Author Description

The 101st Airborne Division ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army specializing in air assault operations.... During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles, including the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969. 1970: the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne have been in combat against the elusive Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army for nearly five years. In this memoir, author John G. Roberts tells the story of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, the "Widow Makers" of the 101st Divisions' 1st Brigade. Written in the often crude language of the combat infantryman, Roberts describes what it was like to confront the enemy during close combat in the triple-canopied jungles of I Corps, west of the Song Bo River. As part of Operation Texas Star, the 502nd Infantry (the "O-Deuce") lost 30 men killed and over 200 wounded in a month-long battle in April and May 1970.