I have read a lot of books about war, from ancient battles to the present. I like them maybe because I am a veteran myself. But none has moved me, none has taken me there and made me as proud to be an American fighting man as Abandoned in Hell by William Albracht and Marvin J. Wolf. It is the story of the fight for Firebase Kate during the Vietnam War. I have never read anything quite like it. It reads like a cross between an official Army after-action report and a conversation with a veteran about said action. It is detailed, it is gripping, it is descriptive, and it is very colorful. I couldn’t stop reading. It was like meeting a veteran of that particular battle in a bar somewhere and he was telling me the story over a few beers. We spoke the same language, shared similar experiences, so I could appreciate his story and he could appreciate that he had an audience that understood.
Everything about the way this story is told appealed to me. The writing was great, the people were great, the chain of events was very well laid out, and the setting was superb. I learned a lot about Vietnam. There are too many excellent things about Abandoned in Hell to mention in this review. Read the blurb. It is very accurate. I will say that I loved the way the story was told. I loved the tone of the tale. I loved the no-nonsense military jargon. I loved the way the people were described. But I think I loved the way the story unfolded most of all. This is a tale well told. The men on that hill deserve to be honored and remembered. I think this book accomplishes that.