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Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri
Author(s): Robert C. Ankony (Author)
- Publisher: University Press of America
- Publication Date: 1 Mar. 2006
- Language: English
- Print length: 306 pages
- ISBN-10: 9780761832812
- ISBN-13: 0761832815
Book Description
Lurps is the memoir of a juvenile delinquent who drops out of ninth grade to pursue a dream of military service, eventually becoming a member of the elite U.S. Army Lrrp / Rangers in Vietnam. Set in 1968, during some of the war’s major campaigns and battles including Tet, Khe Sanh, and A Shau Valley, Lurps considers war through the eyes of a green young warrior.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Dr. Robert C. Ankony has written a fascinating, highly readable memoir of his distinguished military career. Following him from the decision to join the Army at 17 through the difficult task of becoming a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, we experience some of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War… By giving the work a sense of immediacy that many autobiographies lack, this approach allows the reader to live the experiences as Ankony remembers them. But the book is more than a combat diary; it also contains frank discussions, from a soldier’s perspective, about the turbulent political and social aspects of war. These elements combine to make the book a unique addition to the growing field of Vietnam literature… The book is not, however, about his [Ankony’s] own heroism so much as what his service meant, as well as a tribute to those men who helped make him who he is. A pleasure to read, Lurps is among the best war diaries available.
From a blue-collar neighborhood in southwest Detroit to the badlands of northern I Corps, Ankony’s memoir is a vivid and unusually honest tale of one man’s journey to war in South Vietnam and back…From his remarkable eyewitness account of the North Vietnamese attack on Quang Tri City during the 1968 Tet Offensive to his description of the equipment and skills a soldier in Vietnam needed to survive, [Ankony] has given us a highly readable tale that is sure to entertain and inform anyone who has an interest in the war.
About the Author
Robert C. Ankony served in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1968. He was honored with a Bronze Star Medal, an Air Medal, and a Combat Infantry Badge for his military service. He was a Detective / Sergeant in Detroit’s Wayne County Sheriff Department before his retirement in 1984. Presently, he is the Director of CFM Research. Dr. Ankony received his Ph.D. in Criminology, M.A. in Sociology, and M.S. in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University; and a Master of Correctional Sciences from the University of Detroit. He has published multiple journal articles on military history and criminal justice. Lurps is his first book.
