Sign Here for Sacrifice

"It was easier killing than living."

The clock began ticking for Vietnam during the last weeks of World War II. Just as the "Third Bat" boys were moving into Adolf Hitler’s mountain retreat, on the other side of the world, a meeting was taking place in China between the then exiled Ho Chi Minh and an American OSS agent.

Vietnam had been under French colonial rule for a century but in late 1944 was still occupied by the Japanese. Neither the OSS agent nor Ho Chi Minh himself could have anticipated that this rendezvous with destiny would spawn a conflict that ultimately cost the lives of two million Vietnamese and over 58,000 Americans.

Jumping forward 25 years, the Commander of 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, was none other than Salve Matheson. Now a brigadier general, Matheson had been on Colonel Robert F. Sink’s staff during World War II. In early 1967, Matheson decided to reactivate 3/506 for a series of targeted and specific airborne operations due to take place the following year in Vietnam. Matheson’s idea, totally unique for the time, was to create an 800-strong battalion of airborne volunteers in the same legendary "Currahee" spirit that had defined the volunteers of 1942.

The man Matheson chose to lead this new generation of airborne volunteers was LTC John Geraci. The 42-year-old New Yorker was identical in stature and attitude to the legendary LTC Bob Wolverton, who had been killed on D-Day. But unlike Wolverton, Geraci had already fought two wars and won two silver stars (astonishingly, he would go on to win a further two in Vietnam).

Together with his handpicked cadre of staff, most of whom had already served one tour of duty in Vietnam, Geraci successfully moulded this young brotherhood into a highly cohesive and motivated force with one common goal – to take the fight overseas and kill the enemy. Training at Fort Campbell was tough, and the paratroopers, who had already been through Basic, Advanced Infantry, and Jump School with other units, spent an additional six months honing the combat skills that Geraci and Matheson knew were required for the jungles of Vietnam.

The main thrust of this story begins in December 1967 when the battalion was detached from the 101st Airborne Division and sent west from their southern base at Phang Rang into the Central Highlands of Lam Dong Province. It was here that Geraci and his men began the first of their Search and Destroy patrols, which coincided with the North Vietnamese build-up to TET, a brutal introduction to the reality of a dirty, bloody war. The killing became easy, but the living turned out to be much harder.

After a sobering new year, 3/506 moved south to Phan Thiet. The TET offensive was launched on January 31. Now a specialised self-sufficient Task Force in itself, the 3rd Battalion and local ARVN defence forces were at the very heart of the one-month-long battle. The fighting was brutal, but the tenacity of the airborne troopers was remarkable. It was here that they made their mark, just like their predecessors had done in Normandy and Bastogne, and the battalion was awarded a Valorous Unit Citation.

After several more intense missions, many of the men were replaced with airborne draftees nicknamed "legs". Many of the old sweats felt that the replacements didn’t have the same ethos, but they too bled and died for the cause. Now designated as "Airmobile", five tactical patrol and ambush operations followed, collectively known by the name "Double Eagle". Despite the freezing temperatures and lack of cold weather gear, the operations were very successful and still displayed the same esprit de corps that was now the hallmark of 3/506 for two very different generations of fighting men.

Written in a warm, colloquial, and exciting style, Sign Here for Sacrifice showcases the action, leadership, humour, and bravery displayed by these airborne warriors through countless interviews and personal photographs never published before.