VIETNAM’S 'BAND OF BROTHERS': Q&A WITH IAN GARDNER
History of War|Issue 117
How 3rd Battalion, 506th Airborne overcame adversity in the jungles of Southeast Asia, continuing the legacy of their WWII forebears
VIETNAM’S 'BAND OF BROTHERS': Q&A WITH IAN GARDNER

Up until the counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, the Vietnam War was the longest armed conflict involving the USA. It remains a complex and misunderstood war, framed for many by a succession of arguably misleading (albeit entertaining) Hollywood movies. In his new book Sign Here for Sacrifice, author and historian Ian Gardner focuses on the story of one battalion, an outfit tasked with living up to the prestigious legacy of the 101st Airborne. Gardner describes how the 3rd Battalion, 506th Airborne (3/506) was formed from volunteers, and put through rigorous training before shipping out to take on the Viet Cong in the unrelenting jungles on the frontline. A former Para himself, Gardner recounts the 3/506’s first search and destroy missions, as the battlefield tactics and military theory of veterans such as the inimitable Lieutenant Colonel John Geraci were put to the test. Here Gardner discusses his new book and what drew him to the story of the 3/506. 

What initially interested you in the story of the 3rd Battalion, 506th Airborne?
The enigma surrounding airborne soldiering has always been of deep interest for me. Growing up near Aldershot in Hampshire, we often saw recruits from Browning Barracks or Depot Para wearing their camouflage peak caps, being tested to the limit either in training or on Pre-Parachute Selection known as P Company. This fascination grew until eventually I stepped up and qualified as a reserve paratrooper in 1988.

Esta historia es de la edición Issue 117 de History of War.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición Issue 117 de History of War.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE HISTORY OF WARVer todo
NAUMACHIA TRUTH BEHIND ROME'S GLADIATOR SEA BATTLES
History of War

NAUMACHIA TRUTH BEHIND ROME'S GLADIATOR SEA BATTLES

In their quest for evermore novel and bloody entertainment, the Romans staged enormous naval fights on artificial lakes

time-read
6 minutos  |
Issue 138
OPERATION MANNA
History of War

OPERATION MANNA

In late April 1945, millions of Dutch civilians were starving as Nazi retribution for the failed Operation Market Garden cut off supplies. eet as In response, Allied bombers launched a risky mission to air-drop food

time-read
10+ minutos  |
Issue 138
GASSING HITLER
History of War

GASSING HITLER

Just a month before the end of WWI, the future Fuhrer was blinded by a British shell and invalided away from the frontline. Over a century later, has the artillery brigade that launched the fateful attack finally been identified?

time-read
8 minutos  |
Issue 138
SALAMANCA
History of War

SALAMANCA

After years of largely defensive campaigning, Lieutenant General Arthur Wellesley went on the offensive against a French invasion of Andalusia

time-read
8 minutos  |
Issue 138
HUMBERT 'ROCKY'VERSACE
History of War

HUMBERT 'ROCKY'VERSACE

Early in the Vietnam War, a dedicated US Special Forces officer defied his merciless Viet Cong captors and inspired his fellow POWs to survive

time-read
7 minutos  |
Issue 138
LEYTE 1944 SINKING THE RISING SUN
History of War

LEYTE 1944 SINKING THE RISING SUN

One of the more difficult island campaigns in WWII's Pacific Theatre saw a brutal months-long fight that exhausted Japan’s military strength

time-read
10+ minutos  |
Issue 138
MAD DAWN
History of War

MAD DAWN

How technology transformed strategic thinking and military doctrine from the Cold War to the current day

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138
BRUSHES WITH ARMAGEDDON
History of War

BRUSHES WITH ARMAGEDDON

Humanity came close to self-annihilation with the Cuban Missile Crisis, Broken Arrows’ and other nuclear near misses

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138
THE DEADLY RACE
History of War

THE DEADLY RACE

How the road to peace led to an arms contest between the USA and USSR, with prototypes, proliferation and the world’s biggest bomb

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT
History of War

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

Einstein, Oppenheimer and the race to beat Hitler to the bomb. How a science project in the desert helped win a war

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138