Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri

by Robert C. Ankony

Overview

Lurps is the revised edition of the memoir of a juvenile delinquent who drops out of ninth grade to chase his dream of military service. After volunteering for Vietnam, he joins the elite U.S. Army LRRP/Rangers—small, heavily armed long-range reconnaissance teams that patrol deep in enemy-held territory. It is 1968, and the Lurps find themselves in some of the war's hairiest campaigns and battles, including Tet, Khe Sanh, and A Shau. Readers witness all the horrors, humor, adrenaline, and unexpected beauty through the eyes of a green young warrior. Gone are the heroic clichZs and bravado as compelling narrative and realistic dialogue sweep the reader along with a powerful sense that this is actually happening. This poignant coming-of-age story explores the social background that shaped the protagonist's thinking, his uncertain quest for redemption through increased responsibility, the brotherhood of comrades in arms, women and sexual awakening, and the baffling randomness of who lives and who dies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761843733
Publisher:	Hamilton Books
Publication date:	10/21/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	306
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Robert C. Ankony served in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1968. He was honored with a Bronze Star Medal, an Air Medal, and a Combat Infantry Badge for his military service. He was a Detective/Sergeant in Detroit's Wayne County Sheriff Department before his retirement in 1984. Presently, he is the Director of CFM Research. Dr. Ankony received his Ph.D. in Criminology, MA in Sociology, and MS in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University; and a Master of Correctional Sciences from the University of Detroit. He has published multiple journal articles on military history and criminal justice.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Childhood
Chapter 2 Basic Combat Training
Chapter 3 Advanced Individual Training
Chapter 4 Airborne School
Chapter 5 Rigger School
Chapter 6 A Decision
Chapter 7 Vietnam
Chapter 8 First Cavalry Division
Chapter 9 Transfer to LRRPs
Chapter 10 LZ English
Chapter 11 Move North
Chapter 12 Tet
Chapter 13 First Patrol
Chapter 14 Learning the Ropes
Chapter 15 Contact
Chapter 16 Luck
Chapter 17 Khe Sanh
Chapter 18 A Shau
Chapter 19 Recondo School
Chapter 20 Hong Kong
Chapter 21 Patrols as Team Leader
Chapter 22 Patrolling On
Chapter 23 Twenty-second and Last Patrol
Chapter 24 Going Home

Editorial Reviews

From a blue-collar neighborhood in southwest Detroit to the badlands of northern I Corps, Ankony's memoir is a vivid and unusually honest tale of one man's journey to war in South Vietnam and back... From his remarkable eyewitness account of the North Vietnamese attack on Quang Tri City during the 1968 Tet Offensive to his description of the equipment and skills a soldier in Vietnam needed to survive, [Ankony] has given us an highly readable tale that is sure to entertain and inform anyone who has an interest in the war.

Dr. Erik B. Villard

Dr. Robert C. Ankony has written a fascinating, highly readable memoir of his distinguished military career. Following him from the decision to join the Army at 17 through the difficult task of becoming a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, we experience some of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War... By giving the work a sense of immediacy that many autobiographies lack, this approach allows the reader to live the experiences as Ankony remembers them. But the book is more than a combat diary; it also contains frank discussions, from a soldier's perspective, about the turbulent political and social aspects of the war. These elements combine to make the book a unique addition to the growing field of Vietnam literature... The book is not, however, about [Ankony's] own heroism so much as what his service meant, as well as a tribute to those men who helped make him who he is. A pleasure to read, Lurps is among the best war diaries available.

Vietnam - Jason Foster

Dr. Robert C. Ankony has written a fascinating, highly readable memoir of his distinguished military career. Following him from the decision to join the Army at 17 through the difficult task of becoming a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, we experience some of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War... By giving the work a sense of immediacy that many autobiographies lack, this approach allows the reader to live the experiences as Ankony remembers them. But the book is more than a combat diary; it also contains frank discussions, from a soldier's perspective, about the turbulent political and social aspects of war. These elements combine to make the book a unique addition to the growing field of Vietnam literature... The book is not, however, about his [Ankony's] own heroism so much as what his service meant, as well as a tribute to those men who helped make him who he is. A pleasure to read, Lurps is among the best war diaries available.--Jason Foster "Vietnam "

From a blue-collar neighborhood in southwest Detroit to the badlands of northern I Corps, Ankony's memoir is a vivid and unusually honest tale of one man's journey to war in South Vietnam and back...From his remarkable eyewitness account of the North Vietnamese attack on Quang Tri City during the 1968 Tet Offensive to his description of the equipment and skills a soldier in Vietnam needed to survive, [Ankony] has given us a highly readable tale that is sure to entertain and inform anyone who has an interest in the war.--Dr. Erik B. Villard, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Washington, D.C.

From the Publisher

Dr. Robert C. Ankony has written a fascinating, highly readable memoir of his distinguished military career. Following him from the decision to join the Army at 17 through the difficult task of becoming a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, we experience some of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War... By giving the work a sense of immediacy that many autobiographies lack, this approach allows the reader to live the experiences as Ankony remembers them. But the book is more than a combat diary; it also contains frank discussions, from a soldier's perspective, about the turbulent political and social aspects of war. These elements combine to make the book a unique addition to the growing field of Vietnam literature... The book is not, however, about his [Ankony's] own heroism so much as what his service meant, as well as a tribute to those men who helped make him who he is. A pleasure to read, Lurps is among the best war diaries available.
— Jason Foster

Vietnam