PUBLISHED/Caliber (Penguin Random House) military
Abandoned in Hell: The Fight for Vietnam's Fire Base Kate
William Albracht and Marvin J. Wolf
"Surrounded, vastly outnumbered, pounded day and night by incoming fire and all but abandoned, tiny Firebase Kate should have fallen within 24 hours. That it did not is a testament to Capt. Albracht and the fighting tenacity of those around him. This is an exceptional account, told in much detail."
--Maj. John L. Plaster, U.S. Army Special Forces (ret), bestselling author of SOG and Secret Commandos
William Albracht, a 21-year-old Green Beret captain in 1969, is surrounded on a hilltop artillery base nicknamed “Kate” with 27 U.S. artillerymen, a fellow Green Beret, and 150 Vietnamese Montagnard militiamen. Outnumbered 50 to 1, Albracht and his men withstand five days of nonstop intense fire—mortars, rockets, artillery and small arms—from two North Vietnamese regiments. NVA antiaircraft guns keep helicopters from resupplying and rearming them. He calls in a dangerously close B52 airstrike, exposes himself to enemy fire to direct airstrikes, and rescues the wounded even while wounded himself. When 500 NVA breach the perimeter around Kate, he leads a desperate counterattack to drive them out. Out of ammo, out of water, and out of options, Albracht leads a do-or-die night march through enemy lines, shielded only by dense jungle. All but one of his men make it to the safety of a Special Forces camp; the exhausted survivors must them help defend the camp from the same two NVA regiments that had been tormenting them.
Every man in the unit is decorated for valor…except Albracht, who skips the ceremony to transport four badly wounded GIs to a field hospital. Now a campaign is afoot to bring Albracht the Medal of Honor he so obviously deserves. A retired Secret Service agent, Albracht has a story to tell that has been too long in the waiting.
--Maj. John L. Plaster, U.S. Army Special Forces (ret), bestselling author of SOG and Secret Commandos
William Albracht, a 21-year-old Green Beret captain in 1969, is surrounded on a hilltop artillery base nicknamed “Kate” with 27 U.S. artillerymen, a fellow Green Beret, and 150 Vietnamese Montagnard militiamen. Outnumbered 50 to 1, Albracht and his men withstand five days of nonstop intense fire—mortars, rockets, artillery and small arms—from two North Vietnamese regiments. NVA antiaircraft guns keep helicopters from resupplying and rearming them. He calls in a dangerously close B52 airstrike, exposes himself to enemy fire to direct airstrikes, and rescues the wounded even while wounded himself. When 500 NVA breach the perimeter around Kate, he leads a desperate counterattack to drive them out. Out of ammo, out of water, and out of options, Albracht leads a do-or-die night march through enemy lines, shielded only by dense jungle. All but one of his men make it to the safety of a Special Forces camp; the exhausted survivors must them help defend the camp from the same two NVA regiments that had been tormenting them.
Every man in the unit is decorated for valor…except Albracht, who skips the ceremony to transport four badly wounded GIs to a field hospital. Now a campaign is afoot to bring Albracht the Medal of Honor he so obviously deserves. A retired Secret Service agent, Albracht has a story to tell that has been too long in the waiting.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
A wounded and highly decorated Vietnam veteran, William Albracht is a retired Secret Service officer. Over a White House career spanning 25 years, he served on the protection details of four American Presidents and of numerous foreign dignitaries. Following his retirement, Albracht managed Executive Security Operations for the Ford Motor Company before returning to his home town to open a security consulting business.
A decorated and wounded Vietnam veteran, Marvin J. Wolf earned a battlefield commission in 1966 while serving with the First Cavalry Division. He is the author or co-author of many nonfiction books, including Where White Men Fear To Tread (the autobiography of Native American leader Russell Means) and Buddha’s Child, the wartime memoir of former South Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky.
