Fire Base Illingworth: An Epic True Story of Remarkable Courage Against Staggering Odds Hardcover – October 29, 2013

I was the mailman for 17 years of the parents of one of those 25 brave men killed at Fire Base Illingworth on April 1, 1970.. After my retirement I have kept in touch with them with Christmas greetings each year. I remember that when delivering my route I was told by Mrs. S that her husband liked to hunt and used to hunt with their only child, but that the son was killed in Vietnam. When I received at card from her this past Christmas, she informed me that her husband has died suddenly earlier in the year. They had been married 67 years. When I tried to find his obituary through the Internet, I came across her son's name and this book.. In the symphony card I sent to her, I quoted part of what was mentioned of her son on the Vietnam Veterans Wall online, but did not mention the book. I thought the book might be too much for her. She was deeply moved and phoned me in profound gratitude, saying that she knew little more of her son's service than the name of the place where he was killed and had never heard from anyone who served with him. I then mentioned the book, and she was so pleased and glad to learn of it and immediately expressed a desire to have it. I told her I would order it from Amazon and send it to her directly. She received it two days later and then left a profoundly heartfelt message on my answering machine thanking me and asking me to visit. I then ordered the book for myself. I finished it two days ago and am still shaken by what I read. All I can say is God bless these brave men and their families. Otherwise, I am simply speechless.Update as of April 13, 2017: Above I mentioned Mrs. S. who is an 89-year old mother of one of those brave soldiers killed on April 1, 1970. Yesterday I visited her and during the visit told her of my Amazon post, pointing out that I had not mentioned her name. She informed me that she does not object to my revealing her name. So I do so here. Her name is Lona Schlieben. She told me that she would so much like to hear from anyone who knew her son in the Army with any information whatsoever. Her son was Corporal Klaus D. Schlieben. In my 2 1/2 hour visit, I had the honor of being shown Klaus' photos taken throughout his brief life, the small stack of letters he sent home, his medals, and other memorabilia. She also showed me the letter from the Department of the Army, which contained information not mentioned in this book, such as the fact that Klaus received the Silver Star, and information to the fact that after his personal weapon malfunctioned he then engaged in hand to hand combat with the enemy to deny them entrance to the base. If anyone reading this knew Klaus and would like to relay information to his mother, please do so here. Both of Klaus' parents were refugees who escaped from East Germany, coming to the U.S.A. in 1952.Update as of June 23, 2018: David Dedrick, thank you for your comments posted below. I was having difficulty attaching a reply to your comments after trying several times. So I will try here. I visited Mrs. Schlieben earlier this week. She expressed the greatest pleasure at hearing, since my previous post, from three members of Charlie Company who served with her son, Klaus, including its commander, Captain George Hobson (retired Lt. Colonel Hobson) who most graciously in a four hour phone conversation invited her to a gathering of the survivors of Charlie Company and family that will take place in September. He also mailed her a great deal of information about the event, which is a multiple day event, as well as information on the last event in 2015. To say the least, she cannot wait to attend, expressing her excitement and happiness several times. I am sure she is, at age 90, one of the very few gold star mothers, or even mothers, who are still around. God bless her and all the men and family of Charlie Company. Thank you again. All the best!Update as of August 7, 2022: With great sadness I relay the news that Lona Schlieben died on July 29, 2022, just eight days short of her 95th birthday. My wife and I had last visited her in June, had talked to her by phone little more than two weeks ago, and were planning to visit her for her birthday, as we had done on her past few birthdays, bring her a cake and sing Happy Birthday. She did attend the event mentioned above. It was a very happy few days for her. "They were the nicest people," she told us, mentioning that she gave every attending member of Charlie Company a hug both upon arriving and upon departing. She also enjoyed talking on the phone with a number of members. As someone said, she "was a walking and talking history lesson." Her mind was as sharp as a 20-year old. We can only imagine the joyful reunion she has had with her son Klaus and husband Horst. God bless her, and God bless all members of Charlie Company.

This was a classic tale of "close to the end of the conflict"; and not wanting to commit more troops during the draw down. At the same time putting lives on the line to draw out a very angry and frustrated enemy; who had circumstances been different could have over run the fire base. Mr. Keith in keeping with Black Horse Riders weaves a story of epic proportion. What I loved about the book follows:1. Although memories do fade, stories and recollection become confused and conflicting; the author does an outstanding job of putting all it together.2. Easy to read and well explained so the reader can follow the battle.3. Mr. Keith does an outstanding job of breaking the battle down into 2-3 hour segments all the way down to 2-3 minute segments. All done concurrently with what was happening inside and outside the Fire Base - different perspectives of the survivors. The author in a sense conducts a battlefield investigation by asking the reader very thought provoking questions concerning the events, that may or may not have had an effect on the outcome of the battle.4. This book is a follow on of sorts to Black Horse Riders in that many of the units in this book are intertwined with BHR.5. The author gained the perspective of the battle from the NVA commander who attacked the Fire Base, which for me gave an outstanding account of the thought process of the enemy commander.6. Lastly but most importantly, the author does an excellent job of conveying the bravery and untold selfless acts of individuals as it played out on the stage of a war that was winding down. The author's comments about the survivors having a difficult time dealing with their role in the battle as insignificant is well documented and done with great sympathy and sensitivity.The survivors of this battle have nothing to be ashamed of - they fought and died bravely and they fought and died for each other. Buy it and read it. You won't be disappointed.

Knew nothing of this when I read the book. Found it interesting and learned a few things, I have a military background but not with the USA but of that era.I guess Black Horse Riders a separate book talks about a battle just before this one so the two books go hand in hand.Funny as I finished rrading these American History Channel had a one hour documentary on the battle before the attack on Illingsworth.Found it quite interesting and an easy read. Try to read both books to get a broader view.

Quem gosta de livros sobre combates não irá acreditar nesta narrativa. Estamos habituados a filmes sobre a guerra do Vietnã onde a superioridade norte americana é latente. Nem todos os combates foram assim....

Very well written through extensive interviewing with the survivors of the battle.