Book overview
Escaping Cambodia is a real-life true story about an off the books clandestine operation designed to save American lives in the Vietnam War. A young lieutenant is summoned to the office of the Commanding General of Fort Ord, California. The unmarried lieutenant was jump qualified but was not a ranger and not trained in long range reconnaissance techniques. Nonetheless, Major General Harold Moore, the hero of the battle at LZ X-ray in the Ia Drang Valley, asked the Lieutenant to work with 3 other soldiers, an E-6 Seargent, a Specialist 4 Radio Operator, and a Private. The mission was so secretive, the team was not permitted to know each other's names. They would parachute into Cambodia from helicopters and patrol eastward looking for resupply caravans on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The clandestine nature of the mission dictated that the patrols would avoid roads and developed pathways, clawing their way through the jungles of Cambodia. When finding a caravan, the team would call in a B-52 strike to eliminate it. All went as planned until it didn't, leading to a story of incredible survival in enemy held territory.
