A Tiger Among Us: A Story of Valor in Vietnam's A Shau Valley

Description

An action-filled memoir by Medal of Honor recipient Bennie Adkins, whose heroic deeds as a Green Beret in Vietnam in March 1966 became legend in the Army For four days in early March 1966, then-sergeant Bennie Adkins and sixteen other Green Berets held their undermanned and unfortified position at Camp A Shau, a small training and reconnaissance camp located right next to the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, North Vietnam's major supply route. Surrounded 10-to-1, the Green Berets endured constant mortar and rifle fire, treasonous allies, and a violent jungle rain storm. But there was one among them who battled ferociously, like a tiger, and, when they finally evacuated, carried the wounded to safety. Forty-eight years later, Bennie Adkins's valor was recognized when he received this nation's highest military award. A Tiger among Us tells the story of how this small group of warriors out-fought and out-maneuvered their enemies, how a remarkable number of them lived to tell about it, and how that tiger became their savior. It is also the tale of how Adkins repeatedly risked his life to help save his fellow warriors through acts of bravery and ingenuity. Filled with the sights, smells, and sounds of a raging battle fought in the middle of a tropical forest, A Tiger among Us is alive with the emotional intensity of the besieged men as they lose many of their own while inflicting incredible losses on the North Vietnamese forces. A US pilot flying over the post-battle carnage described it as a "Wall of Death." A Tiger among Us is a riveting tale of bravery, valor, skill, resilience, and perhaps just plain luck, brought to vivid life through the oral histories of Adkins and five of his fellow soldiers who fought in the Battle of A Shau.

Bennie G. Adkins (Author) Bennie G. Adkins is a retired US Army Command Sergeant Major and recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in March 1966 during the Vietnam War. After retiring from the Army in 1978 at the Army's highest enlisted rank, Adkins earned a bachelor's and two master's degrees from Troy State University, then went on to run his own accounting company and teach classes at Southern Union Junior College and Auburn University. He and his wife live in Opelika, Alabama. Katie Lamar Jackson (Author) Katie Lamar Jackson is a writer, editor, and photographer with more than thirty years of experience as a journalist, author, communicator, public relations expert, and marketing specialist. She is currently editor and director of Auburn University's agricultural communications and marketing division. Jackson lives in Opelika, Alabama.

A Tiger among Us tells the riveting, real life story of an American hero in Vietnam who repeatedly risked his life to help save his fellow warriors. His selfless bravery in the face of overwhelming odds in 1966--and his long, honorable career in the US Army--reflects the best of America's military tradition. This is a story every American should read.--General Tommy R. Franks (US Army, Ret.), former commander of US Central Command [A Tiger Among Us] conveys the hell that Adkins and his comrades went through fifty-two years ago in a little-known, brutal engagement in the Vietnam War.--The VVA Veteran A powerful memoir about valor, selfless service and self-sacrifice.--ARMY In his magnificent memoir A Tiger among Us, Command Sergeant Major Bennie Adkins proves that he is as talented a writer as he is an intrepid warrior. He has penned a gripping, minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour account of one of the most intense Special Forces battles of the Vietnam War. This is a powerful, riveting story about valor, comradeship, and self-sacrifice in the deadly A Shau Valley. A must-read for all soldiers, scholars, and students of leadership!--Colonel Thomas R. Yarborough (USAF, Ret.), author of A Shau Valor and Da Nang Diary Of the millions of men and women who have fought America's wars, only some 3,500 received our country's highest award for gallantry, the Medal of Honor. There's just one way to earn it--the hard way. Command Sergeant Major Bennie Adkins tells us what it takes. A Tiger among Us puts you right in the middle of desperate close combat in the heart of the Vietnam War's deadly A Shau Valley. What does it really mean to battle a relentless enemy 'above and beyond the call of duty'? Bennie Adkins knows. Read this book and you will, too.--Lieutenant General Daniel P. Bolger (US Army, Ret.), author of Our Year of War: Two Brothers, Vietnam, and a Nation Divided The heart of Adkins's memoir is a blow-by-blow account of a vicious, four-day battle in 1966 in the densely forested and notoriously dangerous A Shau Valley...[it] will be of interest to those seeking tales of the hell combatants went through in Vietnam.--Publishers Weekly