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The 7th Infantry Regiment’s motto, “Willing and Able,” speaks volumes about its past. Throughout America’s history the soldiers of this regiment have proven, by their sweat, their sacrifice, and their bloodshed, that they are willing and able to fight America’s wars. They have fought in more battles, in more places, than any other regiment in the United States Army. They boast more Medal of Honor winners than all but one other unit. At practically every crucial moment in America’s wars, the 7th has been there, shaping the future of the country and, by extension, the world.

In this in-depth history of the 7th, acclaimed combat historian John C. McManus takes readers from cold war campaigns through the global war on terror, chronicling the modern era of the regiment’s amazing history. Covering desperate fights for Korean hills, the struggle for control of steamy Vietnamese villages, and the lightning campaign of Desert Storm, the narrative culminates in the 7th’s toils in the Middle East. More than anything, McManus’s chronicle of the 7th portrays these unremarkable, ordinary individuals as the heart and soul of the United States Army. McManus gives a complete account of their struggles, anguish, fears, sacrifices, triumphs, and pride, providing a compelling glimpse not only of these soldiers’ journey through American history, but of the shaping of our nation as a whole.

Based on nearly a decade of research, from archives to battlefield visits to McManus’s personal interviews with countless 7th Infantry soldiers, and illustrated with maps and sixteen pages of photographs, this book is a definitive and moving story of Americans in combat.
 

Holding the Hill of Angels: A Marine’s Fight for Survival at the DMZ.

Throughout much of 1967, a remote United States Marine firebase only two miles from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) captured the attention of the world’s media. That artillery-scarred outpost was the linchpin of the so-called McNamara Line intended to deter incursions into South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese Army. As such, the fighting along this territory was particularly intense and bloody, and the body count rose daily.

Con Thien combines James P. Coan’s personal experiences with information taken from archives, interviews with battle participants, and official documents to construct a powerful story of the daily life and combat on the red clay bulls-eye known as "The Hill of Angels." As a tank platoon leader in Alpha Company, 3d Tank Battalion, 3d Marine Division, Coan was stationed at Con Thien for eight months during his 1967-68 service in Vietnam and witnessed much of the carnage.

Con Thien was heavily bombarded by enemy artillery with impunity because it was located in politically sensitive territory and the U.S. government would not permit direct armed response from Marine tanks. Coan, like many other soldiers, began to feel as though the government was as much the enemy as the NVA, yet he continued to fight for his country with all that he had. In his riveting memoir, Coan depicts the hardships of life in the DMZ and the ineffectiveness of much of the U.S. military effort in Vietnam.