William Albracht

I thoroughly enjoyed "Abandoned in Hell" by co-authors William Albracht and Marvin J. Wolf. The story begins with William joining the Army after high school and following him through the many training schools he opted for - eventually completing Officer Candidate School and Special Forces training prior to going to Vietnam. His goal was to become a member of a "Green Beret Mike Force", instead, he is sent to command a Special Forces firebase in the Central Highland only a couple of miles from the Cambodian Border. Firebase Kate comprised of a handful of American soldiers and a few hundred Montagnards to provide perimeter security. The firebase was in a disarray; defenses were almost non existent, American Special Forces members and artillery crews played volleyball, the Montagnards randomly left the firebase to hunt food and leaving their portion of the perimeter unguarded. The overall atmosphere was laid back and peaceful. Little did they know that 6,000 NVA soldiers were encircling the camp and planning to attack and over-run Kate. The first shot fired later that first day!

The battle for Kate began in earnest, NVA soldiers used mortars, rockets, recoilless rifles and artillery to soften up the camp - successfully knocking out most of the camp's artillery guns before mounting their first infantry assault. This battle continued over the next five days, no sleep, constant shelling, friends wounded and killed, battle stress causing breakdowns - yet the camp defenders successfully repelled several human wave attacks.

The military built three firebases: Kate, Annie and Susan in a diamond configuration to support the main province of Ban Me Thout near the Cambodian border in the Central Highlands, however, they were each out of range of one another and could not provide close support, if needed. As a result, Firebase Kate had to depend upon air support. Helicopter pilots braved the onslaught, dropping supplies and pulling out the wounded until enemy anti-aircraft fire took away that option. Jets, gunships and Spooky aircraft were all the defenders had left and Albracht made the best use of them. During that time, he directed aircraft fire and repeatedly placed himself at risk by moving around the firebase to manage his forces - eventually wounded, but continuing to fight. He was awarded a Silver Star for his actions, but many others attest that he deserved "The Medal of Honor". Reinforcements could not reach the survivors, ammo was dangerously low, and it was obvious that they couldn't stop another ground assault. Albracht was denied permission to evacuate the firebase by the powers to be! When the dark of night settled upon the besieged firebase - only one option remained...and Albracht took it!

During the story, the author's also writes about various sub-topics, the hate between the Vietnamese people and the Montagnard's, how the U. S. Air Force and Warrant Officer ranks originated, details of aircraft and the pros and cons of becoming an aide to a general officer. He'd even located soldiers who had participated in this battle - providing excerpts of their versions of the battle. The author's also provided bios of the main characters in the story and their status today. Well worth reading and highly recommended.

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel… (más)