Vietnam Diary

A vivid eyewitness account of US troops fighting in the Vietnam War by the award-winning, New York Times–bestselling author and journalist.
"This is the real war in South Vietnam, as reported by a master." —Chicago Tribune

After World War II, US President Harry S. Truman vowed to contain communism. When conflict began in Vietnam in 1955, the challenge of keeping that vow increased. If Vietnam fell to communism, it was believed the rest of Asia would follow. American troops increased their presence in the region in the early 1960s, and in October 1962, war correspondent Richard Tregaskis joined them for four months to document their efforts.


In Vietnam Diary, Tregaskis chronicles the daily lives of American troops serving in the Vietnam War. He takes readers to the heart of what it was like to fight this vicious new kind of war, one that required novel techniques to combat the region's wily guerilla forces. Tregaskis is there in battle, sharing in the dangers. He follows along on missions with Marine helicopters and Army Hueys, and with the ground-pounders hiking through the fiercely embattled Delta area. He even accompanies Special Forces training troops resisting communist forces in the high jungles. Amid all the action, Tregaskis forges friendships with many of the troops as they open up about their experiences since the beginning of the war.


First published in 1963, Vietnam Diary is essential reading for those interested in the history of the Vietnam War and the lives of the soldiers who served in the conflict. With this classic   of the war, Tregaskis honors those troops and shows why he was one of America's most knowledgeable and experienced war correspondents of the era.

"Richard Tregaskis is indestructible, imperishable; Vietnam Diary proves it. . . . A vital addition." —MacKinlay Kantor, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and journalist

"An intimate and unadorned account of what so many of our career soldiers and draftees . . . [went] through day by day over there, this can be wholeheartedly recommended." —Kirkus Reviews