uses that same phrases and paragraphs to describe different battles. A couple of times I found myself thinking, “I’ve read this before”. Other than that this is an excellent account of one phase of the American experience in Viet Nam. I may be biased because of my personal connection, but I think this is a solid 4 star read.
Mr. Wilkins has produced an extremely well researched look the 4th Infantry Division's (4ID) war in the central highlands, specifically the Ia Tchar Valley on the Cambodian border. He uses personal accounts and official documents well and the picture he paints is one of both dedication (on both sides) and futility and is in many ways disturbing.
The story starts out with a lost platoon. I’ve read that every Civil War battle has a peach orchard, a sunken lane and corn/wheat field. It seems that every Viet Nam battle has an American lost platoon (plt). In this case it is the 4th plt of B Company 1/8 Infantry. They come across 3 NVA (North Viet Namese Army) soldiers on a trail and start chasing them and get so far ahead of the rest of the company that when they trip the inevitable ambush they are cut off and spend the rest of the day fighting for their lives. Unfortunately for most of the members of the platoon it is a fight that they lose. During this fight, the first of 3 Medal of Honors (MOH) awarded to members of the 1/8 INF for actions in this valley is earned when the Plt ldr, SFC Bruce Grandstaff, realizes he is about to be overrun calls artillery in on his own position - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_A.... The rest of B Co is also in a fight for its life against what is later learned to be a reinforced bn of NVA regulars. The other two MOHs are earned a couple of days later when the awardees throw themselves on grenades. All three are posthumous. When contact is made A Co 1/8 INF, which is also patrolling in the area and is supposed to be close enough to support B Co as needed, is ordered to go to their aid. The jungle and terrain are so difficult that A Co doesn’t arrive until dusk some 5 hours later and the battle has died down. They are immediately ordered to find the missing platoon. What follows is some of the most difficult reading of the book. As the company moves forward under the lights of flares dropped from orbiting aircraft, the scene is positively eerie. At the time they don’t find any survivors, but the next morning they go out again and find the platoon or what is left of it. They recover 7 severely wounded soldiers out of the 29 members of the PLT. They are also ordered to police the battlefield. That is a polite way to say recover the bodies/body parts. After "policing the battle field" it is determined one man is missing. It is later discovered that he was captured and roughly a year later killed trying to escape. Some of this section is almost stomach turning. The next 8 days are basically rinse and repeat. In spite the 1 Bde being awarded a Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), this engagement was not a brigade or even battalion (bn) sized fight. It was a series of 1 or 2 American companies in prepared defensive positions fighting off a bn or more of the NVA mainly at night. As an American battalion is fought out, it is replaced by the next one up. This happens three times and all three battalions in the Bde eventually fight in the valley. The battle ends when the NVA decides they've had enough and slip back across the border into Cambodia. American policy at the time prevents the US troops from following them and completing the destruction of the NVA division.
One of the topics that is well covered is the frustration that the use of C&C helicopters had for the Bn commanders (cdr). All three of the commanders said that they would rather have been on the ground with their people. In one case, one the commanders did spend the night with his people. That happened to be the only night that there was a 3 company Night Defensive Position and the NVA chose not to attack. On the other hand, the company commanders were grateful for them, because it kept the Bn Cdrs out of their hair while they were trying to fight their battle. According to the Co Cdrs on the ground the best thing the Bn Cdrs could do was keep higher off their radio frequencies and command nets.
Another topic is the respect the Americans had for the NVA. It seems that every account the author cites mentions their professionalism, discipline and tactical knowledge. They were uniformed, well-armed and tenacious. This is best illustrated in the accounts by members of the 3/12 Infantry who had been in the Lowlands chasing VC and this was their first exposure to the NVA. When they referred to the NVA with a nickname it was Mr. Charles and not Charley.
Most of the men of the three bns had joined the 4th before it deployed to Viet Nam in the summer of 1966. Those men who deployed with the division where known as Originals. And as at Ia Drang 18 mths earlier were due to rotate home soon. In addition to their Viet Nam experiences the author looks at their training at Ft. Lewis, Washington and their previous 10 months in country.
About the only problem I had with the narrative is that sometimes Mr. Wilkins uses that same phrases and paragraphs to describe different battles. A couple of times I found myself thinking, “I’ve read this before”. Other than that this is an excellent account of one phase of the American experience in Viet Nam. I may be biased because of my personal connection, but I think this is a solid 4 star read.
November 19, 2017
I just finish reading Nine Days in May by Warren K. Wilkins. It wasn’t easy. It is the story of the battles of the 4th infantry division on the Cambodian border of Vietnam. It is a story of extraordinary bravery. But also of gruesome hardships and brutality. I didn’t serve in the military, but I am thankful for the service of those who did and do. After reading Wilkins book I have more, much more, respect and appreciation for who served and fought in Vietnam. So many lost their lives or sufferer gave injuries. All the survivors must have found their lives changed forever.
September 17, 2019
Amazing battles. You wouldn't want tl be there by any measure.
This book covers more combat in just nine days than could be imagined in a book of fiction. I was in Vietnam in the 101st Airborne and experienced combat but never in a sustained battle such as these. Everyone of these combatants are surely suffering from PTSD. I imagine many have never come to grips with it. Incredible story and very well written. The author has taken a page from Keith Nolan's playbook. Bravo.
This book covers more combat in just nine days than could be imagined in a book of fiction. I was in Vietnam in the 101st Airborne and experienced combat but never in a sustained battle such as these. Everyone of these combatants are surely suffering from PTSD. I imagine many have never come to grips with it. Incredible story and very well written. The author has taken a page from Keith Nolan's playbook. Bravo.
November 24, 2017
An engrossing description of infantry combat as American units reacted to North Vietnamese Army ambushes and assaults, with young U.S. draftees battling a hardened enemy, often in hand-to-hand fighting.
Struggling in the dense forests of Vietnam's Central Highlands at a time when most Americans still supported the war, the U.S. companies and platoons generally possessed excellent small unit leadership. They would need all the help they could get as they clashed with the NVA under triple-canopy forests that often blocked out the sunlight as well as supporting artillery fire.
Wilkins touches on the U.S. strategy of attrition, and the political constraints that hobbled American forces, leaving them unable to pursue the NVA into their bases across the Cambodian border. Reduced to counting bodies, the 4th Infantry Division could never put away their foe. The fraud of body counts and the untouchable nature of enemy sanctuaries negated the courage and endurance of the men, eventually forcing 4th Infantry Division units to battle over the same ground again and again until the attrited Americans finally withdrew.
Struggling in the dense forests of Vietnam's Central Highlands at a time when most Americans still supported the war, the U.S. companies and platoons generally possessed excellent small unit leadership. They would need all the help they could get as they clashed with the NVA under triple-canopy forests that often blocked out the sunlight as well as supporting artillery fire.
Wilkins touches on the U.S. strategy of attrition, and the political constraints that hobbled American forces, leaving them unable to pursue the NVA into their bases across the Cambodian border. Reduced to counting bodies, the 4th Infantry Division could never put away their foe. The fraud of body counts and the untouchable nature of enemy sanctuaries negated the courage and endurance of the men, eventually forcing 4th Infantry Division units to battle over the same ground again and again until the attrited Americans finally withdrew.
February 6, 2021
Although it probably would have been better to have read the author's earlier work before this book, Wilkins' account of the string of actions that netted the the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division a Presidential Unit Citation makes for compelling reading. Basically conducting a spoiling offensive to keep incoming regular forces from North Vietnam off-balance, the result was that the sub-units of the brigade gave the NVA regulars the fight that they wanted, the opportunity to destroy these sub-units in detail with superior manpower. It was only the weight of American firepower, and the sheer cussedness of the American riflemen, that staved off disaster. The question I come away with upon reading this book regards the author's long-term vision: Is the goal to write a cycle that documents how the very good army with which Washington entered the war deteriorated over time into a broken army?
January 6, 2024
Incredibly detailed and sobering view of war in the bush from the eyes of the American "grunts" in the central highlands of Vietnam near the Cambodian border. No book (or movie) could ever truly reflect the raw horror of war, but this author does a great job of providing the details based off of personal interviews with the men who were there and the journal entries of others.
This is certainly a slow read as it covers the actions and experiences of several different companies and the author familiarizes the reader with many of the men in all of them. If I could read the book again in print, I would pour over it more methodically. It's amazing that so much action could be compacted into only 9 days. Undoubtedly, the lives of all the men who were present and survived the battle changed forever. It's gut wrenching and sad to see how many lives were lost over a hill out in the middle of nowhere.
This is certainly a slow read as it covers the actions and experiences of several different companies and the author familiarizes the reader with many of the men in all of them. If I could read the book again in print, I would pour over it more methodically. It's amazing that so much action could be compacted into only 9 days. Undoubtedly, the lives of all the men who were present and survived the battle changed forever. It's gut wrenching and sad to see how many lives were lost over a hill out in the middle of nowhere.
October 10, 2017
As war / combat books go, this was a great one. The author clearly interviewed many of the participants and got firsthand recollections of an intense 9 day period operating on the Cambodian border in May 1967. Definitely held my interest and was hard to put down. My only quibble was that the author did not develop some of the major players more, which would have added a more personal touch, but there is definitely some.
Hope the author continues the scholarship on Vietnam.
Hope the author continues the scholarship on Vietnam.
August 1, 2024
The amount of research that the author did for this book is incredible. It is reflected in the level of detail in describing the fighting, suffering and dying. The poignancy of the emotions associated with these events is enhanced by the back stories of the men, many of whom were draftees whose lives had been interrupted. Highly recommend.
August 19, 2017
Well written, well researched and one of the better books on the Viet Nam war in my library. The author mixes first person accounts with tactical resources to give the reader a feeling of being in the middle of the fights.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews