- Tet,
- 1968.
- That
- was
- the
- Vietnam
- War's
- D
- Day,
- Battle
- of
- the
- Bulge,
- Iwo
- Jima,
- Crossing
- of
- the
- Rhine.
- In
- a
- series
- of
- battles
- in
- all
- parts
- of
- the
- country,
- condensed
- mostly
- in
- a
- three
- day
- span
- -
- although
- a
- few
- fights
- (Khe
- Sanh,
- Hue
- City)
- lasted
- longer
- -
- the
- Viet
- Cong
- were
- effectively
- destroyed
- as
- a
- fighting
- entity,
- and
- the
- North
- Vietnamese
- Army
- was
- severely
- damaged.
- Tet,
- 1968
- was
- also
- when
- the
- United
- States
- lost
- the
- Vietnam
- War.In
- THE
- SQUAD
- one
- fourteen
- man
- US
- Marine
- Corps
- rifle
- squad
- led
- by
- Sergeant
- George
- Bingham
- is
- in
- a
- routine
- ambush
- outside
- a
- remote
- fire
- base
- in
- northern
- I
- Corps,
- close
- to
- the
- Demilitarized
- Zone
- between
- North
- and
- South
- Vietnam.
- This
- is
- the
- night
- before
- a
- scheduled
- cease
- fire
- for
- the
- Tet
- holiday;
- they
- don't
- expect
- any
- problems.
- When
- their
- fire
- base
- is
- unexpectedly
- hit
- by
- a
- superior
- force
- of
- North
- Vietnamese,
- the
- squad
- loses
- communication,
- and
- the
- Marines
- on
- the
- fire
- base
- are
- driven
- back.
- Unfortunately,
- the
- loss
- of
- communications
- means
- the
- squad
- doesn't
- get
- the
- word
- to
- pull
- out
- of
- their
- ambush
- and
- rejoin
- the
- rest
- of
- their
- company
- for
- the
- withdrawal.
- Their
- failure
- to
- rejoin
- their
- company
- leaves
- the
- other
- Marines
- thinking
- they
- were
- found
- and
- wiped
- out
- by
- the
- North
- Vietnamese.
- Morning
- finds
- the
- fourteen
- Marines
- not
- dead
- or
- even
- wounded,
- but
- alone
- deep
- behind
- North
- Vietnamese
- lines.Without
- knowing
- what's
- going
- on,
- or
- where
- friendly
- units
- are,
- Sergeant
- Bingham
- and
- his
- Marines
- must
- find
- a
- way
- to
- evade
- contact
- with
- the
- thousands
- of
- enemy
- soldiers,
- and
- reconnect
- with
- other
- Marines.
- Complicating
- matters,
- they
- started
- out
- with
- only
- enough
- supplies
- on
- the
- ambush
- to
- last
- overnight.Who
- are
- these
- Marines?
- How
- do
- they
- relate
- to
- each
- other?
- In
- order
- to
- tell
- their
- story
- properly,
- LtCol
- R.
- W.
- Thoreau,
- the
- fictional
- narrator
- whose
- After
- Action
- Reports
- and
- historical
- analysis
- are
- spread
- throughout
- the
- novel,
- begins
- the
- story
- on
- March
- 9,
- 1965,
- the
- day
- Bingham
- learns
- of
- the
- Marine
- landing
- at
- Da
- Nang,
- which
- was
- the
- beginning
- of
- the
- American
- ground
- war
- in
- Vietnam.
- Bingham
- drops
- out
- of
- college
- at
- the
- end
- of
- the
- term
- and
- enlists
- in
- the
- Marines.The
- members
- of
- this
- squad,
- as
- is
- the
- case
- in
- all
- squads,
- have
- strong
- friendships
- -
- as
- well
- as
- conflicts
- among
- the
- Marines.In
- its
- review
- dated
- May
- 21.
- 1991,
- the
- WASHINGTON
- TIMES
- said
- of
- THE
- SQUAD
- "[it
- would
- have
- been]
- ...a
- classic
- had
- it
- been
- published
- 20
- years ago..."
pro-mbooks3 : libris
