In the 1950s, the United States sent troops to Vietnam to support the South Vietnamese government in their fight against the communist North. Almost three million U. S. men and women traveled thousands of miles to fight for what was a questionable cause. American involvement was at its peak from 1965–69 when some 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam. America's involvement in Vietnam ended in 1973. At its peak, the war cost more than one billion dollars a day, and a total of seven million bombs were dropped—more than the entire total of all participants in World War II. By April 1975, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, had fallen to the communist North and a united Vietnam came into being. Andrew Rawson’s fully illustrated single-source reference book is the latest in the Sutton Handbooks series and looks at U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. He covers everything from infantry, artillery, armor, special forces, riverine craft, intelligence, combat support, and service units, to weapons and equipment, organization, command and control, daily life and tours of duty, awards, and medals. Films and books, memorials, and the legacy of the Vietnam War in the United States and South East Asia are also covered.
