Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day.

Includes preview of "The Pepperdogs" by Bing West. At head of title on cover: Commandant's reading list. "Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc."--Colophon.

Foreword / James R. Schlesinger -- Author's preface -- The setting -- Night patrols -- Defeat -- "Work very hard-never look tired' -- The challenge -- Acceptance -- Epilogue: 1967 -- Epilogue: 1968 -- Epilogue: 1969-70 -- Epilogue: 1971 -- Epilogue: 2002