Vietnam Journal Vol. 6 – Bloodbath at Khe Sanh – By Don Lomax – (…)

From a purely tactical and strategic point of view, this comic is very instructive for lovers of contemporary military history. The author describes with precision the combined use of the different weapons (air reconnaissance units, artillery barrages, bombardments by the B-52s and of course, the queen of battles, the infantry which in this case is airborne).

Weapons and uniforms are beautifully detailed. This American comic is serious and richly documented. Its author having been himself called in 1965 in Vietnam, he leaves us through his work a poignant and authentic testimony of the experience of the troop, the men on the ground and the indigenous population. The reader literally finds himself in the heart of the fighting. It’s thrilling and scary at the same time.

If you take the current series, this sixth volume, like the previous ones, can be read independently of the others, even if we follow the chronological order of the conflict. The reporter indeed goes from place to place. He meets different men and tells us about their missions, their anxieties and experiences.

In this volume, after the siege of Khe Sanh, you are treated to a perilous mission led by a special team of Navy SEALs accompanied by Vietnamese volunteers whose efficiency and ferocity in combat is breathtaking. The last episode, also very interesting, evokes the arrival of a bruise at the front with all the inconveniences that entails for those who will have to train him, protect him and prevent him from harming his own patrol through his inexperience. .

Exciting !