The Center of Military History is again pleased to reprint Seven Firefights in Vietnam, the first of any kind of publication under the Center's imprint to appear on this conflict.

The events described in this small book are illustrative of much that took place in Vietnam after American troops were first committed in force in 1965: of heroic achievement and sacrifice, of human error, of experimentation and innovation, of a wily and elusive enemy, and of a new dimension in warfare afforded by the helicopter.

These accounts serve as a preliminary record of the achievements of men who served their nation well, a preface to a full military history of the war that is in preparation. The narratives also serve as valuable lessons to soldiers pursuing lessons of small unit actions.

Washington, D.C.
11 October 1984

DOUGLAS KINNARD
Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
Chief of Military History

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