Gray Horse Troop: Forever Soldiers - Paperback

by Charles Baker (Author)

This searing memoir of the war in Vietnam, and again in Iraq, captures the emotions, fears, and concerns of young men facing life or death in far away lands. Gray Horse Troop is a testament to the gallantry of the men of the 5th Battalion 7th U.S. Cavalry - from Montana in the 1870s to the Middle East in 2005. The author narrates the story about the soldiers, honoring the men who served in this storied unit. From his perspective as the Battalion Operations Officer, he gives a first hand account of combat as part of the legendary 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam in the first half of 1968. 5/7th Cav fights its way into Hue during Tet of 1968, clears the NVA away from the perimeter at Khe Sahn, and pursues the enemy into the infamous A Shau Valley. He provides the big picture that surviving veterans did not get while fighting for survival down at squad level. Gray Horse Troop is a personal account of what the author saw, remembered, and further researched; which he writes about with traces of wit, political incorrectness, and cynicism. Being embedded with 5/7th Cav in Iraq in 2005 provides the framework for recalling the various Vietnam battles. He is blunt about the human costs of war. He writes in simple language, directed beyond the military reader to all who are interested in the Cold War Era.

Author Biography

Charlie Baker left Buffalo, Wyoming in 1942 at the age of four, grew up thereafter in the Army, graduated from West Point in 1960, and became an Infantry Officer. He first served with the 101st Airborne Division's reconnaissance troop during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and later commanded an Infantry rifle company in Berlin at the time of President Kennedy's famous visit. He served two tours in Vietnam - first as an infantry battalion operations officer in 1968, and again as a Vietnamese Ranger advisor in 1972. He retired after twenty-three years service with the rank of Colonel, and enjoyed a second career in commercial real estate before again retiring to become a writer. In 2005, he traveled as an embedded writer in Iraq with the same battalion he had served with in Vietnam in 1968, which was the catalyst for this book.