Vietnam Stories I Never Told

This memoir of the author’s tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968 is a true account of a 19-year-old’s journey from a quiet civilian life in Connecticut to an Army infantryman in Vietnam, first as a private and a point man, later as platoon sergeant. He describes the many face-to-face encounters he had with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army—experiences that required him to remain calm and focused—and the hardships he encountered and friendships he developed along the way.
The author was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division (“Tropic Lightning”), 9th Infantry Regiment (“Manchus”), Fourth Battalion. The Manchus operated primarily between Saigon and the Cambodian border, a key entry point into South Vietnam for North Vietnamese troops and supply caravans traveling along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The author uses the letters he wrote to his parents during his tour of duty to frame his memoir, but his letters purposely omitted the details of the war he was experiencing. His letters were meant to calm his parent’s fears, as he didn’t want them to worry. Years later, when he discovered a box full of his letters in his parents’ attic, the memories came flooding back, and he started to write. These are the stories he left out of his letters—the stories he did not tell.

Herbert G. Jansen was a tax partner at Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen public accounting firms during his 40-plus year career as a CPA. He served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969, with one year in country in Vietnam—March 1968 to March 1969. He lives in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Herbert G. Jansen
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 191
Bibliographic Info: 10 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9761-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5533-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1

 1. “There’s a shadow hanging over me” 5
 2. “I was a boy you had to keep busy” 9
 3. Infantry Bound 18
 4. Hello, Vietnam 26
 5. My ­M-16 Rifle 38
 6. The Manchus 45
 7. Saddle Up 50
 8. The 1968 Presidential Campaign 53
 9. The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. 57
10. Leadership 60
11. The Monsoon Season 65
12. The May Offensive 75
13. The Longest Month of My Life 82
14. May Finally Ends 95
15. Attrition Warfare 101
16. The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy 111
17. Phase II of Operation Toan Thang 114
18. Friendship 120
19. The August Offensive 127
20. The Silver Star 131
21. Rest and Relaxation 136
22. Bereavement Leave 146
23. Short Timer 158

Afterword 163
Reflections 168
Chapter Notes 171
Index 177