“A stirring tribute to the valor of Marines in Vietnam.”—Nathaniel Fick, New York Times bestselling author of One Bullet Away Thursday, October 12, 1967: Marine Lance Corporal Kevin Cahill stepped onto a trail deep in the remote Hai Lang National Forest in South Vietnam. Following Cahill were the Marines of Charlie Company, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division. They would find hell on earth under the jungle canopy. Ambushed, surrounded, outnumbered, out-gunned, and quickly running low on ammunition, the marines of Operation Medina fought toe-to-toe with a ferocious, determined opponent. Based on extensive interviews with survivors of Operation Medina, as well as with the friends and families of the men who didn't make it back, Lions of Medina takes readers through the tragedy and triumphs of war, and into the heart of a close-knit group of warriors who fought, bled, and died together, and the spirit of loyalty and camaraderie that binds them to this day.

Thursday, 12 October 1967 Marine Lance Corporal Kevin Cahill stepped onto a trail deep in the remote Hai Lang National Forest of South Vietnam. Following Cahill were the 166 Marines of Charlie Company, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division. Confident, well armed and ready to fight, their mission was to locate and annihilate any North Vietnamese Army forces they could find. Cahill, a sharp and experienced point man, knew that taking the well-worn and ominous trail was a bad idea, but an order was an order and he led Charlie Company forward. It was a decision that would cost the 19-year-old his life. As he took a step to his left, toward a small knoll, Cahill walked right into the blast of a machine gun and the column of men he led suddenly faced decimating grenade and small-arms fire. Rather than Charlie Company finding the enemy, the NVA, over two thousand men strong, had found Charlie Company. Surrounded, outnumbered, outgunned, and quickly running out of ammunition, the Marines now faced annihilation and hell on earth under the jungle canopy. Would the men of Charlie Company survive? How could they hope to beat back a vastly superior enemy force set on their complete destruction? Who would ever live to tell the tale of the "Lions of Medina"?

This is an epic oral history of Vietnam's bloodiest campaign, fought for seven months in a series of battles, most of them within four miles of each other, along Route 534. Staring in October 1967, orders came down to the 2nd North Vietnamese Army Division commanding them to join with the local Viet Cong and seize the city of Danang in the Tet Offensive. After fighting for seven months in the Que Son Valley, the division was so battered that it failed to carry out its mission, with only one platoon making it inside the city limits. This is the true-life accounts of what fighting was like in that narrow, bloody valley from the veteran's own mouths, and how that saved Danang from suffering the same fate as Hue City

In May 1965, the entire 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment--lock, stock, and barrel--embarked for Vietnam. Captain Alex Lee was there. . . . Now combat-veteran Marine captain Alex Lee brings to gritty life the full tour of 2/7. From the search-and-destroy missions to the sudden violent ambushes in the hills and valleys west of Qui Nhon, Lee describes how Marines battled monsoons, malaria, and the enemy as they crept through terrain infested with Viet Cong caves and hideouts. After paving the way in Qui Nhon for the arrival of more American military, 2/7 was assigned to Chu Lai, where the battalion fought its most bitter, deadly battles. With the scalding ring of truth, Lee captures the conditions of the bone-weary 2/7 Marines as they slogged through jungles and spent night after night in dreary, rain-filled foxholes. Although they faced a life of constant danger and occasional mindless confusion, in their seemingly endless marathon of effort, agony, and sacrifice, the Marines of 2/7 never faltered, never stopped giving their best.

A Marine Corps recruiter returns to his old stamping grounds to speak with some of the men he enlisted, their families, and the families of others who were killed in action. Some remember their experience with a sense of patriotism; others are bitter and feel forgotten by their country. The 17 accounts are a reminder of the horrors of war, and the lasting effects of its aftermath.

Elite and highly trained, the 3d Force Recon's eight-man teams were assigned to obtain vital information about NVA operations. Alone, the men of these small teams were sent behind enemy lines, where they all knew that a single mistake could cost everyone their lives. United States Navy Hospital Corpsman Bruce Norton was the only navy corpsman to act as a Marine Force Recon Team Leader. In Force Recon Diary, 1969 Doc Norton chronicles his life, mission by mission, with the 3d Force Recon in the DMZ and the A Shau Valley. He describes the tense patrols, the supreme courage, the sacrifices—in ambushes and hot landing zones—that made this courageous company one of only two Marine units during the entire Vietnam War to receive the United States Army's Valorous Unit Citation.

Isolated and under attack by more than two North Vietnamese Battalions, Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (M Co. 3/5) fought for its life with an unreliable rifle, The M-16. Only the courage of the individual Marines, marvelous Close Air Support, and a heroic helicopter drop of tear gas on their position stalled the NVA assault. Deep in the heart of the Queson Valley, the 2nd North Vietnamese Army Division (2nd NVA Division) decided for the first time to fight all Marine forces at once. They placed three Infantry regiments to intercept any American reinforcements to the two 1st Battalion 5th Marine (1/5) Companies surrounded and under intense fire. The 5th Marines, with limited forces, attempted to reinforce their beleaguered companies and marry up in the Queson Valley with 2 companies from 3/5. Before reaching 1/5 location, M Co moved on a small cemetery knoll. Two NVA Battalions smothered them from the flanks. Surrounded and isolated from other Marine forces, M Co. fought for their lives against overwhelming forces. The 5th Marines, stretched so thin they had only two Infantry Companies out of twelve available, were drawn into battle by the entire 2nd NVA Division of 6500 troops and all the local guerrilla forces in the Quesons. Swift Sword The Marines of Mike 3/5 is a true saga of a one day battle in the Queson valley, Vietnam.